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DIVX is dead
Breakdown was the first to send the word that DIVX is dead. Hooray! Now, I think I might finally be able to get off of their mailing list. And, if you purchased a system before June 16, 1999, you get a 100$ rebate.
Update: 06/16 01:09 by CT : They cite
lack of interest from studios and other retailers. They also say
that most Circuit City consumers bought DivX (they gave away 5 free titles
and the cost difference was almost negligible so I found
that amusing). All I can say
is R.I.P. DivX.
I remember many a moron here posting about how they loved their divx players, and how they'd never die. Care to comment :-)?
Divx is an idea who's time has come.
Sure the implementation was intrusive and flawed but the basic idea was great.
It's rediculous that we are paying $15 for CD's that take $2.50 to produce (with artist royalties.)
It's silly that we undergo this bi-weekly video store ritual with financial penalties if you don't show up.
I would much rather pay $5 for a CD/DVD that I can listen to or view twice. Then I would know if I actually want to invest in the full digital rights.
In my perfect world, if I want full access to the media, I would go to a web page, enter the serial number of my DVD/CD along with my credit card, and the media would automagically be unlocked forever.
But hell, I would pay $5 per movie never to go to blockbuster again (only place to get videos in town, wait is often 10 to 15 minutes long to check out). Forget about unlocking the dang thing. (yes I can do pay-per-view, but then I have a limited selection and am time bound)
Instant pole (put your answer in the subject to preserve bandwidth. ie. 1: Y 2: N, or Jar Jar Sucks.
Would you pay $5 for a DVD you could view twice?
1. (assuming no phone line monitoring, selfcontained system, no credit card involved, and for this pole forget about "unlocking it" convinience here is the issue, no late fees, buy it in june watch it in august if you want, PLUS you get a great coaster afterwords)
2. How about $3 a CD you can listen to twice?
Be Happy or Not..
Does this mean we'll see Star Trek 1-9 come out on DVD then? Actually it may have but I thought I read somewhere Paramount planned on only releasing DIVX titles.
Are you sure importing DVDs from other regions is illegal? Certainly, many of us in the UK import region 1 discs from the US and Canada because they're cheaper and there are many more titles available on R1 than on R2. It's not illegal in the UK to do this.
Of course, we have to get round the region coding on our players too. But there are several companies that will do the modifications, and selling modified players isn't illegal either.
Yeah, and I bet I can find someone who doesn't
think DIVX is dead either. Face it, in todays society, Minidiscs, Laser Discs, etc are ALL dead. DVD is the man.
Word em up! Hooray!
Vinyl's far from dead...on a good direct drive turntable, with a descent needle and some fine speakers, the quality of vinyl is far superior to digital sound - wider sound spectrum, warmer tone, etc...
My 1200's are indesturctible, and once the record gets a little worn in and you start hearing that beautiful crackling sound it actually improves the music!!
Digital gets the gas face!
The point is, DIVX players are more expensive than DVD players and offer LESS features. Sure, they play DVD movies, but at lesser quality and without the added features.
You keep comparing it to renting movies, but you don't have to buy a special VCR that plays "regular" tapes at lesser quality (It'd only play the rented videos with higher quality).
Now do you see the silliness? And how lazy can society get that people are too lazy to go to Blockbuster. And to think, people wonder why Americans are so out of shape *chuckles*
I've always understood dead media to be defined roughly as "media that is no longer being produced, or no longer in any appreciable usage."
So:
LD - Not dead. New titles are still being released. Frequently, these titles are not (yet) available on DVD. This is slowly changing, but there's bound to be a great deal of older titles that won't make it to DVD for a while yet.
Vinyl - Absolutely not dead. New titles are still being released. This actually surprises me a bit every time I walk in to Tower and see new vinyl. Of course, I never really had a high-end turntable to get the most of of this format, but I understand the arguments for its "superiority"
Beta - Not dead. True, none of the studios release new titles, but it's still in widespread usage commercially, and I can STILL go to Target and get blank tapes (freaky).
MD - Not dead. New titles, new media, and (thankfully) new hardware are all still being made available. Its future is pretty clouded in the face of MP3, but it still lives.
8-Track - Dead. No argument here.
But, to see some of the postings here, if we count any media that's not the most popular as dead, we're gonna have to count audio cassettes and floppy diskettes as dead, and that just ain't so... yet.
I think that everyone who bought a DIVX player in the past few months (or whatever the warranty period is) should just take the piece of crap back to Cirtcuit Shitty and get ALL they're money back. Screw this $100 refund. Trade it in for a real DVD player.
If anyone gives them trouble, dropping the words "class action lawsuit" might clear things up.
I don't advocate wild lawsuits... but I am all for empty threats.
Well, I don't own one of these things, but from what I gather is that even if you have bought the disc for life, the player still has to contact the server when you stick in a movie and if there is no contact, won't work. My guess is that they're taking down the server in two years, which leaves you high and dry for divx discs.
Side note: Is there any truth to the rumour that the divx players play DVDs at lower quality??
That would be fine if you could buy every movie on DVD and Divx. Then, I wouldn't have a problem with Divx. Problem is, Divx marketed itself as an either - or type format. Studios that released movies on Divx didn't release them on DVD. Personally, the "rental" aspect of Divx was sound, but I thought the whole "buying" was terribly flawed. As we see, all those that bought Divx discs didn't really "own" anything.
for the DVD spec book. The number of patents, licenses, and such, is also a problem.
I went to Circuit City (closest store to me) to get a DVD player, and Divx is all the salesperson could talk about. I tried to present him with the facts, and he couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't like divx. End result, Good Guys got my money.
Da da da da!!! Dancin' on DIVX's grave! Ya da da! (*stomp*) (*twist*) La la la la! Laugin' at Circuit Shitty! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Can you taste the glee, friends!
Heh, imagine everyone running out to buy the remaining stock of divx players in a short period of time. I can see the headlines now:
"Due to renewed interest in the divx format, CC has decided to launch an all new divx campaign. All major producers have signed divx-only agreements!"
Awwwwwww... CRAP!
When i first started researching about DVD and DIVIX, i actually had to check to see if this DIVIX thing was real, or just a joke/idea someone had, DIVIX would have to be the stupidest idea anyone ever came up with, its the kind of thing you might see in a SCI FI big brother related movie, stupid stupid stupid stupid idea, im glad its dead i hope the law people who thought it up suffer for trying to impose such a standard, mind you a standard they diddnt even create only tried to dominate.
I am sooooo happy its dead.
I'm up to over 100 CDs on a plank of plywood, each one elevated uniquely so as to focus the sun's light all to a single point on the metal hotplate above. I've cooked pots of rice and made tea with the cooker! Unfortunately I have no DIVX discs to add to the cooker. Never bought one.
'Roger Rabbit' is (or at least was) readily available on Laserdisc. I know; I have a copy.
So you are saying you are one of those morons then huh?
:-)
Hey, my belt-driven Lesa PR6 with its 3 Kg platter still works
and sounds great. And it even plays those old 78's.
I'm really happy with my Panasonic A310. Has all the standard features like onboard 5.1, jog / shuffle, etc. There's a newer model out that includes DTS decoding (mine just has outputs for DTS). Picture / sound quality, needless to say, is excellent.
Not only that, but I just saw a Circuit City television ad one or two days ago that trumpeted the desirability of DVD players with DIVX compatibility. Methinks they try to unload useless stock on an unsuspecting public to cut their losses.
Sorry, I couldn't resist
**What DIVX offers is an improved rental mode**
Pardon me, but I believe you meant to say
"What DIVX offerED WAS"
:-)
How about the Austin Texas location near 183 and 360? I'll be there ROTFLMAO at all the worthless DIVX players. I wonder if they will try to push it on me now?
Get a Toshiba SD-3109. REALLY nice player, and the picture quality is top-notch.
Raymond
Really, I did.
Not that I owned one, or would ever think
of doing so. But without DIVX, what
do I have to interrogate the Circuit Shitty
sales force with? It gave me such great material,
I shall miss it. Sigh.
L750 videocassettes recorded up to 4.5 hours in BIII mode. There were also cassettes with a longer recording time but they weren't much longer and didn't become as popular.
Commercially available movies were usually on a cassette with shorter record time and used a faster speed for higher quality, similar to commercial movies on VHS using SP instead of EP.
I don't recall many movies needing two cassettes, no more than VHS anyways.
This is my favorite part too, but what really makes me grin is the part about most of CC customers who wanted DVD buying one with the "DIVX option". Not only did DIVX push this with a national ad campaign, but they practically hid the Open DVD machines or only carried crap in their stores. DVD only sales far outstripped DIVX machine sales. CC basically threw away any money they could have made on cheaper DVD machines. I'm almost weeping thinking how much money they lost on this.
Is there a limit to how long you can wait before getting your refund. Surely they're not going to let people watch silvered movies until May of 2001 and still give them refunds? Could you silver all of your disks, watch them endlessly, and then get your money back thus paying no fees between now and 2001?
Isaac
The 'strong customer support' came from the fact you couldn't buy a non-DIVX player at Circuit City anymore. I went to buy a DVD player in January 1999 at CC, and ended up buying a open box floor model because it was the only non-DIVX enabled player left in the store.
BTW, that 'floor model DVD player' works like a champ. No complaints there.
You can fast-forward 8-tracks, just can't rewind them. The 4 programs makes life w/o rewind easier though.
Also I wouldn't say Beta was dramatically beter (at least not consumer based beta.) Maybe a little better but not dramatically.
My friend's Dad was a big Beta freak. Had VCRs back in the early to mid 70's. Originally, you could store much more on a VHS tape than a Beta one. Then they lengthened the tapes and slowed down the speed, etc to the point where you could record a couple hours. But the original single speed decks could only do one hour per tape, as I recall.
This difference was a bigger selling point to the average consumer than the oh-so-slightly better quality Beta had to offer over VHS. So VHS won.
There is a God!!!!!
Perhaps the American Public isn't as dumb as they say!
Only shame about it is that someone didn't hack it first and get $3 movies out of this scam.
I have an A110. Great player. Definately would recommend upgrading to an AC-3 receiver though. My wife (very reluctant at first of my little home theater project) now actually prefers to watch movies at home than in the theater!! The A110 along with my 30ES is a great little combination. There is only one minor problem though... (besides the fact that it won't play CD-R, but a lot of DVD players won't. Most, including the A110, will play CD-RW however.) For some reason it doesn't play the first couple of seconds of an audio CD after it is first put in. You can "skip" to the beginning of the CD and it will play fine though.
Anybody else notice this problem?
Also, with places like netflix.com, DIVX really had no chance...
-AC
This toilet enhanced with divx...
Digital formats are still in the early adoption stages in most places. Sure, the big three networks probably use it for most things by this point. But, your local channel affiliates haven't yet converted their entire operation over to digital format. It's more of an investment than just the decks and cameras. All of the equipment has to handle the digital stream or else you end up going through a DAC and heading back to Betacam SP format.
