DivX 6 released! [Archive]

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 06:12

It's finally here! w00t!
Today, June 15th, we're excited to announce the official release of DivX 6!

DivX 6 marks a new era in DivX history. Where before DivX was simply a codec technology, today we expand the DivX universe and add the DivX Media Format to our media ecosystem. Bringing with it advanced media features such as alternate audio tracks, multiple XSUB(tm) subtitle streams, XTAG(tm) video tags, chapter points, interactive video menus with scene selection, multiple titles and more, the DivX Media Format creates a true home theater experience both on and off the desktop.

Since 2002 we have been working with scores of consumer electronics manufacturers around the globe to develop certification programs to enable reliable interoperability and guarantee a high quality viewing experience with DivX content. In the last year, all of this hard work has really paid off for the worldwide digital video community. The DivX Certified partner list now boasts 198 hardware manufacturers, with over 500 DivX Certified product models. Last year over twenty million devices shipped into retail channels, which meant that anyone could walk into their nearest electronics store and pick up a DivX DVD player. The Philips DVP642, priced at less than US $70, stole the show and hit Amazon.com's #1 spot for Electronics many times throughout the year.

For us, the DivX Media Format is the next step on the path to bringing the movie experience we all dream about to life in millions of devices around the world. Over the past three years we've been working with manufacturers behind the scenes to build support for the new advanced media features of DivX, like alternate audio tracks and subtitles, which can be played in certified devices on sale today. Now we are working closely with those same manufacturers to ensure that full support for other advanced features like menus, scene selection, surround sound, video tags and chapter points will become available in DivX Certified devices in the near future.

To illustrate just what DivX is now capable of, take a look at a couple of the DivX media files already using the new advanced media features: Revelations, a film by Star Wars fans (http://trailers.divx.com/torrents/Revelations.divx.torrent), and an all new, souped-up Last Man Standing (http://trailers.divx.com/torrents/LastManStanding.divx.torrent). You'll need a BitTorrent client (http://www.bittornado.com) and a copy of DivX Player 6 (http://www.divx.com/divx/create) to download and play these. Notice also that the ".divx" file extension is used to refer to DivX media files, whereas DivX AVI files still use the ".avi" extension [Al: Cheesy branding insert courtesy of Bez ;)].

So how do you create your own DivX media files? After spending the past few months locking down our format specification, the DivX 6 SDK is undergoing heavy development and will include all the tools, libraries, documentation, and APIs necessary to create DivX media files manually, or to build this functionality into your own applications. We previewed parts of the SDK in February through our DivX Labs website (http://www.divxlabs.com), including tools such as the Fuse sample application that were necessary to rebuild our original Last Man Standing demonstration clip. As soon as the SDK is completed it will be released through DivX Labs with a free license for non-commercial personal use. In the short term our Mac platform manager, Adrian (a.k.a. "fluffy"), is currently turning his hand towards documenting and publishing the core toolset required to produce fully featured DivX media files. It is also possible to use the new DivX Converter application to create DivX media files that feature automatically generated scene selection menus, chapter points, alternate audio tracks, multiple subtitles and video tags.

In the near future expect the following line-up:

DivX Helium codec (Out now!)
DivX 6 codec Beta (Macintosh OS X platform)
DivX Media Format core tools and documentation
DivX 6 SDK
Support for surround sound audio

And now without further ado, on to the DivX 6 product lineup!

DivX 6 codec

http://images.divx.com/divx/DivXCodec.gif

The DivX 6 codec sets a new standard for DivX video quality. Working carefully within the constraints of DivX Certified device compatibility, the intrepid members of the DivX Advanced Research Centre (DARC) have significantly raised the bar over the DivX 5. The DivX 6 codec is capable of producing equivalent quality to DivX Pro 5.2.1, and DivX Pro 6 delivers at least a 20% improvement above that. The free version of DivX codec has changed such that it now produces only DivX Certified video, and we've added some nice features to the free version like bi-directional coding so that anyone can create high quality DivX Certified content. All features remain available in DivX Pro, and we're continuing the 6 month DivX Pro trial offer for everyone, which you can optionally select during installation on the Installation Components screen.

