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DivX DVD Players Arrive
division21 writes "Geeks rejoice -- DivX Enabled DVD Players finally surface! (With all the goodies: MP3, SVCD, etc.) I remember when MP3 compatability appeared back in the day -- And it looks as though DivX Compatibility could be a real possibility for the mainstream ..." And if you can live without the compression, cherrypi points out this surprisingly favorable review of perhaps the cheapest (under $200) portable DVD player with a built-in screen.
Many will also end up supporting Ogg Vorbis, since it's become a popular audio encoding format for DivX's. (Or so I hope.)
This thing costs ~600$ (CDN), and isn't even DivX certified because it doesn't play 3.xx content, which is probably more widely used than 4.xx or 5.xx. I can go to Radio Shack and buy a DVD player for 100$ (CDN), and I know for certain that an MPEG-4 decoder chip does NOT cost 500$!
When these things cost under 200$ (CDN), and are truely DivX certified, I'll buy one. Until then... I could put together a cheap PC with S-Video out for half this price.
When are we going to get some Ogg Vorbis-enabled DVD/CD Players? With Microsoft getting WMA integrated into DVD players and Xiph putting out Tremor not to mention all the MP3 integration being done, it seems these little companies like Apex would jump to add yet another feature to their players that would differentiate them in that cut-throat bargain basement market.
The world is neither black nor white nor good nor evil, only many shades of CowboyNeal.
I am glad to see that I can finally get a DVD player that supports DivX. Now I would love to find a PVR that supports the format (come on TiVo).
The dogcow says "Moof!"
It doesn't seem to be very useful to me. So what? Now you can download ripped dvd movie encoded in divx, burn it on a cd and play it in this thing on your TV? For the cost of this machine, might as well go out and RENT a couple of dvds and watch it on your existing dvd player, and get better quality.
if somebody would come out with a player that allowed you update the playable codecs by hooking it up to your computer or inserting a preloaded pcmcia card. Open up the plugin architecture and you would probably sell one to every /.er.
Then I wouldn't have to read about all the I wan't (insert favorite codec here) on it but its not available because *they* are out to get me.
-- The morphemes of your disquisition are ascertainable, but they have eschewed an ambit of transpicuous exposition.
While the player seems to support divx 3.11, 4 and 5 (of which only 3.11 is widely used), it doesn't seem to support xvid. Xvid is a rather new codec and a growing portion of movies are released in xvid. In maybe a year practically all new releases will be xvid, and these players won't play them.
Another point is, I wonder how long it takes for MSFT to come after these manufacturers. Divx is a hacked codec based on proprietary tech and I believe MSFT owns the IP rights.
We went DivX 3.11, 4.0, 5.0, and XVid, etc. This player can play DivX 4.0 and 5.0, but what about 5.03, the upcoming version? Or DivX 6? What about XVid, or old 3.11 movies you have kicking around?
But video is only a small part of the puzzle. Of the hundred or so DivX "backups" I have, only half have MP3 audio. A big chunk have ogg (and ogg is probably the most popular for new movies), and a few have AC3.
My point boils down to this: I spend alot of time watching movies encoded in DivX. I even do some encoding. With a PC that is almost infinately upgradable, with all the DivX sites out there offering support, I still have trouble playing some movies.
Some machine with hard-coded firmware is not going to make the grade.
If you want to watch DivX on your tv, then get one of these things. That's what I did - it's a stereo, DVD player, and it plays DivX in all it's formats. It sits under the TV, is plugged into the 100 megabit network, and makes life very simple. We don't even have cable any more.
Good point.
.rar. Will this piece of hardware be able to handle it.
VSOSub is the standard for subtitles. Will it handle that? Often, the text is tied to the frame that it is supposed to appear in. The file is a
This DivX thing is way too much of a moving target for a piece of engineered hardware to be able hit. Leave it to computers.
That's correct -- the DivX 5.x codec was reverse engineered from the DivX 3.11 codec. But I've heard that you get better quality out of the 3.11 codec, but the content is therefore not legal.
So technically, yeah, DivXNetworks CAN be the "originators" of the supported codec (5.x) in the DVD players, but that's using Clinton-esque logic. The orginal codec was the 3.11 codec, which was a hack of the MS MPEG4 codec.