3/4" is pretty much on the outs, but BetacamSP is still the predominant format in most broadcast houses these days.
Oh yeah. Tons of porn. It seems to be the only reason multiple angle views were included...
Intead of minidisk why not get a cd rw? You get cd
sound (it IS a cd) and you can rewrite cd rw. If
you do cd recordable then you don't have to get
a special player (just use the cd player you have
already.) And if you get one for your computer
you can make cd-roms.
I can't wait for DVD-ram!!!!
Betamax: Actually dramatically superior to VHS in most respects. Killed by awesome marketing by the VHS camp (and Sony keeping the beta format so closed).
You know, often the PC vs. Mac war reminds me of VHS vs. Beta.
It doesn't look like the Mac is headed the way of Betamax yet, but in five or ten years, you don't know... The Mac costs more, and has less software. VHS gave you better value for your money (longer tapes == more recording time, and videotapes were expensive in the early '80s), and had more vendors. PCs cost less, have a larger user base, and have more software.
The iMac might have sold well, but what next? Clone vendors will spread the format around and offer better deals, and create stronger competition for the opposing format. This helped VHS and hindered Beta. What's wrong with Apple?
So since when is calling people Morons not a troll, but calling them a banana hole is? These ratings suck!
I have a DVD-RAM you can get them from creative labs for one. 5.2 GB disks for $30. They are very cool. I can even read them under linux with the UDF driver someone is writing.
I was uninformed and ignorant of DIVX until I walked
into CC and the clerk started to explain it to me.
After listening to his sails pitch for 10 minutes
I was convinced that DIVX was a really stupid ideaa.
My gf was with me and she said she thought it was
pretty stupid too.
TCI uses the phone line to transfer your
pay-per-view info. I wouldn't be surprised
if they transfer other stuff, but since I'm
not concerned about who knows what I watch on
TV, I've never worried about it.
Uh... Please, don't confuse the issue. Broadcast TV does *NOT* use BetaMAX, they use BetaSP. Yes, still made by Sony, but there is a world of difference (in picture, and in price).
Sorry - Not quite. BetaSP is a semi pro format used primarily by field journalists. The tape format used for broadcast is 1 inch beta. This has little relation to the BetaMax tapes used by the old home recorders. The only real advantage of the betamax players over VHS is their ability to do better edits. Not really an advantage in a home system. They actually had a slightly lower line resolution than VHS.
In professional studios alaogue formats have been replaced by digital tape formats like DII and Beta Digital.
Spindizzy - AC @ Work
PT Barnum is spining in his grave! He was wrong, now someone HAS lost money by under-estimating the intelligence of the American public (and i thought it couldn't be done...)
Here's a good idea. Every DivX owner, go to CC store where you purchased the machine, and DEMAND five actual DVD movies to replace the DivX movies you were given for free, (that will soon no longer work).
Or was a selling point for DivX not those five free DivX movies?
Let me tell you about the time we had a customer return a one-year old computer for full refund because the salesman told her the machine would not go out of date that quick. Or the time I heard of a man who returned a fully-paid for Lexus because it kept having engine trouble.
Now, surely CC can give you five movies for this major fuckup? Here's a tip, absolutely demand you get the movies, you may have to talk/yell at each successive level of management. Where I worked, I was the third level of management. If I could not get the customer happy, and passed them to the next level (General Manager), the GM gave the customer whatever they wanted to be happy.
Most retail stores implement 3-4 levels of management before you get whatever you want to make you happy. Work the system.
Go for it!
Some other ideas for requests:
-full refund
-new DVD-only machine (to replace poor-quality Divx DVD playback)
-ten DVD movies
Don't let businesses screw customers.
Circuit City pushed DIVX like there was no tomorrow. It was quite disgusting. Their sales people would show DIVX players if you asked to see a DVD player or sometimes even a VCR. And, at least at my hometown Circuit City, every single computer in the store had a screensaver saying "ASK ABOUT DIVX!" (of course it had a password... ;)
2^5
However, you can tape DVD->Beta, and not get Macrovision troubles, which is cool.
-----------
-----------
100% pure freak
If you ever want some proof A/B a DVD disc from a good DVD player and the same disc on the same good television (sony xbr or equivalent to be sure it's OBVIOUS, not just visible) on a DivX player and you can easily tell which you're watching through
Alex Bischoff
---
Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire
- A.P.
--
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
- A.P.
--
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
That happened quicker than I thought it would. Let's hope nobody else tries to get any bright ideas for destroying open standards.
The beta format used widespread in video production houses today, etc. is NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING, like the consumer betamax of the 1980's. While the two formats may have similar names, they aren't the same. For all intents and purposes, the consumer betamax is dead.
Goodbye DIVX and good riddance! May there never be another like it.
I've noticed the members of the pro-DIVX crowd often argue that it beats going to Blockbastard and having to worry about late charges. I don't get this. Doesn't a DIVX disk cost more than a rental? Isn't that like having the late charge built right in?
Also, you gotta be pissed if you 'silvered' your DIVX disk for unlimited viewing and it expires in two years. Doesn't sound very unlimited to me.
VENI! VIDI! VICI!
Posted by jlegacy:
They must have seen your response.... but look at their page again and see the total turn around... gotta love it... back-pedaling dolts....hehehehe
L8R
Posted by My_Favorite_Anonymous_Coward:
What don't they understand is that people need the neat blockbuster house and piles of video paper boxes to work up their appetite. If you don't have to go back to return the tape, then you don't have enough reason to convince yourself that you need a new tape either. There are some titles you never thought you would rent when you are doing the selection at you sofa.
Moral of the story: Foreplay is good, return is good, repeat after me.
CY
Posted by My_Favorite_Anonymous_Coward:
That means Titanic and Star Wars and all that cool Fox movie will be released in DVD.
CY
1.) You buy a DIVX disc for a bit more than the price of a rental.
2.) You "activate" it and watch it.
3.) It expires.
4.) If you want to watch it again, you can "rent" it again at a later date. If not, it makes a stylish
coaster.
1) That's not good. Besides, mom and pop video rental is a lot cheaper than DivX/Blockbuster. Nobody goes to blockbuster to rent tape unless he/I want a really rare one.
4) Just image storing piles of old useless CDs at your home at you can't throw out. It's not a problem if it's Maltese Falcon or such, it's the stupid Godzilla/Batman and Robin/Speed2/*Silver*/hook/Flubber/ that you rent on a soulless afternoon that giving you headache. Oh yeah it's not a problem if you are a neat person. But a lot of people aren't.
Basically DIvX is an all around bad idea, it introduce stupid multiple choise to consumer.
cy
In terms of being a consumer friendly product, LD is to DVD what DVD is to DIVX.
DVD has the region coding, which means that I can't buy Japaneese imported DVD's and play them without brakin' the law, and they also have the macro encoding, which even if you don't want to make illegal copies is inconvienient if you don't have enough inputs on your TV, and need to use the ones on your VCR.
I can also get LD's really cheap now because all the fools are replacing their whole collections with DVD's. There are also many many titles which are on LD but will never see the light of DVD, at least not any time soon.
"Remember, there never were pineapple-almond cookies here."
On July 1, 2001, DIVX will be a dead format. Perhaps the only dead format, but it will be dead dead dead dead dead.
"Remember, there never were pineapple-almond cookies here."
You mean CED's? I almost bid on one of those that some damn fool listed in the LD section on eBay. Receiving a CED when expecting an LD would have pissed me off more then when I got my Ranma 1/2 LD with an unmentioned hole punch in the jacket.
"Remember, there never were pineapple-almond cookies here."
Well, given that a DVD player isn't much more than a VCR, and Wal-Mart and Costco sell DVD movies, I think the necessary "critical mass" is there to consider DVD a viable format for producing movies.
As for Disney, just take a look at recent releases: A Bug's Life, Mighty Joe Young, The Parent Trap.... I don't think there's any danger that they (or any other studio) are going to drop DVD just because DIVX died a much-deserved death.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. -- Pablo Picasso
You could always use The Force to return them, though, right? And what about Jedi mind control?
"Sir you have five dollars in late fees."
"No, I have no late fees due."
"Sir, you have no late fees due. Have a nice day."
Consumers choose DIVX? Maybe it was because the salespeople at Circuit City would flat out lie about DIVX. They would sing its praises and if you asked them the right questions, such as whether you could watch the movie at a friends house, they would either lie or change the subject. I actually did this a couple times just to see what they would say. I hate morally bankrupt salespeople. DIVX deserved to fail and I hope Circuit City took a good hit to the wallet.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
I found these statements very remarkable:
1) That all existing discs can be viewed only for the next two years, and (even more so)
2) That "upgraded" discs ALSO have that limit!
So it sounds like there's an "end of the world" switch built into DIVX, or else there's a fair bit of remote reprogramming that can be done on those things. Not Very Nice.
The press release says it all. Disks that were upgraded to silver will still play until Sept. 2001.
The 'Silver upgrade was advertised as a 'purchase', and was to last forever.
The other factor is that a 'Silver' disk only works on your own machine, take it to a friend's house, and you have to pay the rental fee. OTOH, pay the same amount for a DVD, and watch it anywhere. If the company you bought it from folds up tomorrow: still watch it anywhere.
There were also issues of quality, and the DivX encoding wouldn't allow for alternate audio, and various other extras that DVD can have.
Then there's the millions of plastic disks going into the landfills since you only wanted to rent, not own that particular movie.
Other than that, it was great.
Im thinking post-apocalyptic.. as long as i am able to keep a working TV and DVD player around and salvage some car batteries or a generator and a bit of mcguyvering I can entertain myself with my DVD movies indefinatly.... I hardly think DIVX would make it a priority to continue service in the wake of global thermonuclear war... just a thought :)
http://notanumber.net/
This argument actually references the "PC's are dead" topic.
Why the fsck would I (or anyone) want to pay-per-use across the internet to an Adobe Software server for Photoshop, rather than simply buy the CD, and install it on my local HD, and use it on a non-internet-connected machine?
That whole scheme is doomed to failure.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
okay, so what?
Blockbuster can have their little database of how many times I've rented Blade Runner, or that time I kept The Truman Show two days past the due-date.
But I'd be an idiot to rent porno from Blockbuster anyway. There's other video rental stores than Blockbuster, there's still lots of little mom-n-pop shops that don't keep a national centralized database.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Our local Hollywood video did it the other way around, much more beneficial.
$3.50 for a movie, 5-day rental.
If you return it within 24 hours, you get a $1.00-off coupon.
Now THAT'S an improved rental model!!
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Most likely people who believed the circuit city salespeople, or who REALLY wanted to see a movie that only came on DIVX format.
I think on my lunch break I'll go down to circuit city and point and laugh!
Ha ha.
--
Too late, I tried it at home. The stench lasted for weeks...