Here's a feature rundown for the tech-heads among us:

Support for the DivX Media Format is enabled in third-party media players. In this first rev of our DivX Media Format filters we have tested against Windows Media Player 6.4 through 10. "What the *&#!?" I hear you cry. We have also begun development for several other popular players, but many of these are not directly compatible with our filters yet. Better support in other players will follow as we release the DivX 6 SDK. If you are a developer please get in touch (http://forums.divx.com/eve/ubb.x/a/cfrm/f/899102432) so we can hook you up with what you need.

When you play DivX media files you should see a DivX toolbar icon popping up in your system tray where it is possible to select audio tracks, subtitles, chapter points, video tags, and change playback settings. From the toolbar you can also access the DivX Menu Navigator control. The DivX Menu Navigator makes it possible to use both mouse and key control for navigation in most players.

The DivX 6 decoder includes enhanced post-processing that is both optimized for PSNR and faster than that of the DivX 5 decoder.

We've redesigned the DivX codec encoder interface to better group related items and enable easier navigation. Gone are the popup wizard dialogs of yesteryear! The encoder window also has smaller dimensions, which will be a real boost for those of you still crazy enough to be running at 800x600 ;)

The encoding mode breakdown has been reworked to include modes ranging from Fastest through Insane quality to better balance encoding rate versus video quality. Most modes feature rate-distortion optimization and visible quality differentiation.

We have added Extreme and Insane quality modes to the encoder. Extreme quality will give you production quality video, but for those who always want the absolute best, Insane mode enables all the internal bells and whistles to guarantee the maximum video quality.

DivX codec now includes PSNR optimized H.263 quantization for superior retention of detail when compressing the picture.

4MV search is enabled in Portable, Home Theater, High Definition and Unconstrained profiles, allowing for better quality at lower resolutions, improved sharpness and reduced ringing artifacts.

Multiple consecutive bi-directional coding is enabled in High Definition profile. All bi-directional coding now uses the packed schema. Up to two consecutive B-VOPs are enabled in High Definition profile, and up to three are enabled in Unconstrained profile.

The VBV for Portable profile has been changed to take advantage of real-world DivX Certified portable devices enabling higher video quality. Video created under Portable profile in DivX 5 codec is fully compatible with the new VBV model.

The Encoder Feedback Window now includes a Lite version that consumes less space on the desktop and allows you to monitor progress during encoding. It's possible to switch between the Lite version and the full Feedback Window, and from the Feedback Window Lite you can set the process priority incase you want to do some other work while encoding. The Feedback Windows does introduce some impact on encoding rate, and we will be addressing this in future.

The entire team would like to thank all of you who helped us with the Plasma and Fusion programs; your contributions have helped make DivX 6 what it is today. For the adventurous among you, we're keeping things rolling with DivX Helium (http://download.divx.com/labs/DivXHeliumBuild1612.exe), a future research codec which can be installed atop the DivX 6 codec to enable experimental optimizations for dual core, HyperThreaded, and SMP CPUs. For more information check our our preliminary results over at the DivX Labs website (http://www.divxlabs.com).

DivX codec is featured in the DivX 6 Create Bundle (http://www.divx.com/divx/create).

DivX Converter

http://images.divx.com/divx/DivXConverter.gif

DivX Converter is a new easy-to-use drag-and-drop application for creating DivX video. Simply drag your file onto the DivX Converter, click Convert, and you're done! DivX Converter creates files using DivX Certified profiles so they are guaranteed to play in your DivX Certified devices.

DivX Converter outputs DivX media files with various features depending on the source you want to convert:

Using the DivX Converter MPEG-2/DVD Plug-in, you can drag-and-drop unprotected VOB files and configure which audio and subtitle tracks you would like to preserve in the DivX output. You can optionally choose to fit the output file to CD, or prepare it for a multi-file DVD (2000MB).

When you drag and drop multiple files with matching resolutions and frame rates onto DivX Converter you can optionally join them together to produce a single DivX media file that includes an automatically generated scene-selection menu with chapter points.

When you drag and drop one or more files onto DivX Converter you can perform batch encoding. After each file is encoded it will appear in your DivX Movies folder.

DivX Converter can convert the following file types:

DivX 3, 4, 5, 6 (.divx, .div, .avi)
MPEG-1 (.mpg, .mpe, .mpeg, .m1v, .dat)
MPEG-2 (.vob, .ts, .m2v) (Requires optional DivX Converter MPEG-2/DVD Plugin)
DV (.dv, .avi)
AVI files (.avi)
Windows Media Video (.wmv) (Fixed frame rate only)
AVISynth (.avs)

*Note: You must have the proper video and audio decoders to play the file you are trying to encode.