What the hell are you talking about? A random sampling of NFOs on iSONews shows quite a few releases using VBR MP3 soundtracks.
Why on earth would AVIs require a CBR audio stream? Where did you get this idea? I'm really, really curious, here.
--grendel drago
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
I have the exact same setup at my house, and in fact I recommend reorganizing your home theater to accomodate such a setup. I moved my TV to be back to back with my computer, and I watch recorded TV shows and movies from the computer on the TV, at VHS quality.
My only complaint is that I can't use the computer at the same time, and that nView doesn't seem to let you play the video full screen on one monitor and use the other monitor for other purposes. Do you just use "Clone" or do you have something else set up?
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
We've got TiVo type boxes with Hard Drives, and DVD type boxes with DivX...really what we need is a more generalized component-sized PC that works to augment out television viewing experience. I know it's been done before, but the public hadn't caught up with the idea of computational ubiquity. Now's the time for:
* Component-sized set top box format
* 20G HD (minimum) for recording shows and user apps
* Low heat processor (e.g. Transmeta or XScale)
* A embedded operating system of one kind or another
* CD-RW/DVD combo drive
* Video in/out, RJ-45 for connectivity
* Front port for wired/wireless keyboard/mouse/joystick
Something like this ought to be doable for less than $500. Advantage: DivX 3.11, Ogg, MAME. whatever you want would be just a download away. Of course, a hacked XBox is already pretty close to this already.
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.
Dedicated hardware is great... but sometimes you can do things yourself aswell.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a broken Compaq Evo N160 with a broken screen (read: destroyed). Otherwise it was fine.
The bottom line: now I have a DVD/DivX/MP3/Anything player. And it's compact too. A laptop is even surprisingly cool looking without a screen.
PS. If you have a crappy TV like I do and it doesn't understand S-Video (you get a black and white picture), take a look here.
.: Max Romantschuk
It seems that more than a few people are concerned about the lack of a physical backing for currency, and are choosing to do something about it. It actually sounds like a good idea to me. Even if some of the people who are backing the idea seem a bit shady.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
Damn. That's a good point.
There is absolutely zero chance that any DVD manufacturer would sell a DVD player in the U.S. with the word "DivX", "DivX;-)" or anything similar printed on the box. Manufacturers would quite rightly want to avoid confusion with the "Divix" format. The customer might easily think that the player was somehow comptible with their old Divix disks or, worse, that the player was an old model that was incompatible with curent DVD's.
So if they can't call it DivX, what do they call it? Mpeg4?
And for those of us who want a DivX player, how does the manufacturer let us know without scaring off the rest?
Then there's people like me who record TV shows to divx. I'm not breaking the law anymore than someone with a VCR recording their favorite shows. I'm not pirating. How dare you place me into a stereotype just because I like to use good compression formats.
;).
:). I've never used CloneCD or no-CD/fix SafeDisc hacks as I know how to take care of a CD and own my games.
Now don't get me wrong I understand as well as anyone divx, like mp3, is primarily used for piracy on the web. Now of course a statement like that usually gets a ton of flames in reply as ppl scream and shout "where's your proof?!" People seem to get very defensive when you point out the reality of situations. However just load up pretty much any public p2p network (i.e. kazaa) and look around for 10 seconds, and you get the idea
However, I rip my own CD's to mp3 (god what I'd give for portable ogg players and for my Audiotron to support ogg). I record my own tv shows (i.e. I don't even download those... 'cept for buffy svcd's from usenet.. and even then I only get the ones that haven't been released on DVD, and purchase the boxed sets as they do). I don't rip DVD's as that kills quality... I just copy the DVD's and decrypt them for backup purposes, and to be able to play the dvd's straight to the hard disk. However it can be pretty expensive getting enough space to copy season boxed set of X show after another
Bah.. I should really just stop talking now. I just wanted to point out people like me do exist, and this set top divx4 player is just what I've been asking for. Now all I ask for is ogg vorbis playback support and a tv tuner card with hardware divx4 encoding.
P.S. I also use divx for home recordings.