"Be nice, veer left, and never stop thinking" Iain Banks - Walking On Glass
An ounce of prevention saves a pound of cure, eh? Check out the press release:
All Divx discs, including those previously purchased by
consumers and those remaining in retailer inventories, can be viewed on
registered players anytime between now and June 30, 2001.
The significance of this cannot be overlooked. This is empirical proof that any system that places consumer property under the access control of a remote body can, will, and just did repossess control of those goods, despite the (promised!) expectations of the customer.
Told you so.
The Geek Community was quite clear on this: DiVX gives corporations excessive control over the viewing habits of customers, and was generally an awful idea. Truly, we have the media outlets and electronic stores--corporations in their own right--to thank for realizing the inevitable result of any technically dependant system such as DiVX and protecting as many consumers as possible from what the Geeks always recognized as Bad Mojo.
What can we learn from this? SDMI--the MP3 competitor--is flat out doomed to fail if it attempts any sort of protection dependant on contacting anyone anywhere for permission to play a song.
After decades of ripping off artists, lets hope they don't move onto ripping off consumers. (Again. Spoiler Signal What?)
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
effugas@best.com
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend.
...I knew Divx would not stay in the market for too long. Lesson learned? \begin{mode}{RMS from Hell}The proprietary technology is no match for the superiority of open standards. Muhahahahahhahahahahaha....\end{mode}
Actually, the idea of divx was buy a DIVX disk at a reduced price instead of renting a movie. Then each additional time you watch it, you pay for it again.
So it's like rentals, but you never have to return the item.
Maybe an ok idea in concept, but horrible in practice. Expecially if someone keeps playing the same movie over and over at your house without knowing that you'd be paying for it (amoung other problems)
Make a trip to Best Buy or a Virgin Megastore before you say silly stuff like that. There's a LOT of DVD stuff out there.
CD's or DIVX disks look cool after a couple seconds of microwaving. The charge buildup rips nice patterns through the aluminum. No, this didn't (apparently) harm my microwave.
Last night on CNN Headline news, I saw another one of those DIVX commercials. Has anyone told them to stop? Its the commercial with this guy who has so many facial expressions why you should buy divx and only divx can play divx movies. When are they going to give it up?
I have the collector's edition of Fantasia on LD which has a hole punched in it. It was in the "clearance rack" at a store that was clearing out of some of their LD stock a few years back. All clearance items were marked in such a was so as to denote no-return.
At least they were smart enough to take the contents outside of the box before putting the whole in it. The extra's(picture book, etc) would not have survived the drill very well :-)
I've been picking up movies on Laser Disk(LD) for $5-7 a piece.
A couple comments on LD and DVD
* Resolution comparision based on NTSC. For NTSC, all images have 525 lines of vertical resolution. Horizontal resultion varies with the source material: VHS=240, Broadcast=330, LD = 420, DVD = 480. Resolution information from Secrets of Home Theater.
You may be thinking of the DIVX disc quality, rather than the player; most discs didn't support Dolby Digital 5.1, widescreen, angle changes, or any of the other good stuff the regular DVD's do.
None of the things you mentioned are in the same league as DiVX. Save for 8-track, all are still in common use.
DiVX was never a format. Even 8 tracks enjoyed a few years of market share and lots of software. DiVX had neither, and thank your preferred deity for that.
This sig washed every five years whether it needs it or not!
| Yeah, and the best thing about beta is that it
| is completely unaffected by macrovision!
You'd see the same thing with many old VHS VCRs (and some new ones).
-- Rick
Sometimes bad technology ideas actually lose!!!
Today's English Lesson: Oxymorons
Sanity.html - Error 404 not found
Its a shame Beta never became a home theatre standard in the US.
It'd kick ass to be able to go rent Matrix at blockbuster, take it to the studio, make a copy on one of the $20,000 decks, and add it to my collection.
Now I gotta get the vcd, convert the mpg to a mov for better playback on the G3, then just copy it on VHS or SVHS, doesn't matter though, by now its already what, 4th generation?
Earn cash in your spare time! Blackmail your friends!
Good friend of mine works(worked? i dont know anymore) for Circuit City. All he used to do was spew about how great it was, how it would crush DVD. all DVD players would be useless soon, because they would only be releasing movies on Divx. They were basically brainwashing him.
I wonder if he'll believe me now.
Hi,
;)
Get the A120 and upgrade your receiver to DD. You want DD in the receiver for neat future stuff like digital TV broadcasting with AC-3 sound. The A120 also features DTS (I _like_ DTS audio discs) and component video out.
I've got the A110 and I love it, though I suppose when I go to the FPTV I'll need component..
And yeah, Panasonic kicks some serious ass, their stuff is helluva tough... (loving my A110 + 32SF35)
Yeah, and the best thing about beta is that it is completely unaffected by macrovision! For awhile we were stuck with a TV that did not have a composite input, only a VHF one. This meant the DVD had to be sent through the VCR. The (VHS) VCR would pick up the macrovision and the picture would fade in and out. Replaced it with a beta machine, and voila the problem was gone :)
Hmm... BetaMax & MiniDisc are not exactly dead...
They might be in the consumer area, but aren't in the commercial area.
Hmm... the Blockbuster video stores here in San Diego are renting DVDs...
Are Porn movies coming out on DVD yet? If so, then DVD will NOT die...
Minidisc is *huge* in radio. The CD recording quality and ability to erase and re-write is quite attractive to promo creators.
Digital cable sucks, too. Until I can run the cable through a splitter to my VCR and TV, and watch and tape different things, I'm sticking with analog.
(Fortunately, there was that FCC thing a while back which was supposed to have opened the way for TVs and VCRs to include tuners for digital cable, so there is hope.)
GOOD RIDDANCE!
That about sums up my feelings on Divx.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
The message just wasn't registering within the ranks of the Divx-victims till now.
Let's face it. Inferior video quality, fewer features, less support, completely proprietary to one company, HAS to be hooked up to your phone, gives that company complete access to your credit card, viewing habits, etc.
It couldn't be worse if it was come up with by a bunch of suits and their lawyers!
...........
Waitaminute! It WAS thought up by a bunch of suits and their lawyers! No wonder it sucked so bad!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Reread the article. The cutoff date is today.
Plus, I'm not going to burn my hard-earned cash on a dying horse like Divx, just so I can tell people I got a $100 back. That's like buying a Pinto so you can sue Ford after getting rear-ended and blown into the next area code (in little, itsy, bitsy pieces).
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
It's not shown on www.bandivx.com yet, either. Not everyone in the technology/computer/internet fields read /. regularly (though they should).
We are the music makers. We are the dreamers of the dreams.
Thank Goodness.
Christopher A. Bohn
cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?
The other problem with this is that it could have killed honest-to-goodness sales of DVD movies. Ranks right up there with leasing software.
Christopher A. Bohn
cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?
Ran into the same problem. I've been tempted to buy cork paper & glue cork to the CDs and actually sell CD-ROM coasters. Never got around to it. Anyone who has the gumption to give this a try has my blessing to steal my idea. As long as I get a free sample. (I have no way to verify this -- you're on the honor system :-)
Christopher A. Bohn
cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?
Now that the war is over I hope that more people will take advantage of dvd's. But I won't get one for my tv until Star Wars comes out on it. That may not happen for awhile I'm afraid... Well it's on my pc so it's not such a big loss
---
I know quite a few people who have purchased an MD player in the last few weeks. It is really starting to take off. If only there were more bands available on pre-recorded formats. But, I have a CD player with fiber-optic out and now can make copies of CDs (Or even better, MDs with ONLY the songs that I want to listen to!!) all with digital copying.
:)
I think it is just beginning. We Americans are just a bit slow!
Does anyone know what will happen concerning the titles that were to be coming out in the next few months that were going to be DIVX Only, an example being The Thin Read Line from Disney. What message will the studios get from this, especially those that were supporting DIVX? Will they say, "DIVX was going no where anyway, time to seriously invest in DVD" or will they take it like, "Well, DIVX is done. Maybe this means theres not enough stability here and we should back off of DVD as well." How's the industry likley to react to this?
"Discs can no longer be upgraded to unlimited viewing, known as Divx Silver. Customers who have converted discs to Divx Silver can continue viewing the discs until June 30, 2001, or can receive a full refund of the conversion price at their request."
So when they said unlimited what they really meant was 'for as long as we feel appropriate'. We (and when I say we I mean 'them' who acutually bought this stuff) come out relitivly unscathed 'cause the whole deal fell apart so quickly. If Circuit City stopped supporting DIVX in 10 years time would i still get a refund on my 'unlimited' silver edition? Yeah right. But more telling - even when 'unlocked' silver divx needs to run home to momma for authorization? Sure it was unlimted but we were still tracking you - so there.
Of course - now it's dead and we can gloat but next time? Trick me once shame on you...
AdamT
... with eskimo chains i tatto my brain all the way...
Minidisc is far from dead. Actually, it never was dead, it just took a long time to start to gain acceptance in the United States due to poor pricing policy on the part of Sony. A year and a half ago, you couldn't get an American-version of a Sony Minidisc player/recorder (at the time, Sony was the only manufacturer making North American localized Minidisc equipment. Sharp started up about a year ago, and now everyone's in the market.) for under $500. Now you can get a portable player and a home player/recorder deck for that much.
Now the big question is this: Since Divx is dead, will Eisner finally remove his cranium from his rectum and release Di$ney movies on standard DVD? I was pissed when they announced that "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" would be a Divx-only release.
"2) Running phone line to my home theatre is an unnecessary hassle. "
You have to have this for digital cable in
my market. Calls to TCI did not result in
straight answers.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
I'm glad that the divx confusion will die down in the near future. I just wish I could afford a dvd player right now!
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
Consider this. Divx players are fully featured DVD players, right? Circuit city is going to have to liquidate their stock of divx players SOMEHOW, so they'll most likely drop the price by at least the $100 that they're offering in rebates. Why not buy one? You're no longer supporting a proprietary format that sucks, so buy it for the DVD features, and save $100+. Too bad I just bought a REAL DVD player on saturday. The conversation at circuit city was great...
Divx monkey : "Ah, sir... I see you're interested in DVD players..." Me: "Uh huh." Divx monkey : "Can I interest you in a player featuring our div..." "Stop right there. Mention DIVX one more time, and I leave the store." As it turned out, the guy agreed with me on divx, and admitted to pushing it because circuit city told him to. We spent about five minutes bashing it, and in the end I bought a bunch of DVDs, too. Gotta boost the guy's commission.
-- Minds are like parachutes... they work best when open.
I don't like DIVX, but I'm not going to boycott the store for selling one shoddy product. Their prices are good, their salespeople are friendly, (except when pushing divx,) and (most importantly,) the nearest circuit city is about .25 miles from my front door.
-- Minds are like parachutes... they work best when open.
- Grind into dust. Sell as New Age Crystal Aphrodesiac.
- Perpetrate UFO hoax.
- High-tech grinding attachment for dremel tool.
- Clay pigeons
- Mail them to little Timmy, who needs an operation.