DivX Converter is the ideal way to get started in the world of DivX and requires no technical knowledge of codecs or encoding tools. If working with DivX has always been out of your reach, give DivX Converter a spin. A free 15 day trial of both DivX Converter and the optional DivX Converter MPEG-2/DVD Plug-in are included as part of the DivX 6 Create Bundle.

DivX Converter is included in the DivX 6 Create Bundle (http://www.divx.com/divx/create).

DivX Player

http://images.divx.com/divx/DivXPlayer.gif

In addition to supporting DivX 3, 4, 5 and 6 video, including DivX VOD files and services, DivX Player 6 now includes fully integrated support for the advanced features of the DivX Media Format:

DivX Player supports DivX media files that contain multiple titles. Add special features or bonus materials to your files and experience them in all their glory.

DivX Player enables direct navigation of interactive DivX menus for a true home entertainment experience.

DivX Player supports up to eight subtitles per title. Language defaults can be set via the player preferences.

DivX Player now supports up to eight audio tracks per title. Language defaults can be set via the player preferences.

DivX Player can read and navigate chapters in a DivX media file allowing you to skip straight to your favorite parts of the movie.

DivX Player can read and display video tags, providing detailed information about your favorite movies

DivX Player now takes less time to load on most systems, so you can start watching all your favorite DivX movies faster than ever before.

The right-click menu and user preference screens have been significantly reworked to facilitate access to DivX advanced media features, preferences and new decoder features.

The DivX 6 decoder is included for improved playback performance and video quality.

DivX Player tips and tricks for the power user:

Use the middle mouse button or mouse wheel to gain quick access to advanced features of DivX media files.
Pressing the 'M' key allows you to jump to and from the main menu for DivX media files that include menus.
Hidden feature: Hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift and press 'A' during playback to enable old-school ASCII rendering of your favorite movies!

DivX Player 6 is included in the DivX 6 Play Bundle (http://www.divx.com/divx/play) and the DivX 6 Create Bundle (http://www.divx.com/divx/create).

The new DivX product bundles
DivX 6 is available through two new product bundles: the DivX 6 Play Bundle and the DivX 6 Create Bundle. The DivX 6 Play Bundle contains everything you need to playback all types of DivX video, including the new DivX Media Format. The DivX 6 Create Bundle contains the DivX codec and DivX Converter enabling easy creation of DivX media.

DivX Pro and DivX Converter are sold together in the DivX Create bundle - when you purchase one through DivX.com (http://www.divx.com/divx/create/buy) you'll get the other free.

Upgrades
Upgrading to DivX 6 is easy. Here's how it works:

If you purchased in the last 30 days

If you purchased between May 15th 2005 and June 15th 2005 we will be sending you a free serial number for DivX 6 via e-mail. DivX Pro 5 customers will receive a serial number for the DivX 6 Create Bundle, and Dr DivX customers will receive a serial number for the DivX 6 Create Bundle with MPEG-2/DVD support. DivX Pro 5 customers will be able to purchase the DivX Converter MPEG-2 DVD Plug-in at a discount price by following the instructions in the e-mail.

All registered customers

If you purchased before May 15th 2005 you can access upgrading pricing through our upgrade page at DivX.com (http://www.divx.com/divx/create/upgrade/). Upgrades prices are up to 75% off the regular pricing after you enter your old serial number. Our accountants wouldn't actually let us give it away for free, but this is the next best thing!

A note on supported operating systems
DivX 6 series products are unsupported on Windows 98 and Windows Millenium Edition and can not be installed on these platforms.

The doctor is out.
As we release DivX 6 to the world we also acknowledge the departure of Dr. DivX (http://www.divx.com/divx/drdivx). The good doctor has moved over to private practice, servicing the stars of Hollywood, and even with good health insurance he's too expensive to put in our cart these days.

Enjoy this release,

- The DivX Team

Cyberace

15th June 2005, 07:00

Are there any developers out there who are interested in implementing DivX Media Format support into Xbox Media Center (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com) for us?
XboxMediaCenter (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com) (XBMC) is a free open source project, XBMC-GUI is C++/DirectX-based with a C-based MPlayer (http://www.mplayerhq.hu) core (a/v player).
(Xbox SDK don't support DirectShow / DS-filters. XBMC decodes DivX with FFmpeg (http://ffmpeg.sourceforge.net/index.php), and demux is done by MPlayer's own splitter).

