DivX releases new, high-quality video format

Upstart video technology company DivX released a new version of its digital video tools on Wednesday, claiming its quality matches or betters the latest rivals from Apple Computer or Microsoft.

The new technology, the sixth full release from the small San Diego company, is aimed at boosting DivX's role in the consumer market, and is designed for storing high-definition personal movies and even for distributing commercial movie releases.

The tools will be "interoperable with millions of DivX Certified DVD players and other devices," said Jordan Greenhall, chief executive officer of DivX. The video technology has "better performance, visual quality and wider interoperability than any other video technology on the market," he said.

DivX has evolved over the past few years from a technology largely used by people swapping Hollywood films online to something that is being taken seriously by the consumer electronics industry.

While lacking the marketing budget of an Apple or Microsoft, it has created a high-quality format that, at least in some online tests, has kept pace with its larger rivals. Some content, largely from independent studios, is now being released legitimately in the format.

Along with menu support, the DivX 6.0 tools allow subtitling in multiple languages and the addition of extra audio tracks, heightening the similarity to DVD features. They also allow a quick conversion from other file formats into DivX.

The uncertainty in high-definition video formats has brought a handful of nontraditional media companies into the business.

A version of Microsoft's Windows Media 9 has been accepted as a standard to be supported on next-generation DVD players and discs, following the company's rare decision to release the technology to standards-setting bodies.

Nero, a company primarily known for its CD- and DVD-recording software, is also trying hard to reinvent itself as a video codec company. Like DivX, it is marketing its Nero Digital, a version of the standard MPEG AVC technology with some proprietary add-ons, as a potential format for commercial distribution, and is trying to win support from hardware makers.

[technewsjunkie]

Divx "used by people swapping Hollywood films online"

The Hollywood filmakers must be thrilled with that.

It's proprietary. Next article please.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

Consumers have already spoken

I thought that divx went out a long time ago. People were not interested in buying the special disks and paying to see the movies every time that they wanted to watch them after they expired. Furthermore, the system is clunky, relying on phone lines and special dvd players with modems. Overall, I think that to continue development of a dead format is a waste of time.

[PCCRomeo]

I like the DiVX format....

I will admit, I've not tried burning a DiVX DVD or anything, but on a PC it's a really good format. I think PC's should come with the codec preinstalled.

[skeptik]

wrong divx

Yeah, it's confusing, but the divx you're referring to - the extremely ill conceived idea back in the 90's is indeed dead.
The divx mentioned in this article shares nothing but a name (not sure why they did that except that divx is xvid spelled backwards) and is a very useful video compression codec - similar in concept to mp3 for audio.
Oh, and it's free.

www.divx.com

[technewsjunkie]

wrong Divx

You are correct. THAT Divx died a long time ago.
This is a codec.

[ledzep75]

What's your problem?

Only a minority of users use Divx for swapping movies online. The rest of us have a right to fair useage. I'm entitled to make a backup copy of my purchased videos. Thank you!

DivX for Home Video...

I've never downloaded a Hollywood film in DivX
format, nor shared one, but I've exchanged many
DivX movies. It started with a birth
announcement for my first son, then continued as
a way to exchange home videos with relatives
(scattered around North America and
Scandinavia). Equating the DivX codec with
piracy is like equating radio waves with
pornography.

DivX had two key advantages over the other
formats: it compressed really well, and it was
the only format the consistently was accessible
to everyone (all versions of Windows, MacOS,
Linux, etc.). No other AVI, WMV, or
QT-compatible codec fit those criteria the way
DivX did (and still does), probably because
neither Apple nor Microsoft want truly
accessible video -- and there they are at odd
with the consumer (hobby filmmakers, anyway).

I also use OpenDivX, and it works admirably as
well (and sometimes noticably better). Of course
I use DV for editing, and MPEG2 for exporting to
DVD, but neither is practical to share clips of
the kids with the in-laws abroad.