- Glue to floor of nasty abandoned warehouse. Open nightclub.
- Very expensive horseshoes.
- Slip onto cellphone antenna for stylish retro-50's radiator look.
- Glue to forehead, go to costume party as ER doctor.
- Purchase universal remote. Now that you have a Record button, tape over them (oh come on, how do you think the signal go there in the first place?).
- Hang them on your office wall. Pretend you're Paul McCartney.
JonAll opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
Other than Disney and a few other DIVX holdouts, most new movies head to DVD within a few weeks of tape release. Get with it.
Even the X Files movie came out on DVD -- albeit with no fanfare at all.
The Death of DIVX. Proof that the Technology Gods are watching over us.
D.
ELITISM: It's always lonely at the top. Uninvited company is rarely welcome.
Well, suppose you don't have a BlockBuster card, and you pay cash to buy movies. After all, many of them nowadays don't cost more than a few days rental.
If you used DivX, even "buying" movies (aka getting DivX Silver) would still register your purchase with a central database. If new movies were then released only in DivX, you wouldn't have a choice but to sacrifice your privacy in order to view those films.
And, to make matters worse, even "DivX Silver" is hooked to the serial number of your player. So if you bought a new player a couple of years down the road, you'd have to purchase your "silver" disks again.
Finally, with DivX going away, those "silver" discs will cease to function on June 30, 2001. So buying DiviX Silver was a risk (which has now proven to be a bad one).
Hope that helps. A bad idea, implemented poorly.
D
----
Anyone else notice the smaller and smaller ads for DIVX in the Circuit City flyers in the Sunday paper? The shrinking ad space was, I think, Circuit City's own realization that they'd goofed on DIVX.
I, for one, am glad to see a company back away from a marketing blunder.
Can anyone think of other companies that we'd like to see do the same?
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
This is exactly the opposite reason they gave for killing Divx. They *said* the consumers loved it, but that the studios wouldn't support it.
War is Peace...
-- Don't Tase me, bro!
But they gave you the option of "buying" the disk "forever" (or 2001, whichever comes first). Of course, even if you bought it "forever", it would only work on that single player. You couldn't take it to a friends house and watch it, unless you didn't mind paying again. Heaven help you if your player ever needed to be replaced.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
-- Don't Tase me, bro!
That's the fake-fan site that was registered suspicously close to Circuit City's HQ.
-- Don't Tase me, bro!
Comparable to DiVX...
DCC - Digital Compact Cassette. Released same time as Minidisc, and caused format doubt. Only since it died has Sony jumped back behind the MD and started pushing it big time. MD took awhile to bloom because of the uncertainty over which would survive, MD or DCC.
I hated DCC. Sequential access? Blah.
Here's why:
http://www.hom.net/~wayneb/pros-cons- divx.htm
Laser Disc is alive and well. Perhaps you are thinking of those RCA Video Discs which were played with a needle?
--
Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
I probably don't have much to add to what everyone
.)
else has said so far so let me just do this:
::STOMP STOMP STOMP::
DIVX
It was fun stomping on its grave. A more well-deserved death I haven't seen since
Dahmer was killed. (OK, maybe that's going
a bit far, but from a DVD fan's POV. .
-Augie, giddy
What a stupid thing to say..
Thats like saying 'No one will ever eat apples or oranges again, in todays society we all drive cars...
Uh dUh, DVD LD comparison is valid but MDDVD? Guess you don't know what a MD is.
Must be a Linux user...Bashing what he doesnt understand.
Love my A310, picked it up for a song and a danceat CostCo a few weeks ago.
Make sure your tuner is can handle the Digital signal, sure, RCA audio is nice but damn if that Optical cable doesnt make all the difference in the world.
"End of the world" switch?
Nothing that complicated. If the phone bank that they dial into for pay-for-play approval goes offline, then there's no way to get authorization to play their movies.
Obviously, they're not going to want to keep it running, spending the overhead and such on it, if there's no possibility of future profit out of it. They'd probably just as soon kill it right now if the public outcry didn't outweigh the money they'd save.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
I have a friend who has minidiscs, and uses them for recording and listening to MP3s. They hold a lot more than the Rio, he's fond of saying, and you can swap the media. Also, Sony still puts out albums on minidisc.
I'm into Modern Western Square Dancing, and most square dance callers use minidisc players, too. They're handy for carrying their music around with them in case they should be at a square dance and asked to guest call a tip or two.
I've also heard a rumor that the PSX II will use minidiscs instead of memory carts as its save medium, though I'm not sure how much credence to put into that. Would be neat if it were true, though.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
There's plenty of software for it now.
:)
1) Software the First: Look at all the thousands of CD-ROM titles out there. (Yes, DVD-ROMs still do play legacy CD-ROMs...) Why, I even got two (Zork: Grand Inquisitor and an unabridged multimedia encyclopedia) bundled with my Sony 5x/Hollywood + combo. At $170 for the whole deal, that's not bad at all--when you split the costs, that's barely more than you'd pay for a fast CD-ROM these days--and the Sony reads CDs at 32x, too.
2) Software the Second: Didn't you hear that all DVD movies are now referred to as "software"? So there are already several thousand more DVD software titles out there now.
At any rate, according to the DVD FAQ, various CD-ROM manufacturers have announced they are or will be phasing out manufacturing new CD-ROM drives with the DVD along to replace it. In a few years, CD-ROM software packagers will probably follow suit. So, you'll probably need one sooner or later anyway...why not now?
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
I would suggest a DVD-ROM rather than, or in addition to, a DVD for the following reasons:
:)
1) Sooner or later, you'll need one anyway, as software gradually migrates to DVD.
2) If you get the right one, you can disable Macrovision and region-lockout.
3) The ability to watch movies on your computer even when someone else wants to use the TV is just plain neat.
I've heard some people complain about how the picture sucks if you're watching it on a monitor, but I haven't seen that--in fact, it looks better than on my TV set.
Just something to consider.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
The thing is, Blockbuster (and other rental chains and stores) utterly abhorred DIVX. Why? Because it would have put them out of business (or at least put a substantial dent in it). Re-rental fees would go directly to the DIVX people, not to them.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
Now if I could figure out how to use a PC DVD to play movies and output the signal over to my TV, I'd be set. ;-)
Well, the Hollywood + decoder card has an SVHS-out jack in it, and comes with an SVHS-to-composite converter jack. Works fine for my TV...you might need to invest in extension cables depending on how far away it is from your computer.
As for Linux support...well, in Linux it still works as a CD-ROM, and I have a Windows partition for games anyway. YMMV.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
Some, including myself, might argue on a couple of your points.
1: Vinyl vs. CDs.
While CDs are unarguably more popular, they're still digital. Real music buffs can buy and enjoy what I consider to be the highest quality of analog recording, vinyl. To see what I mean, get Eagles "Hotel California" on Vinyl, CD, and Tape. Listen and then you'll hear what i mean.
2: Betamax vs. VHS
Betamax did lose to VHS, but it wasn't erradicated all together. Most TV programs and commercials still use a modernized Betamax cassette and player.
I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going.
So, will the RIAA consider the failure of DIVX, a proprietary recording format that offered little or no benefit to consumers over an established format, as they try to come up with an MP3-killer? I believe that unless they can convince every digital audio player manufacturer to go along with their SDMI plans (including rumored MP3-crippling schemes), consumers will choose the format that best meest their needs.
Weblogging Considered Harmful:
Circut City has ditched DIVX ( and it's about time, too ). There was no computer support for DIVX ( I couldn't buy a drive for it and pop it in my machine ). And, though cheaper if you didn't want a movie forever, it was still more expensive than it should have been. Someone pointed to Betamax as a standard that failed. It DIDN'T! Beatmax is still *heavily* used in the TV industry. As a matter of fact, most cameras that come off of the production line today are Betamax. I was interested in purchasing a camera with a Betamax drive in it, but the media is insanly expensive ( because, it didn't catch on in the US's home viewing market ). Betamax should have become the new standard of the 80's, but it failed due to lack of financial backing from big companies. I would like everyone to know that I watch quite a few movies that I copy from LaserDisc/DVD to Beta and they look *GREAT* ( and yes, I pay for the movies. My LaserDisc and DVD players suck ). Anyway, down with DIVX, up with DVD! ( It was about time. ) Sorry, Curcuit City guys.
aÍÍ©ÍÌÍ£Ì'̽ͩÌÍzÍYÌÍÌY
Hey, mini-discs aren't dead! They're a great format, it's just that the recording unit is a bit on the expensive side ...
StylishPants.Org - Home of everything that's interesting, and nothing that's not.
I really wonder why people think DIVX is sellable .... when I could watch a movie in theater for $3.75, with all those wild screen, and sound effects which you could never ever be able to get at home with DIVX ...
well ... I'd rather pay a normal rental price for a DVD disc, and return it on time ...
.. can you tell me, why it is good ???
When you got a Divx, you kind of feel like owning something that you don't really own. well the disc is yours, but the data in the disc isn't. pretty cool idea.
Also... Divx player are more expensive ($100), and the price for rental is 1-2 dollars more expensive than normal DVD or VHS rental, in the long term, it's still more expensive.
anyway... itz not a standard...
so
When they expire in 2001, I'll buy them up for a dime - a quarter each including s/h, until I decide I don't want anymore. Email me if you want to get rid of any.
(b) you could put a full length movie onto a single tape
:)
My family bought a Toshiba Beta VCR back in 1981.
We rented lots of full length movies just fine.
I still have a lot of 750 tapes (approx 3.5 hours on slow speed, IIRC) sitting in my parents' basement (with the VCR
So your statement about only VHS fitting movies on a single tape is incorrect, or at least inaccurate.
I still have BladeRunner and Brazil sitting on one of those tapes, somewhere...
Pope
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Broadcast television uses Betacam SP. It's related to Betamax, but it is not the same format.
Basically, when Betamax died Sony reengineered it for broadcast applications and made something that is quite useful.
The whole "don't have to drive back to return it" bit is a nice marketing ploy by CC/DIVX. They never mentioned that you would have to drive A LOT farther to buy the disk in the first place.
With rental I don't have to buy a proprietary VCR/DVD player from a small list of manufacturers and pay more for it. I have much more consumer choice. That is good.
With rental I don't have to provide the rental company with a phone line into my playback device. Yes I have to show some form of ID to rent, but I don't have to invite the company into my house so they can get marketing data from me for EACH AND EVERY TIME I watch a movie. I can control my privacy more. That is good.
With rental I'm not screwed when the company goes tits up and decides to program my playback device to become worthless at a set date. The standards are open, so my purchase is not a short term liability. That is good.
With #1, maybe. I'd rather pay the same price as the rental place ($3 to $4) and just watch it once, but what happens if you're in the middle of watching it and the phone rings or something, or you've gotta leave. Maybe a 1 day viewing period. Movies are so much different from music. Which brings me to question #2.