PS! SLIGHTLY OFF-TOPIC: Is the DivX Media Format licence compatible with LGPL/GPL for non-commersial projects?, like MPlayer (http://www.mplayerhq.hu).

Cyberace

15th June 2005, 07:13

[EDIT:]Great performance and quality advancements in DivX 6.0!, ...though hope to see DXVA decoder (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=88988&page=9&pp=25) support too in the future :rolleyes:

PS! FYI, there's a interesting news piece about the new DivX 6 under top stories on Tom's Hardware Guide (http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050615_010321.html), go check it out! :cool:

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 07:45

As to your question on the GPL, that's a good question but I'm not actually the right person to answer it. I'll bring it up with the team in the morning and see what the consensus is :)

CruNcher

15th June 2005, 14:26

Will there be up2date Firmwares from the Chip Manufactures that support DMF for all the Players that would allow this allready today or does the customer has to buy a brandnew (only difference is the firmware) Player by the end of the year again :?

Sharktooth

15th June 2005, 14:34

uhm... the damn google toolbar...

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 14:41

After trying it out i'm really disapointed with divx converter not the codec itself.

we can not choose the final size, resolution, mp3 bitrate, subtitle colour and position on screen.
i havent found any of these options that i was able to choose with dr divx(except the subtitles bit that werent supported in the first place)

I wont even mention how the subtitles look on screen(are they on a diet?)

im disapointed.

nerodigital support for the above is a lot better.

hoping upgrades will fix this.

baer999

15th June 2005, 14:56

@ ricardo.santos: Yes I can understand, there is no possibility to change the final size or choose the options in the Divx Converter. That's very bad because not everybody can handle with VirtualDub or something like this, if i couldn't I would delete Divx right now ! So please recode your Converter, the Style is nice but too small Form and I'd like bigger Forms with more options and a Preiview Window while converting ?! About the quality of the 6th version i can't say anything at the moment, but i'll test it... What's the difference between the Helium and Divx 6 ?

unskinnyboy

15th June 2005, 14:59

Interesting, thanks for the info. I wonder what codec features are internally enabled/disabled across the quality profiles? Like if I choose "insane", what exactly gets enabled internally? Sorry if there was a documentation and I missed it. :)

Sharktooth

15th June 2005, 14:59

DivX Converter doesnt work with ffdshow's AC3 filter :(

JasonFly

15th June 2005, 15:03

Helium seems to be Multiprocessor or Hyperthreading optimized(P4-E, P4 dual core, AMD dualcore...)

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 15:09

"DivX Converter doesnt work with ffdshow's AC3 filter"

i had to download one from www.free-codecs.com if anyone needs one

when creating interactive menus divx converter crashed something "C ++ problem" so i cant comment on that bit.

i was waiting for divx 6 because mainly of the subs support, i dont know if any of you tried it but they are so thin, people that have a large living room i think will have some difficulty reading them, and some letters are sort of transparent.

divx 6 against divx 5 dont see a lot of difference.

i think i will stick with dr divx and srt2bmp for the subtitles.

Touffi

15th June 2005, 16:37

It's finally here! w00t!

The free version of DivX codec has changed such that it now produces only DivX Certified video, and we've added some nice features to the free version like bi-directional coding so that anyone can create high quality DivX Certified content.

I may be dumb, but it seems to me that the free version of Divx codec is gone. Whatever I try to install, to check/uncheck during installation, what I get is always the Divx Pro evalulation. Furthermore, the Bundle Faq (http://www.divx.com/divx/bundles_faq.php) states clearly that it is not possible to create Divx with the Play bundle. And the Create Bundle is not free.

So the questions are :
1 - Is it still possible to create Divx videos for free ?
2 - If so, how do I install the free version of the codec ?
3 - What are exactly the differences between the free / the pro version ?

Thanks for the answers.

