RSSDivX Brings Format to DVD Recorders
By Ed Oswald | Published January 3, 2005, 11:57 AM
DivX is most known for its codec that allows for the creation of much smaller video files for easier transmission over the Internet. But this will soon change as the DivX format will be supported on the next generation of DVD recorders, thanks to an agreement with DVD chipmaker LSI Technologies. DVDs recorded in the DivX format will be able to hold up to 12 hours of video.
"Consumers will benefit from the increased recording capacity enabled by DivX Certified encoding solutions," Bill Holmes of DivX Networks said. DivX recorded material, however, will only be able to be played back on computers with the codec installed, or devices that are certified by the company. DivX Networks and LSI will demonstrate the new technology at CES 2005 in Las Vegas later this week.
Does this mean that after 5 and a half years DivX players may return to the market? Perhaps, I don't really know what the company has in mind though. The inferred problem is the hardware requirements to play the DivX format, which is the primary reason DivX "mini-disc players" were surpassed by DVD sales back in 2000 (remember that?). DivX codecs use extremely complicated compression algorithms, making DivX movie playback require quite a bit from your processor. This makes the cost of producing stand-alone "DivX-DVD" players very costly compared to that of standard DVD codecs. DivX is great for saving space--but your processor has to be pushed hard to decode the video. Again all modern PC's are perfectly capable of playing DivX but stand-alone players would likely be quite expensive.
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|What? Divx players have been around for at least three years. Kiss, Philips, and Liteon make them. They even support standard divx 3, and xvid files. machines that can record directly to it is the next logical step.
You cannot compare a multipurpose processor like you find in a pc against something specifically made for a purpose what takes 1ghz to do on a PC may only be a 100mhz or so on a single purpose chip.
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|Dont't Forget to make the firmware upgradeable. so we can use the latest divx available in this player. otherwise it will not so interesting to buy the player and later this will obsolete, and there is new player which work much better.
this is doffrent than if we use computer.
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|"...with the codec installed"
The problem with these alternative codecs is that they must be installed on all machines, and there isn't an easy way for all machines to be running all codecs, have them updated, and have it done seamlessly. There's many variations on the implementation of Xvid. AAC, Divx, Microsoft's WMV, etc. Even divx stumbled quite badly after XP SP2 was released and it was incompatible with the current divx release. I think it's frankly a mess and probably a leader like Microsoft needs to reign in the industry to centrally distribute alternatives... However that would provide Microsoft with an avenue for their competitors, so I doubt it'll happen.
I'm not thinking in terms of us betanews geeks, but the end consumer who doesn't have a freakin' clue about codec paks. Oh well, let them rot in their ignorance.
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|But the Divx Coded is pretty standard.... its not like it is a new one or something off the wall that no one uses....
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|agreed.
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|Nowadays are the DIVX players already 60 EUR
of price in dump, and those can play DIVX on DVDs.
And they play DIVX3-5,XVid,MPG2,etc. I don't know,
what's new ?
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|recording function...
maybe combined with DRM as I understand them, to identify the content creator...
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|I apologize, I thought of TV-Card and DIVX player
combination, but desktop DVD-recording in DivX
format really is new.
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