#2, no way!! Who the hell ever listens to a CD twice? I suppose if you are talking about a preview thing, but with my $3 preview, what's to stop me from making a tape/dat copy? I think music encryption would be tougher than video. Anyway, as far as previewing is concerned, I predict MP3 will take over that realm soon enough. of the last 10 CDs I've bought, I don't think there were any that I didn't think were great. What I generally do now is hunt around for the MP3s of a few of the songs on an album and if there are 2 or 3 I like, then I wait for a sale at CDNOW and get 2 CDs a total of $10 to $15 (I got Metallica and Aerosmith's Toys in The Attic for about $15 with one of their recent sales, for example). I wouldn't pay anything to "preview" a CD, the prices are already exorbitant enough as-is. Well, maybe I'd pay $0.50.
-----BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH-----
Blah.
rooooar
Beta sure seems more hyped now than it ever was when it was alive.
Yes, the original Beta was slightly (not "a LOT") better than VHS in terms of recording quality (resolution). But how good can you get when you're limited by composite NTSC anyway? VHS won out because (a) it was a more open standard (Beta was closely held by Sony), and (b) you could put a full length movie onto a single tape.
The Beta that is used in TV studios and commercial camcorders these days is Digital Beta. Same tape cassette mechanism but a totally different recording technique, and utterly incompatible with the old Beta tape decks. It's the digital aspect that gives it the higher resolution than the old 3/4" UMatic cassettes they used to use (and are still used somewhat).
-- Alastair
What were you doing in there supporting Circuit City anyway if you don't like DIVX?
This announcement is great -- I laugh, ha ha! -- but I'm still not planning on shopping at Circuit City. Not until July 1, 2001, anyway...
(As an ex-military associate of mine is fond of saying, "defeat is in the pursuit". Or as an ex-fighter pilot puts it "don't stop firing when you see smoke, follow him down to the ground". We want to make sure DIVX is not just dead, but is buried, with a large wooden stake through its heart and a bundle of garlic around its neck. To remind others who might come up with similar schemes.)
-- Alastair
What DIVX offers is an improved rental model, where your trips to the video store are cut by more than half.
"Cut by more than half"? How do you figure that?
And in any case, it isn't necessarily true. There are far, far more video rental places than Circuit Sh.., er, Cities. When I return a video I just drop it off in the drive past drop-box, and the video store is on my way to work. No special trip involved. And the rental price is typically about half the price of a DIVX disc, which seems to have the late-return fee built in.
(Or I can rent a movie - VHS or DVD - at my local supermarket and return it next week when I'm back for next week's groceries. Only a buck for the tape, and the DVD rental is still cheaper than buying a DIVX.)
-- Alastair
However, I still think the pricing model is a great idea. No more late fees...
The "great" pricing model just built the usual late fee (and then some) into the initial purchase price of the disc. Unless you're the type that routinely keeps rentals for a couple of weeks past due date, it doesn't win you much. If you usually return rentals on time (easy for me, I drop 'em off on the way to work), it penalizes you.
Around here I can rent two DVD's for a week for what a single DIVX would cost me for 48 hours. Worse than that, if you count mileage to the nearest Circuit City to buy the DIVX.
-- Alastair
The boycott is not just for selling a shoddy product -- there are (a very few) non Circuit City stores around here that sold DIVX and I don't particularly avoid them (besides, if I boycotted every store that ever sold a shoddy product I'd never buy anything) -- it's for designing the stupid thing and pushing it on an ignorant populace. Kind of like a large software company up in Redmond, only worse.
Oh, and as for folks looking for a bargain when they sell off DIVX player back stock, keep in mind that no DIVX player sold on or after today will ever play DIVX discs, because you won't be able to register it (see the news release). (Even if you bought one last week, if you haven't registered it yet you're SOL as far as DIVX discs go.) It'll still play DVDs, but poorly.
-- Alastair
I honestly use AOL CDs as coasters, the only problem is if you get a really cold drink on one, the condensation builds up and goes through the center hole.
But for my desk at work, when I only have coffee/tea, they work great, and make a statement.
It's been fun watching Divx flop around in
its death throes for a while now... At least
it's been put out of its misery.
Yeah, and I like the statements by Sharp saying
that customers "preferred the Divx option" at
their stores. Yeah, and I'm a Chinese fighter
pilot.
--- witty signature
1) Privacy. Needn't say more.
2) Need to connect to a phone to watch a disc.
3) Cannot take disc or player to a friends house.
4) Costs $3 every time you watch it (well, in
a 24 hour period, or whatever)
5) Studios can choose to lock a movie in a later
date. That means you cannot watch a disc you
"own" if the studio decides (it's in the
contract! really!)
6) Inferior compression quality.
7) Pan-and-scam only. No widescreen or 16x9
anamorphic.
8) No special features such as commentary
tracks, trailer, or cut scenes.
9) Not compatible with DVD-ROM drives in PCs.
10) Marketing was all a sham. Circuit City
employees were downright lieing to customers
about the "benefits" of Divx.
11) Some major studios refused to participate
in Divx at all.
12) Some major hardware manufacturers refused
to participate as well.
13) DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER!
--- witty signature
1) I don't rent from Blockbuster. I generally
don't rent at all. That's not my point.
I'm arguing Divx vs. Open DVD, NOT Divx vs.
tape rental.
2) Why should I need a freakin' PHONE to watch
a movie?
3) I want to be able to let a friend borrow a
disc. I want to be able to take my player
elsewhere for a party. I WANT THE FREEDOM,
darn it! I don't want restrictions IF IT'S
MY PLAYER, all right? Is that too much to ask?
4) Again, I'm discussing Divx vx. Open DVD, not
rentals
5) If I buy the disc, it should be mine. Pulling
a video from the shelves is different. I haven't
bought it yet. But, if I buy it, it's mine
forever. NOT SO with Divx. You "buy" the disc.
Watch it for a year. They decide to stop the
movie from being shown, so the disc you "own"
is useless, because the studio won't let you
watch it. COMPLETELY different evil here.
6) VHS is bad. I'm not arguing that.
7) Again, why are you bringing up VHS? It's
like comparing apples to oranges. I'm contrasting
to Open DVD.
8) Again.
9) I'm NOT talking VHS, okay? Sheesh. OpenDVD
discs can play in my DVD-ROM drive. Divx cannot.
10) Bad marketing, or sleazy marketing, usually
is the product of bad products. If the product
is bad, the company realizes it has to spin it
well to sell anything.
11) Some studios saw it was a bad thing from
the start.
12) Like 11.
13) Read 1984. It's scary. Divx was another
step in that direction. Telescreens? Come on.
--- witty signature
Just curious: Do you (Linked List) work for
Curcuit City or something? You seem rather
enthusiastic about the dead format. Or
did you buy a player?
Just curious what motivates you.
--- witty signature
I highly recommend the Sony DSP7000. It does
an excellent job on decompression. There are
many titles that look noticeably better on
my system than on my friend's Panasonic, I
believe it is. Or RCA. One of those. Anyways,
the DSP7000 is a bit more than your average
player, but I think it's worth it. And you
can't beat that cool sliding front panel thing.
Wee!
--- witty signature
You're comparing DIVX and Open-DVD?
WHY?
Because that's what Circuit City was doing in
their marketing! They were very obviously
going after the people that would want to
buy a DVD player, and the salecreeps would
lure them into a Divx purchase, saying it's
like DVD, but "better".
So, don't blame me for comparing the two.
Circuit City did it while trying to market
Divx.
Of course DVD is better. As you said, "Duh."
--- witty signature
Finally, an example of the consumer masses being too inteligent to fall for a horrible idea or product just because it was slickly marketed.
We now have compelling evidence that the public isn't as stupid as some corporations think they are!
My favorite line (probably most people's):
"Sales at participating Divx retailers reflect strong consumer interest in the Divx feature," said Richard L. Sharp, chairman and chief executive officer of Digital Video Express and of Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC, KMX), the majority partner in the Digital Video Express venture. "The majority of customers purchasing DVD players in Circuit City stores have selected players that include the Divx option. Unfortunately, we have been unable to obtain adequate support from studios and other retailers. Despite the significant consumer enthusiasm, we cannot create a viable business without support in these essential areas."
"Strong consumer interest..." "significant consumer enthusiasm". Blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.
Tell ya what DIVX dudes... If the consumer support was there, support from other retailers would have been there. Duh!
Hey DIVX, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of marketplace!
[gidyness] [grin]
Actually, only one of these examples has an analogy to DIVX, IMHO, in the sense that consumers rejected the inferior format in favor of the superior one.
That would be the 8-track. The 8-track and the cassette were released almost simultaneously (1964, yes the formats are REALLY that old). Despite extreme marketing on the part of the 8-track camp, consumers finally figured out that cassettes had dramatically less wow-and-flutter, lasted much longer, and could be rewound and fast-forwarded forcrissakes!
As far as the other formats mentoned:
Laser Disks: Excellent format in it's time, superceded by a technologically more modern one, DVDs.
Vinyl: Ditto laser disks. An excellent format for it's day, superceded by newer technology.
Betamax: Actually dramatically superior to VHS in most respects. Killed by awesome marketing by the VHS camp (and Sony keeping the beta format so closed).
MiniDisk: Format that still has it's strong niche, and is likely to for a while.
This thread give many wonderful reasons why DIVX is bad.
IMHO the overriding, super-duper, most appallingly horrendous thing about DIVX was this:
The disks are married to the player.
Buy a new player because you want do upgrade or, worse yet, because your old one broke and your collection of disks that you fscking BOUGHT just became a bunch of coasters.
Can you imagine if when you bought a new CD player, either as a replacement or a second one (a portable in addition to your home unit for example) if all your CDs wouldn't play on the new player and you had to buy second copies of them for the second player?
How outrageous can you get!?
Side note: Is there any truth to the rumour that the divx players play DVDs at lower quality??
Yes, It's true.
And since I can think of absolutely no technological reason for this, I can only assume it was deliberate sabotage to attempt to cause people who bought DIVX players to have a preference for the "superior quality" DIVX releases.
That's probably a true statement, but moreso Beta failed because Sony's licensing fees to other manufacturers were insane. Beyond that, they continuously downplayed the significance of JVC's then-new VHS format saying certain features like Super-VHS and Hi-Fi audio were "impossible" with VHS, and only Beta could do it. Sony continuously tripped itself when it came to Beta. Beta could've ruled the world, but it's simply a dead, niche market now. Yeah, I'm hurt. :-)
I think the most interesting thing about the press release -- as we all seem to agree DIVX sucked and was doomed anyway -- is the disclaimer at the bottom. 'Forward-looking statements?' It basically reads like 'In case the world ends tommorow, please do not sue us.' Yeesh.
How common is this becoming on press releases? Would someone really want to buy from a company this worried about their Y2K future that they have to put this kind of statement in?