Touffi

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 16:47

Divx.com says"The DivX Create Bundle comes with a free 15-day trial of the DivX Converter and a free 6-month trial of DivX Pro. You must purchase the full DivX Create Bundle if you wish to continue using DivX Pro or the DivX Converter after your trial periods expires. The DivX Player does not expire at any time."

i guess its free for six months :-)

Touffi

15th June 2005, 17:07

After further investigations it seems that some features are disabled in the Divx Pro after six months, but you can still create Divx videos. And even with the features disabled, the Divx panel still shows a confusing "Divx pro" logo. :rolleyes:

IgorC

15th June 2005, 17:26

I've remembered the words of Ford. Something like that - "We should hire more engineers. It's only way to bring success to our company"
In this case it's too late.

Gej

15th June 2005, 18:45

CruNcher: Firmware update to support the DivX Media Format: It’s up to the manufacturer, we have a put together a new level of certification “DivX Ultra” and we allow the manufacturer to provide upgrade for players already in the field. Keep in mind that most of the manufacturers de not have an ongoing firmware development effort for existing products. Contact you manufacturer to make sure he know that you want DivX Media Format on existing devices !

All: Converter: If you know how to use advanced applications, are very at ease with Gordian Knot or Virtual Dub then the Converter is clearly not for you guys; it has been designed to be an extremely easy to use application, not a advanced one. Plus this is the very first release; we are definitely going to listen to everyone concern and feature request and make the next version much more attractive from a advanced used point of view.

All: New Encoding mode: The insane Mode enable Rate Distortion decisions, for ALL blocks (P frames, B frames, I frames), this mode also enables some motion estimation fine tuning. This mode is definitely worth it IMHO. It create significantly better visual quality, more texture sharpness and less block. I strongly advise you to try it (in conjunction with h263 optimized quantization, which is Rate Distortion tweak at the quantization level), check the PSNR and compare it to DivX 5.2.1 or XviD…

All: AC3 filter in Converter: Try that http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=AC3+filter&btnG=Google+Search

All: The Helium Codec is a DivX 6.0 version optimized for multi-thread CPU, there are some minor bugs in it, but it’s already very stable, check the DivX Labs web site http://labs.divx.com/archives/000055.html for more information. I’m sure you guys will like the “settings” tab !

Ice =A=

15th June 2005, 18:54

Well, there seem to be no enhancements in the DEcoder imho, in fact it seems just to be the old one from 5.2.1. Well, you can't have everything I guess... :(

Does anyone know the difference between "h263 Optimal" and "h263"?

Edit:
Great that there is a multi processor version in developement, too! I can't wait for my new processor! :)
Will multi CPU support be in the codec itself (and work with all kinds of encoding programs using that codec) or do we have to use some special encoding program for that?

Edit2:
Can all DivX6-Videos (encoded without a menu structure) be played with DivX5.2.1-Decoder, too?

Gej

15th June 2005, 19:32

Decoder: there are *tons* of improvement in the decoder the largest one being the support of the DivX Media Format form most of Directshow based player. On a more technical side, there are quality and speed improvements to the post processing (and no it’s not the generic MPEG4 post processing)

Helium: Any encoding application will be able to take advantage of the multi thread capable Helium Codec.

DivX Media Format: All legacy decoder (DivX 5.2.1, FFMPEG and other) can decode DivX 6 video with and without menu structure. If a menu is present only the main feature will play, but none of the existing decoder should break

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 19:37

Hi Gej, you said:
"All: Converter: If you know how to use advanced applications, are very at ease with Gordian Knot or Virtual Dub then the Converter is clearly not for you guys; it has been designed to be an extremely easy to use application, not a advanced one. Plus this is the very first release; we are definitely going to listen to everyone concern and feature request and make the next version much more attractive from a advanced used point of view."

since when can we create subtitles (Xsub switchable) with gordian knot or virtual dub?!

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 19:42

Are controling the final size and audio bitrate newbie functions?

I dont think so. dont know why they dropped the dr divx interface.

Ice =A=

15th June 2005, 20:26

@Gej:
Thanks for the info, that's some good news.
Concerning the decoder: I did look especially for block artifacts, so maybe I was a little too focused to see other improvements... :)
By the way, I usually use DVDx, which indeed gives controll of most additional options some are requesting here. Since that will get the speed improvements of Helium, too, I am rather satisfied! :)

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 20:27

Wow, that's a lot of posts :)

Let me try and run through each of the major questions!

