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Divx Now Adware Supported Only

Posted by timothy on from the and-so-it-goes dept.

bogomip_bandit writes "The divx codec is no longer free, no strings attached. Until recently, when downloading the codec from divx.com, one could select Dr Divx for a price, Divx Pro for a price, the divx codec for free, or the divx codec with bundled adware to help support divx development etc. Recently the site has changed. Now when one visits the download page, the only free codec you can download is adware supported. This means even to just watch divx movies and not do any actual enncoding, one has to install adware on their machine. I for one will be finding a different video codec." Sounds like a good reason (if you needed one) to look curiously at Ogg Theora. Update: 08/20 20:04 GMT by T : Correction: As several readers have pointed out, the bare codec is still available, it's just listed below the payware / adware versions.

8 of 590 comments (clear)

  1. Look further down by jagger · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is a link to download the divx codec (no cost) without the adware below the three main choices. the url is:

    http://download.divx.com/divx/DivX505Bundle.exe

  2. ffdshow by elohim · · Score: 5, Informative

    There's always ffdshow, a sourceforge project that includes both divx and xvid.

  3. Uhhh... by badasscat · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think you might be missing something: Check here.

    The codec itself is not adware supported. It appears the only thing they've changed is the layout of their downloads page - they've de-emphasized the free codec download, but it's still there.

  4. Re:I for one by ickoonite · · Score: 5, Informative

    VLC, IIRC, uses the superb FFMPEG library for MPEG4-compatible-encoded video playback. Thus it is, fortunately, unaffected by this little bit of evilness.

    VLC, for those unaware, is a superb piece of cross-platform video-playback software, notably allowing region-encumbered DVDs to be played back on different region drives (certainly on Windows, anyway) and playing a load of formats to boot.

    iqu :)

  5. Re:Um, just remove the adware... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    A lot of the divx stuff stops working if you do this, though. What you really need to do is to download the free version that has the adware removed properly

  6. Uhm, it's MPEG4.. by flocto · · Score: 5, Informative

    DivX 4/5 ist MPEG4 compliant, so you don't need the DivX 5 decoder to watch an MPEG4 stream whose creator happened to use the DivX 5 encoder..

  7. Re:What's with the screwy names? by Jaeger · · Score: 5, Informative

    Read the FAQ. If you're too lazy to click:

    Q: Why the name 'Theora?'

    A: Like other Xiph.org Foundation codec projects such as Vorbis or Tarkin, Theora is named after a fictional character. Theora Jones was the name of Edison Carter's 'controller' on the television series Max Headroom. She was played by Amanda Pays.

  8. XviD by Tuxinatorium · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, of course old non-adware versions of the divX codec will still be available for a while, but the point is that there won't be any new non-adware versions except the ones you have to buy.

    XviD is a great alternative, which looks just as good as DivX (About 5mb per minute gets you very good quality if encoded properly. 10mb per minute is near DVD quality.)

    It's completely free and GPL'd, and it's also already very popular, by my estimates its the second most popular codec, behind DivX, for the (ilegal) online distribution of movies and TV shows, unlike Ogg Theora which is completely unheard of fringe experimental codec that no serious group has ever used for a release.

    XviD source code

    Nic's XviD binary (best)

    A divX digest page with links to several other, older XviD binaries

    --
    Repeal the DMCA!