-- 'As it all washes away you know -- as it all is one, no one is alone.' -Cosmic Disorder
My problem with it (besides being an overall stupid idea) is that Circuit City tried to sell Divx to the uninformed, ignorant consumer as a better option than DVD. I have yet to see any item that Divx was better in than DVD. Actually the only thing greater than DVD was the price.
you're kind of missing the point of DVD (or DiVX for that matter). The nice thing about DVD is the movies! Higher resolution, AC3 sound, languages, and features...
As far as software is concerned, well, who cares? There are a few, but basically why bother? Most application I know fit just fine on a single CD-rom, some take 2-3 CDs, but hey! you only load it once. Of course, there is the whole realm fo video games, and maybe that's what you're talking about.
But regardless, as said before, you're missing the point entirely. Although DVDs can be used for software, it's forte is for the movies. If you're not interested in movies, don't bother even considering DVDs. Software would not be a compelling enough reason to buy a DVD, even if there were lots of titles available.
Accually I've found that a lamenating them is the best way of solving the hole problem. Needs to be fairly think lamenation. And try to use a machine that doesn't have to roll it around a spool, as cd's don't like to be bent as easily as paper.
Funny, when I go out shopping for media, I always come back with two or three DVDs at most (or four, when I stopped by the Virgin store and took advantage of the 3/4 promo) and ten or twelve laserdiscs.
DVD amounts monitarily to about a quarter of my home theater purchases and quantitatively about half. They're cheaper and more readily available than LD, and I love that. But there are way, way more laserdiscs out there right now. Retailers that sport both formats are reporting about double DVD sales in LD. Of course, that can be attributed to LD owners' "fire sale" mentality right now, as the format is inevitably going to die within a year or two.
Title selection on DVD is really, really poor, and will be so for another year or so in my estimation. LD is far from dead. I can buy backtitles all over the place, and there is still the occasional new release that goes to LD and not DVD.
LD is alive, if not exactly well. I just wish I could play some of those titles in my office as well as in the home theater. Maybe I shouldn't've given away the old CLD-201 after all -- it would have been worth keeping in the office for private viewing without having to boot everyone out of the living room.
I buy black felt & after I nuke the CD's for about 5 sec, I glue the felt to the label side, and voila! A coaster!
"We are not tolerant people. We prefer drastically effective solutions"
The big reason most hate(d) DIVX so much is because DIVX is nothing more than "pay-per-view" on disc. Can you imagine what would've happened had DIVX taken off? In short order, "buying" any media would become a thing of the past. Say goodbye to DVD - say hello to DIVX, say goodbye to audio CD's - say hello to CDIX, say goodbye to CD-ROMs - say hello to CD-ROMIX (you get the idea).
Face it, ANY opportunity businesses have to extract more of your hard-earned dollars they will take! Why on earth would M$ SELL you Office 2000 if it can RENT it to you for $X/month!
A lot of good reasons why DIVIX was bad - but I'll add one more.
Sure, it looks a lot like rental. But consider this - you buy a disc to rent, you buy another disc to rent... how much space do you have in your house? I do not want a whole Blockbustoer store in my house of discs I do not own.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Uh... Please, don't confuse the issue. Broadcast TV does *NOT* use BetaMAX, they use BetaSP. Yes, still made by Sony, but there is a world of difference (in picture, and in price).
Its analogous to the difference between Cassette audio tapes and DAT...
Now I really wouldn't mind owning a BetaSP deck (without the multi-thousand dollar cost).
-Jeff
Good Fast Cheap. Pick any two.
"The rebate will ensure that no Divx customers have paid more
for the Divx-featured player than they would have paid for the least
expensive, comparable DVD player available at the time of their purchase. All
Divx-featured DVD players are fully functional DVD players and will continue
to operate as such"
I read somewhere that a lot of the DIVX players had "crippled" DVD compatibility, i.e less picture quality, less sound quality, etc. This was (supposedly) done to make the DIVX movies look better than DVD movies when presented to customers.
Is there any truth to this? I believe I read it on some Best Buy site comparing DIVX and DVD that was posted on slashdot awhile back.
At the very least, it looks like they are offering their customers at least some kind of generous refund, and they'll continue to support the discs for at least a few years. Better than leaving them high and dry, right?
Not that I think the RIAA will take the slightest bit of notice. SDMI has more manufacturers and content providers behind it than Divx did. However, the similarities are there to threaten them with the same fate.
--
E_NOSIG
>2) Need to connect to a phone to watch a disc.
I didn't think this was true. I understood that the player would connect to a server through the phone line to charge you for additional viewings after the initial 48 hour rental. I didn't think this happened before any/every viewing. Sounded more like it kept track of your pay-per-views and connected at regular intervals.
Not that I think this is a good idea either, just seemed like the way this was stated was incorrect.
Well, my last excuse for not buying a DVD player has vanished overnight. Which one should I get?
>I would suggest a DVD-ROM rather than, or in addition to, a DVD for the following reasons
:-)
;-)
That's a given
Now if I could figure out how to use a PC DVD to play movies and output the signal over to my TV, I'd be set.
Holding out until there is (better/widespread/any) support for DVD rom in Linux, tho...
(Father's day is this weekend, my wife is bugging me for ideas, Best Buy has the Panasonics on sale... hmmm)
Partnered with Blockbuster for distribution. If I want a movie, I don't want to go to a mall. Blockbuster could have generated about the same revenue as a rental.
They should have done it as a wrapper, not a through and through format. This would have allowed for easier implementation by distributors and you wouldn't lose any of the cool DVD features.
Made an open, liscenced standard. This would get them the money and still have good market standing.
They basically got too greedy and closed themselves out of what could have been a huge opportunity.
p.s. And privacy was NOT an issue, as others have noted about rental cards/accounts.
This is not the greatest sig in the world, this is just a tribute.
1) how much do you want to spend?
... ...
;-) and wow!! normal cds can sound really great ... there *is* a difference even for non-audio-geeks ;-)
2) do you need a dvd rom/ram?
3) is your computer near your tv?
4) do you want to qualtiy or just an dvd player?
--
i can't recomment a dvd-rom as player: your computer need to be up (noise), display cards have a bad tv quality, computer decoders are poor quality
unless you *want* a dvd rom/ram and have dvd-movies as a feature
some rules:
1) don't buy the cheapest
2) watch a movie on it:
a) watch out for fast camera movements,
or fast moving objects
b) look at a foggy scene
c) compare it with a really expensive unit
(sometimes the disks are also recorded badly)
3) look at the audio options
4) NTSC/PAL, Codefree, Macrovisionfree, etc.
i have a pioneer 717 and i highly recommend it, i
bought it because of a broken cd player (everyone
needs an excuse
have fun shopping and don't blame me!
I hope this doesn't go unnoticed by the RIAA and everyone trying to ram encrypted, controlled-playback audio formats down the consumers' throats. If you 'sell' material in a controlled format, then pull the plug on it later, you're going to have to refund what you collected from everybody or be prepared for a class action.
You know, I never really followed Divx farther than shaking my head at the idea, but I'm glad it's dead.
The whole idea of viewing a disc once and then throwing it away (that was the idea, right? if not, uh...) flies in the face of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"!
Aside from the dangerous license practices that the DIVX model could have legitimized, the worst result of the entire DIVX fiasco was to limit the widespread acceptance of the DVD format. The average consumer probably knew nothing of the differences between DIVX and DVD, causing him or her to be stuck on a fence so to speak with regards to which format to support. Most lay people that I've talked to expressed relucatance towards investing in a DVD system because they didn't want to get caught on the bleeding edge and have an obsolete piece of equipment, ala Beta and VHS a few years ago.
DIVX did more harm to the DVD standard by confusing the average consumer then through financial competition. If DIVX hadn't come around more people would have invested in DVD players, helping the format to gain more widespread popularity. As it stands, I believe that there are over 1 million DVD users in the country. As that number grows the price of DVD equipment will naturally drop and the media will become easier to find. My local Blockbuster still doesn't carry rental DVD's though that's about to change. DIVX's legacy is that it has set this process back by at least a year and hindered the adoption of high quality digital home entertainment standards for everyone.
Just last night I saw a 30 second TV ad for DIVX by circuit city. I guess the marketers don't know its dead yet.
The problem with DIVX is that it favored the licensor far beyond what it did the consumer. They got their royalties, and then some -- and had powerful and rigid controls. But the consumer got a system less powerful than DVD, and it combined the *worst* aspects of ownership, rental, pay-per-view, and licensing. In fact, DIVX was more anti-consumer than anything, which is why in the end it was a failure to the company that brought it to market.
I celebrate this as a victory, because if DIVX suceeded, this type of arrangement may have spread elsewhere. It is very closed-system, inconvenient, and money-hungry. It'd work great for a monopoly.
1) Federal law protects the privacy of your video rental records. Not so for DIVX "rental" records.
:-)
2) Running phone line to my home theatre is an unnecessary hassle.
3) Taking a DIVX disc to a friend's house is a pain because playing a movie on their player
starts the 48-hour "countdown" for that title on DIVX's central computers. (The discs aren't serialized, so the player can't tell one copy of a movie from another.) If for some reason your friend liked the movie and decided to buy it themselves, they would be charged the "re-rent" fee the first time they played their copy.
4) I don't know what you pay for VHS and DVD rentals, but around here there are plenty of five-nights-for-a-buck tapes and DVDs available.
5) If plays have to be centrally authorized, the studios can prevent you from watching DIVX discs you "own" (as is eventually going to happen to the poor suckers who upgraded their movies to Silver). Nobody can come to your house and take away your copy of The Basketball Diaries.
6) Well yeah, you actually are paying more for DIVX than for VHS and DVD, at least around here.
7) There are hundreds of widescreen VHS titles out there -- it's really exploded over the past year or two. DIVX went out of their way to tell folks they weren't actively supporting widescreen because their market research told them not to. (I suspect there's going to be a few heads rolling in their market reseach division...)
8) There are actually a handful of special edition VHS tapes out there with most/all of the goodies usually associated with laserdisc and DVD SEs. They have to do the commentary as a second tape, though.
9) Nobody expects to watch tapes on their computer. I don't think it's unreasonable to look down on a DVD-based format that can't be played on a DVD-ROM drive.
10) Having to lie to people to market your product usually means it's an inferior product -- otherwise why would you have to lie to get people to buy it?
11) Studios refusing to release titles on a format makes that format less interesting to me. God forbid I might actually want to watch a movie Paramount puts out...
12, 13) Okay, we're getting into silly-land here.
DIVX is very different from renting a movie. Those differences might not have much to do with how you rent, but they have a lot to do with how I do. Does't fit my lifestyle model, sorry, and I'm overjoyed to see it go. The last thing a growing market like DVD needs is the kind of consumer confusion that comes from garbage like DIVX.
I just recently bought a DVD player (full player, Panasonic, I didn't bother with the DVD-ROM) and I am *EXTREMELY* glad I bought it.