@CruNcher:
Firmware updates are somewhat at the discretion of each individual manufacturer. There are some product models on the market that don't actually have EEPROM on board and can't be upgraded. There are some manufacturers that choose not to update older models out of concern over customer support burden. And then there are some manufacturers, like Philips, who have grown a loyal customer base through regular firmware updates that improve their players and the user experience. DivX is working with each manufacturer to ensure that they have the materials that they need to include advanced media features quickly and painlessly. We'll need to wait and see how they all choose to roll it out.

@Sharktooh

Love the Google Toolbar, for it is the font of all knowledge. Well, most of it. At least the top ranking knowledge anyway.

@ricardo.santos, baer999

DivX Converter is geared towards a non technical audience who are largely unfamiliar with video encoding. One of the goals for this first release was to create a product that could be used with literally no comprehension of what processes were taking place under the hood to make the magic happen.

Why do this? Let's use the almighty GordianKnot as a point of discussion. Each of us have likely used this tool at one time or another to prepare and encode content. It provides all the functionality necessary to input various file formats, crop and resize video, adjust for pixel aspect ratio, itvc, de-interlace, transcode audio, perform bitrate calculations, configure codecs, prefilter through AVISynth, and more. Sometimes you only need some of this functionality to convert your content. More frequently, you need to be a master at all of it to get good results.

Encoding is a bewildering prospect for most newcomers to the scene. Basic things like bitrate calculations, telecining, and pixel aspect ratio can be enough to deter even the enthusiastic novice. DivX Converter attempts to make the world of DivX available to these novice users, not just in terms of encoding to DivX video, but in enabling them to create content for their CE device, to prepare files for online distribution, to send their home videos to their family and friends, and so on. Converter also provides a convenient means to quickly transcode content into DivX media files with advanced features without setting a thousand and one options.

That being said, one of our goals is to eductate and better meet the needs of our customers. In that light, DivX Converter will evolve over time to address the feedback we receive on it. Our product manager for "DivX Converter" (thekid) is already browsing the forums and noting down feedback that will influence the next release. It might be a good idea to start a seperate thread specifically for DivX Converter ideas and suggestions.

@unskinnyboy

Fast mode is a barebones, high speed, high quality, low compression mode that uses a very minimal and finely tuned feature set for optimial encode rate. Balanced mode uses no 4MV estimation and very little rate-distortion. Better, Extreme, and Insane modes are all rate-distortion optimized and use 4MV.

The biggest difference between each mode is just how deep the encoder will go when it's making decisions during encoding. When you look at Insane mode, the encoder is basically digging deep, looking at all it's options (for things like motion vectors, quantization factors, vlc, etc.) and working out exactly what all the decision paths will cost in terms of bits and what the results will be. As you move down the modes, the encoder begins to try to predict more and more the results, rather than actually testing them definitively. Each feature the encoder uses might reflect a similar schema. For example, 4MV might use a basic search and cost estimation in Better mode, and a more thorough search and cost estimation in Extreme mode. Clearly, deeper digging means more work and more time.

I won't go so far as to define which features are used in which modes and how, because this may change in future and I don't want this post to turn into what is assumed to be the definitive reference. Our DARC group carefully balance algorithm selections against hundreds of rate-distortion plots for quality and performance using several metrics to determine the right balance to meet the use cases defined for the codec, thus the underlying algorithm selection may change as we enhance pieces of functionality over time, but the general use case concept for each mode should remain consistent.

@Sharktooth

You are right, DivX Converter doesn't currently work with the AC3 Filter that is integrated into the latest FFDShow decoder. I am sure thekid will be looking at this for future versions.

On DivX Helium

DivX Helium is an experimental version of the DivX codec that includes performance optimizations for SMP, HT, and Dual Core systems. There are some really nice results over at DivX Labs (http://www.divxlabs.com)! Go check it out ;)

@ricardo.santos

The DivX 6 codec is an impressive leap in quality over the DivX 5 codec. If you are using DivX Converter you will not have control over which encoding mode is selected, the bitrate used, or the feature set selected. While DivX Converter should always produce good quality content, I recommend that to truely leverage the full power of the new DivX codec you tap into it directly through GordianKnot, VirtualDub, or the like.

@Touffi - I see this has been answered but I'll just comment on it breifly..

The DivX Codec (Free version) is included in the DivX Create Bundle. During installation, when you get to the components selection screen, drop down the components list for "DivX codec" and you'll see a checkbox for "DivX Pro Trial". Uncheck this box and you'll have the regular version of DivX codec, completely free.

