Lots to read and learn, but his may help.

This morning I tried to watch some of my downloaded TV shows on my video iPod whilst on the train to London. After about 20-30 seconds the playback would freeze for a couple of seconds then resume without any sound. This happened on every TV show I tried but video podcasts were fine. A bit of Googling once I reached the office shows that this is a known bug with version 1.1 of the firmware. This site has a procedure for downgrading your firmware without needing to reformat your iPod. I’ll be trying it as soon as I get home.
Update: […]
Source: Ant

In other news, someone was heard asking where can I get a free mp3 player and it was pointed out it may be possible.