The discs are dirt cheap. There are some really neat discs out there (Dark City is cool, I really enjoyed the commentary track on Antz, The Suicide Kings had scads of neat features like alternate endings, different angles, commentary track, etc. I'd like to get the Criterion Brazil disc, too. I'll have to order that one.). Quality is excellent, I can watch any movie in widescreen.
Interestingly enough, Blockbuster doesn't rent DVDs around here. They only sell them, and the employee I talked too said that they were still awaiting confirmation from higher up...
But most of the M&P shops have them. The selection isn't the best, it's usually stuck in a little section, but there are a lot of good titles there and many of the places rent DVDs cheaper than VHS (there are many obvious reasons for this, I'll leave it as an excercise to the reader).
I'm moving, this weekend, to a new apartment almost next door to a movie place that rent DVDs @ CAN$5 for two (for US$ divide by 1.5). I couldn't be happier.
Now all I have to find out is if there are any Canadian sources for DVDs, like clubs, e-sites, etc...
I want that Brazil disc..
Yeah, what's up with that? I've not gotten around to disconnecting it to see what it says... anyone know why my digital cable box needs a phoneline?
I'm passionate about Panasonic. I simply love their dvd hardware. Simple, easy-to-use remotes and on-screen menus. I myself own a Panasonic A350 (european model) with Euroscart (true RGB) and onboard Dolby Digital and MPEG multichannel decoders. It's an excellent machine and the only problem I have with it is that it doesn't play CDR (well, it's not a big problem). It's region-agnostic (of course) but that ran me an extra $100. It can output both NTSC, PAL, and PAL-30.
The new american model A310 also has DTS digital out (so far a fairly extraneous feature) but it doesn't have true RGB or MPEG multichannel (yet another extraneous feature).
Check out Home Theater Forum. They are going more apeshit that /. is over this. They are loving it :)
:)
BTW, the current theory is that the Divx contracts have a "escape" clause on the death of Divx and allow companies to revert to Open-DVD.
Wait a minute, there is only DVD's now! Don't have to use "Open-"
This rocks!
SP
It is the direct comparsion CC made to the public when they were pushing Divx. They didn't compare it to VHS, but to DVD.
But, lets compare it to VHS...
I can take a rental VHS to any VCR I want and it will play. BBV doesn't know where or when I play it. ALL they know is that I rented it. (I use to work for them).
As for the movie for life comment, CC was also pushing that you could make any movie "silver" and it would play for life! Whoops, guess not.
The format itself, isn't all bad. But the way CC promoted and marketed the whole thing just stank to high hell.
RB
(Kids don't try this at home)
- - -
www.divx.com now shows the press release...
- - -
Which law firm would that be? Seems to be that Circuit City is taking the fall and the other "partner" is just walking away unnamed.
- - -
Reminds me of the people that bought betamaxes in the 80's.
I am holding off on DVD as long as humanly possible, until I see SOFTWARE for it.
There is some, not enough IMO.
Ding dong divx is dead
Cheers
Let's put all of the privacy/phone line/coaster issues asside for a second:
In 1997 when DVD was first coming out in the marketplace and DIVX was just a glimmer in Richard Sharp's (CEO: CC, DVE) eye, Dick made some comments that really started the "angst ball" rolling in the Home Theater market: He basically said "early adopters" of the DVD format were *stupid* for jumping on such a fetal format that had no solid chance of making it in the marketplace. This was just the first of many attemps my Circut City/Digital Video Express to keep the general public from buying *either* format until DIVX had a clear share of the market.
Dick Sharp's clear "hate" for the "Home Theater Elite" (l33t?) is what forced the battle lines to be drawn: 99% of those lines were on the Internet (Long live the information age!).
I guess the only way that I can conclude is to say that "We Won!"
A
I doubt the fearless commander meant to speak courteously of this beast.
For once, a dumb idea got killed sooner rather than later, but it should have been pretty obvious. I think whatever drawing board spawned this cdreature should be publicly burned at the end of a Frankenstein-style castle invasion of Circuit City and the involved lawyer scum.
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
A few things to consider:
... Going this route depends on your answer to the question, "This time next year, how close do I think a $300 player will be to today's $500-600 player?"
... that would be great. I could send video to my family on Video CD.
a) You don't specify your price range. I assume (we love projecting ourselves) that you're on a budget (e.g. money *is* an object). In that case, the panasonics are a good buy, but there are many such bargains as well. One good place to look is in the forum at dvdtalk.com, which has a discussion board about home components as well as about DVD-ROM drives.
b) Your OS. Why? Because Win98 and Mac let you watch DVD movies on your desktop but so far Linux and the BSDs do not. (I hope someone can correct me heartily!) So, if DVD-ROM is not a huge *current* priority, you might want to get a standalone player for now (it won't depreciate as quickly as a processor would, fortunately) and pick up a commodity DVD-ROM player when you need one. I've heard of them under a hundred bucks now.
c) Brand preference / legacy: I've only seen the Panasonics that are being recommended to you in stores, but so far I agree with the posters -- they seem to be nicely built, are quite full-featured, and have nice controls. The only players I've seen that I'd call truly ugly are the ones from Zenith and from RCA. I just bought a Pioneer DV414; I'm not a big fan of Pioneer industrial design, but I got the player at a good price (USD290 on ebay), and it's available for USD330 or so right now new. Besides aesthetics, you might consider your brand choice if you have linked components you intend to control as one unit; perhaps some of these systems already cooperate, but I am not familiar enough to say. JVC, Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood all have such linkages in order to encourage brand-unformity.
d) Your audio / video anality. If you have or plan to have a audio video system which will allow you to see a real difference, then things like component outs and DTS decoders are a big deal. I don't, so the fact that my player came with component outputs is just a nice novelty.
e) Your stomach. You might well be able to pick up a DIVX machine for cheap in the coming weeks, and plug raisins into the phone jack. Might even find one used, if that is OK with you. You'll still have to shop for the features you want (half a lifeboat isn't a bargain), but if you find one that works for you under $200, you can view it as a cool entry point to DVD and plan to get a better player sooner than you otherwise would with the money you save. Then you can equip another room, or your significant other's apt, or a starving elementary school, or
f) Whether you want to play Video CDs. My pioneer will play them, but I don't have any. Still, one day I might. I wonder if there is free software that would let me create Video CDs from videotapes
g) Whether you care about code-freeness. There are some players available without regional coding restrictions, and as others have written, some that will play back both PAL and NTSC. If you're American, and not into obscure releases which would only be available in other regions, this is probably not a huge concern, but it depends on your interests.
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
I'll skip over the fact that there might be some finegally reason why in some cases it actually would be better to rent such a classic movie, but ..
OK, maybe you don't mind CC keeping track of what movies and when you watch, etc. (case by case, I might agree with you about a lot of that stuff) but if you rent at typical blockbuster prices, it only takes a few repeats of the same movie to approach the purchase price of a DVD; DVD sales prices are making me cringe / gloat as I replace my aging and oft-watched tapes with DVDs at lower prices than the tapes cost several years ago. If you're renting VHS rather than DVD, you're also settling for lower sound and image quality.
Bladerunner is at present available for about 13 bucks online, and if you find a place with free shipping and in another state (hence no sales tax), that's it. Boom. In Austin, that would get you 3 rentals, a bottle of coke, and change.
Good point about mom-n-pop shops; I think DVD is actually a boon for local video stores, because after a while people will realize that they'd like to spread some of the buyer's remorse risk to stores so they can give discs a test gander. Buying ones you know you like on DVD makes more sense than not knowing; renting provides a good test run.
So rent, buy, play - but not from someone who requires permission each time you want to use it!
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Thank goodness that format is dead. It just blatently violated any privacy that consumers had in their viewing habits. I for one would not want some database somewhere being being filled with my credit card information, movie purchase history, and personal information. (I know. It happens at blockbusters.)
At least with DVD the discs can be played on any other DVD player. The DIVX format was a farcical culmination of consumer excess-- play once, throw away.
Romanes eunt domus? People called Romanes, they go the 'ouse? It says Romans go home. No it doesn't. What's Latin fo
Don't get me wrong, I was an early adopter of MiniDisc and I have a boatload of "mixed" discs that I really enjoy listening to, but the format has never really taken off. Its great for portable devices (try finding another device as small as the recent Sony models that can record onto digital media), but unfortunately, widespread adoption has not followed.
I went to MiniDisco.com a few months ago to stock up on blanks to see me through till 2020. Even if it dies I will probably still use it.
Check out Circuit City's web page! They're still talking about what a great thing DIVX is. Um, Webmaster, get with the program!
(click here)
I figured that it would die out, but not this quickly, since I saw a Divx/Circuit City commerical just a few nights ago. Now customers are going to be stuck with a Divx player plays DVDs at poor quality. They should get a total refund, especially if they recently purchashed it, or atleast a trade in on a real DVD player.
Well, so long Divx!
-- queef
I'll readily agree that using the privacy issue as a reason not to buy DIVX is a joke; However, DIVX was still not for me... here's why: When I go to purchase a physical product (not a service) I tend to assume ownership of whatever I am purchasing, whether it is a licensed product (such as non open sourced software or a movie) or not. Being able to use or purvey that product at my own discretion is a freedom that I enjoy. I am liable for copying certain products or using them in a certain manner, but that responsibility rests upon my shoulders. I am not forced to conform if I am willing to pay the consequences for non-conformance. DIVX strips that responsibility from me as a consumer. I am bound to pay as long as I own the product and still wish to use it, without regard for the amount that I have paid in the past. It is a pay-per-view service that has taken on the physical guise of a product that takes up space in my home. As a substitute for an actual physical product (DVD) that I can own and use as I see fit, DIVX is flawed simply because it is not just a physical product. The competition for DIVX isn't on some shelf in a Best Buy or Wal-Mart, it's traveling over copper wires to people's cable boxes in the form of pay-per-view. Imagine a publisher trying to sell special books. Any time wished to read them, you call up a toll free number and buy a code good for a weeks worth of reading. The idea may seem silly and even slightly offensive to some, but to me that's just a step away from DIVX.
LouZiffer
It might have something to do with the fact that divx disks are/were encrypted (so that their ppv scheme couldn't be cracked) and the hardware had to decrypt them in real time while they were being played. They probably picked a base hardware requirement to make the standard on, which wasn't fast enough to decrypt a real dvd-quality data stream in real time, so they picked a lower quality format. It's yet another reason not to buy divx, but we don't have to worry about that anymore :)
1. DiVX created an incentive for certain Mickey Mouse outfits to delay or completely avoid releasing on open DVD, thus reducing the available choices for users interested in building a long-term library. What will happen now that the marketplace has rejected DiVX remains to be seen, but at least there is a chance that formerly DiVX-only releasees will come out on DVD.
2. Users who had bought DiVX units with the notion of occasionally dusting off one of the disks and viewing it are now screwed as of July 1, 2001 (as foreseen by the DiVX critics):
/.
/. If the government wants us to respect the law, it should set a better example.