So yes it's still possible to create DivX videos for free! :) We've also added bi-directional encoding to the non-Pro version so you can now get the same quality with DivX 6 codec that you could only get before with DivX Pro 5.

Some of the features only available in DivX Pro 6 are: Unconstrained profile (including fixed quantizer mode), H.263 PSNR optimized quantization, Better quality/Extreme quality/Insane quality modes, the Feedback Window, and the EKG application.

However, feel free to take advantage of our 6 Month DivX Pro Trial. You don't need to install any additional software to use it, we don't ask you to fill out any forms or go to our website, or sign your soul over to us in blood. Just leave the box checked during installation. Nice huh? ;)

SeeMoreDigital

15th June 2005, 20:37

@Touffi We've also added bi-directional encoding to the non-Pro version so you can now get the same quality with DivX 6 codec that you could only get before with DivX Pro 5. Now that is a very welcome implementation guys...

Whoever came up with that recommendation deserves an extra weeks "paid" holiday :)

Cheers

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 20:52

Whoever came up with that recommendation deserves an extra weeks "paid" holiday :)

Don't I wish... ;)

m99

15th June 2005, 20:52

Wow, that's a lot of posts :)

Let me try and run through each of the major questions!

"And then there are some manufacturers, like Philips, who have grown a loyal customer base through regular firmware updates that improve their players and the user experience."

I'm not sure everyone agree with this.

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 21:09

since when can we create subtitles (Xsub switchable) with gordian knot or virtual dub?!

Just as soon as Adrian cranks out our core tools and associated docs on DivX Labs, they're under development right now.

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 21:47

Hi Digital56k.

my first question is to why divxnetworks dropped the drdivx interface, that tool with subtitle support and multiple audio language support would be the perfect tool!

divx converter is to simple(no control over audio bitrate and final size among others) but on the other hand Gordianknot is so complicated to use. on my travells on the net i see more people having difficulty with gordianknot and virtualdub than with drdivx.

Dr divx had a automated cropping tool(among other good things) and it was so simple to use.

if divx networks were reading feedback from divx users they would find out that a lot liked it but didnt use drdivx because of lack of subtitle support, if they were reading why didnt they preserve that interface and added multiple audio and subtitle support.

gordian knot allows only i think for permanent subs(not a very good thing)

my point:
i cant use virtualdubmod or gordianknot because it doesnt support multiple audio/subtitles.

divxnetworks should have(i think) get it right this time.

Drdivx happy user

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 21:54

Just as soon as Adrian cranks out our core tools and associated docs on DivX Labs, they're under development right now.

more waiting....

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 22:05

this is from the divxnetworks forums, what can i say?

http://forums.divx.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/931101651/m/575105352

they weren't listening

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 22:06

When the DivX SDK is completed, tools such as GordianKnot, AutoGK, etc. will be able to integrate all of the advanced features into their content creation process.

I can understand the frustrations of the Dr DivX users - in this version of DivX Converter we don't provide the kind of control that you are accustomed to and so some of the things you would do in Dr DivX can't yet be achieved in DivX Converter, which is not to say they can not be supported in future. Balance this against some of the new functionality that DivX Converter does offer: One-click conversion, nothing to set with good quality output, subtitles, scene-selection menus, alternate audio tracks, chapters, video tags, etc.

You can continue to run Dr DivX alongside DivX Converter, and leverage the strengths of both.

We would also value your feedback on what you would like to be able to do in DivX Converter in future, please post to this new thread:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=672958

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 22:15

digital56k-"When the DivX SDK is completed, tools such as GordianKnot, AutoGK, etc. will be able to integrate all of the advanced features into their content creation process."

isnt it up to divxnetworks to make those tools instead of directing us to other tools.

look at nerodigital (everything is there in one package) newbie and advanced.

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 22:21

We have several goals for content creation tools. We have our own applications that we develop around our core technologies, such as the DivX codec and the DivX Media Format, and we are also working with many software partners to create DivX 6-enabled applications for all kinds of content creation scenarios. DivX Converter is simply the first way that you can convert your content to the DivX Media Format. It will certainly not be the only way, and we may enhance it with the features you're looking for in future.