If that's the reason, then only DiVX disks would be affected. However, the reverse was the case -- standard-DVD disks produced lower quality output on DiVX players than on standard-DVD players.
This suggests that DiVX players were low-end hardware designed on the assumption that the Teeming Millions would be satisfied as long as the final result was better than VHS.
If, indeed, DiVX disks played on DiVX players produced output superior to standard-DVD disks played on the same DiVX players, this tends to support the theory that the designers engaged in a bit of monkey business to create the illusion that DiVX was a superior format.
/.
/. If the government wants us to respect the law, it should set a better example.
Beta lost simply because Sony extorted a license fee to produce recorders for that format tape.
Sounds a lot like the reason Apple didn't do as well as they'd like with the Mac.
Certain products can't compete when there's an "open" alternative. Even when the "Closed" product is better.
Well, that's a relief. Divx was a rather poor concept from the start, and I am not sorry to see it go. What was funny was watching my colleagues who did get one snap up the remaining Divx disks now discounted at $1.99 each. Hey- they've got two whole years to look at the silly things, right? Sheesh. I like new tech, and CC is my toy store. But I don't like tech dreamed up by a pack of greedy lawyers. Serves them right. Maybe our stock will split now.
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. --Mark Twain
I feel like the unknown sailor in that famous photograph - the one taken in NYC when the troops came home from WW2, in which he just grabbed a nurse and just gave her a big old kiss because he was so overjoyed. I have no idea why I care so much, but I'm just ecstatic. DIVX has to be one of the most insidious corporate creations ever devised, and it feels so damn good to watch it go down in flames. It's like we just won the war or something.
I'm still not shopping at Circuit City, though.
Actually, MD seems to be catching fire lately, as opposed to fading away. MP3 might have actually been good for it, because you can compared the two, and MD invariably comes out on top by a wide margin (better sound, live recordings, cheaper media, yet players are tiny and don't skip). I recently bought a Sharp 722 player/recorder, and I love it. Almost everyone who's seen it has been intrigued, and I think the future can only be brighter for MD as even smaller and better sounding (this will be difficult, my 722 sounds awesome) player/recorders come out.
Think about it, CD quality sound and access features, media at cassette tape prices, mp3 size and convenience, DAT-like live audio recording, plus titling, cool little remotes, tons of extra neato gadgets, etc. Best of all worlds, I say. I don't think it'll ever become huge, no, but I think the format has become large enough to be self-sustaining in the US now, and at any rate, we could always import from Japan if we had too.
Nick
Have you ever even actually laid hands on a portable MD player/recorder? If you had, you'd realize the myriad advantages the format held. As I said earlier in this thread, CD quality audio and access, cassette tape prices for media, virutal DAT quality live recordings, mp3 size and ruggedness, and so on. MD is a really cool idea, and the execution has become infinitely better in the last year or so with ATRAC 4.5/5.0 and the new portables. It really rocks.
You probably have some skewed perception of MD from 5 years ago or something. The format is now viable in the US, Sony finally launched a proper campaign, and with Sharp and Aiwa's help (and new cool JVC and Panasonic portables on the way!), has rescued MD in the US. It's viable. It's cool. It's here for the longrun. It will never challenge CD or anything, but it wasn't meant to. What it does, it does well, and I'm immensely happy with my 722.
How about a movie you want to add to your collection on a permanent basis? With DIVX, even after you "convert" your movie to unlimited-play, your player still calls into DIVX HQ every time you watch it. You also can't let your friends borrow it (well, you can, but they'll have to fork over $$$ to watch your movie on their player). By comparison, you can pay cash for a DVD at Best Buy or whatever (maybe even Blockbuster if they're selling DVDs now and not just renting them), take it home, and watch it whenever you like--and nobody will have any record of what you're watching or when you're watching it.
Plus, there's no ticking time bomb with DVD, unlike the way DIVX is now. As long as you have a functioning DVD player (and I know that changing media formats can create a different set of problems--anyone here have equipment to read 8" floppies? :-) ), your DVD collection is still usable. Two years from now, DIVX movies will be about as useful as AOL CDs.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
Diddit, dunnit, left mark on bottom of m-wave, but the light show was fantastic!!
If you look, almost every technology related press release has this disclaimer. It classic CYA (Cover Your Ass). Nortel, Lucent, Bell Labs, PageNet, all use it on most of their releases.
If you were a public company, and somebody in PR put out a release without that, think of the shareholder lawsuits!
Well, being the happy owner of a Sony 200-disc CD-changer, I'm waiting anxiously for their DVD-version to be released this fall. Of course, I don't know how good this player /really/ is, but I can't imagine it's possible to own this player and not be happy with it :)
--
- Trond Michelsen, mike@crusaders.no
more proof that stupidity sucks....
The only one that shouldn't (none of them actually deserve to) be associated with Divx is betamax, because it's a LOT better than VHS (a case where a better format lost out). In fact, most TV stations and broadcast networks use beta due to it's higher resolution. But alas...
But when we want to watch a video again, it doesn't cost us $3+, whether or not we own it or rent it. Besides, i have some nice granite coasters, and i don't need any more CD coasters...
thank god this has died...anyone who has done any reading on this matter would realize that DIVX was not only a wide open door to the violation of your privacy, but also a means to extract more and more money from you in the future was you were hooked on it. Most commonly known as the foot in the door technique. DIVX also allowed them to control your viewing habits...say a movie was being re-released in theaters and you wanted to watch the disc you had already paid for...the ability was there for them to block your viewing... this is only the beginning of the laundry list of problems... (we could go on to mention the lack of features as compared to a DVD)
I can't even say I hope it rests in peace, cuz it doesn't deserve that much comfort...I think purgatory is a much better place for it...
later...
One of the little known reasons beta failed was the fact that Sony had issues about letting publishers who did porn use it for distribution...i read a comment to this effect in the second issue ever of wired magazine..:)
1) Add them onto the Holy AOL 30-Day Trial CD Necklace.
2) Coasters.
3) Frisbees.
4) Put one on your head and pronounce yourself the DIVX Angel. (4b: Join the circus)
5) Goes great with cabbage!
6) Amaze your dim friends by telling them that the disk will explode 48 hours after they watch it. 48 hours later, tell them the trigger must have activated but that there was some problem in the ignition system.
7) Keep them above your bed, so the first thing you do in the morning is giggle about the incredible stupidity of DIVX.
8) Label 52 of them differently and start playing DIVX poker at school. Guaranteed to befuddle just about everyone.
-
Ok, I'll take a stab at this. If I buy a DVD, I can play it anywhere, anytime, without asking anyone's permission. If you want privacy, walk into a Best Buy, pick up a DVD, and pay $20 cash. But with DIVX, every disc you own is accessible only with the blessing of Circuit City, who can (in fact, did) revoke your ability to play what you had supposedly bought. And then there's the well-documented crippling of abilities in DIVX players so they can support the encryption, and the user-hostile features such as charging you if you view a disc in a different player even if you had upgraded it to unlimited viewing. Even if you don't mind a single corporation knowing everything about your viewing habits (even Blockbuster doesn't know what you do with the movies, CC does), there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the death of this anti-consumer technology.
How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.
But even if they didn't whiff on the privacy issues, the technical issues, and the video quality relative to DVD, they would still have failed for one more reason Circuit City wanted it to succeed.
CC wanted more traffic into its stores. DIVX was a potential non-store revenue generator for CC and the other places (i.e., DIVX silver conversions and multiple viewings), but the effect that people aren't noticing is that DIVX owners had to trek to the local Circuit City to buy the new discs. That means lots more foot traffic, which means lots more opportunity to set up the $300 impulse buy that electronics stores live for.
Here's the problem: who in their right minds would shop CC 50 times a year, knowing full well they're going to get a sales pitch when they're just trying to rent a copy of Toy Story? They may as well have put DIVX racks in used-car dealerships.
The next flaw with DIVX is that it is not significantly more convenient than video rental (don't forget, you're not eliminating trips to the store, you're just reducing them from 2 to 1), and no more convenient than DVD. In that respect, I have no idea whatsoever what they were trying to do with DIVX Gold. Oh boy: lower quality, more expensive than DVD, and tied to a proprietary medium! Sign me up!
Sorry, DVD isn't the man. Only Quake and Netscape are "the man".
-Clump
Can you say "Laser Disc?" How about "Mini disc?" Betamax, 8-track, vinyl. Yet another format bites the dust.
I've seen scads of "Down with DIVX" drek on the web, but I've never actually understood why everyone resented it so much.
This is my understanding of how it works:
1.) You buy a DIVX disc for a bit more than the price of a rental.
2.) You "activate" it and watch it.
3.) It expires.
4.) If you want to watch it again, you can "rent" it again at a later date. If not, it makes a stylish coaster.
So, the way I see it is, it's like renting a tape, but not having to return it. And if you want to rent it again, you don't have to go to the video store again. Where, exactly, is the great evil that everyone has been talking about?
Oh, wait, I know -- it must be the privacy issue. Since you have to dial up and activate the disc when you rent it, "they" know when you're watching.
Do me a favor -- open your wallet. Take out your BlockBuster card. Look at the back. See that barcode? Uh-huh.
Someone please clue me in on this, cuz I just don't understand.
Thanks,
LL
"Video games, not parents, are to blame for many of these teenage crimes. I'm certain it was Frogger that taught my
Circut City, be honest with yourself.
... at least video tape rentals are around $3 each)
The people buying DVD players at this point in time are movie enthusiasts. These are people who care about Widescreen, video quaility, trailers, sound quaility, and behind the scenes information.
From what I've heard, Divx didn't offer any of that.
So let's go through the list right quick:
1. They made a format that was not compatible with DVD-ROMs or exisiting DVD players.
2. They charged a fee everytime you wanted to watch the movie (let's face it, would you rather buy a $20 DVD movie to keep, or ay $5 for one you'll watch maybe twice
3. The features everyone came to love about DVD (as listed above) are just not there.
Jeez, Circut City, What did you expect?
And on the idea of never returning the Divx disc:
I've got a stack of over 100 AOL CD-ROMs already (which I'm about to mail back to AOL with a nice little note). If I would overwrite them I could... it seems like such a waste.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
However, I might take advantage of their rebate offers for the DVD Players... if they're in VCR price range, this could be a little something for the living room. I'm still investing in a "good" DVD-ROM for my computer... DVD-ROMs are the only DVD players fast enough run on HDTVs.
--Bahamlabs
Anyone else going to the Holland, MI Circuit City tonight to point-and-laugh? If so, stop by and say hi to me in the somewhat rusted '86 Chevy blazer. I'll be celebrating the Divx Death tonight since I've been part of the anti-divx campaign since Dec '97.
It died faster than I thought it would, but not as fast as I would have liked.
I don't need the flames for even purchasing a DIVX machine... but the circuit city location I purchased from told me they were out of the Panasonic a310... so I bought the x410... none the less... I went to that location today and they gave me my refund there at the store. I just had to provide the credit card the unit was purchased with... how about them apples?