To re-iterate my previous comments, we are definately looking for feedback on DivX Converter. Stay cool, let us know your thoughts, we're all reading the forums so this is your chance to have your say.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=95895

ricardo.santos

15th June 2005, 22:26

Im cool :-) just a bit disapointed, dr divx went on vacations!

one last question if i install dr divx back will it be using divx5?
and is it safe to run the aplications together!

thanks

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 23:10

You can absolutely run the two together.

Install Dr DivX, then re-install DivX 6 over the top.

You'll then have Dr DivX using DivX Pro 5 to encode, all the benefits of DivX 6 decoding including DivX media files, DivX Player 6, access to the DivX 6 encoder through VirtualDub, AutoGK, etc., and access to DivX Converter for easy DivX 6 encoding with advanced media features.

len0x

15th June 2005, 23:16

what happened with single pass quality mode - is it now just single quantizer and not average?

DigitAl56K

15th June 2005, 23:29

Hi len0x,

The following modes are available when DivX Profiles are enabled:

1-Pass, ABR
Multipass, ABR

When you switch to Unconstrained profile you can also use Qualtiy Based mode, which is fixed quantizer. This option has been broken out seperately on the encoder GUI for DivX 6.

DivX 6 codec doesn't implement an average quantizer mode (neither did DivX 5 codec). Perhaps I misunderstand what you are looking for?

Under DivX 5.0.5 and earlier psychovisual enhancement was implemented using block adaptive quantization, but this was changed to a more advanced method in DivX 5.1 and higher. Is this what you refer to?

jggimi

15th June 2005, 23:32

...gordian knot allows only i think for permanent subs....For .avi containers, GK allows the user to keep VobSub files separate, or have them burned in. For .ogm and .mkv containers, GK allows for separate subtitle streams in .srt format. ...i cant use virtualdubmod or gordianknot because it doesnt support multiple audio/subtitles...VdubMod supports multiple audio and subtitles streams with all three containers: .avi, .mkv, and .ogm.

len0x

16th June 2005, 00:17

DivX 6 codec doesn't implement an average quantizer mode (neither did DivX 5 codec).

How good you know your own product! :)
In 5.2 you can see quality which corresponds to quantizer with decimal points, so unless DivX actually uses quantizers like 2.5 I'd say its pretty much average quant. Now in DivX6 I can only see fixed quant which to be fair can be manually edited to put decimal digits there, but I doubt they will be respected...

P.S. you guys shot yourself in the foot when made CLI compulsory and broke general support in gk/agk completely.

ricardo.santos

16th June 2005, 00:28

For .avi containers, GK allows the user to keep VobSub files separate, or have them burned in. For .ogm and .mkv containers, GK allows for separate subtitle streams in .srt format. VdubMod supports multiple audio and subtitles streams with all three containers: .avi, .mkv, and .ogm.

mkv and ogm dont play on dvd/divx players(or am i wrong)

i backup dvds not to be played on the pc but on divx player.

some players have difficulty in displaying srt subs even after firmware update thats why i was interested in xsub

Gej

16th June 2005, 00:29

len0x: DivX 6.0 support "Average Quantizer" and yes they are respected...

len0x

16th June 2005, 00:36

len0x: DivX 6.0 support "Average Quantizer" and yes they are respected...

ok, good to know!

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 00:43

Dang, my bad! I only ever use integer quant values. Sorry len0x ;)

StriderGT

16th June 2005, 01:17

Trying to do some comparisons with xvid (AutoGK) and Recode 2, but I do not know the default settings of the new Divx Converter. Is insane quality utilized by default? Is there a smart algorithm choosing all params, because converter stated the lowering of res to achieve DVD>700Mb. I found this technical metadata tab but not very helpfull:

Created with:
Video Codec: DivX Pro Codec 6.0
Video Resolution: 512x288
Video Framerate: 25.00
Duration: 01:27:33
Codec Settings:

Is there a file saved somewhere with the full info?
And I can't find the divx 6 encoder parameter page (Divx PRO 6 Codec Properties as shown in the first post - I can only see the Decoder configuration utility in the Divx>Divx Codec program Group), where is it? If I do change params over there will they be respected by Divx Converter in the next encoding?

Thx in advance

prOnorama

16th June 2005, 01:26

riggits

16th June 2005, 01:27

Hi! I'm comparing the new DivX container format with NeroDigital's MP4 container, and I have a few questions...

Which audio format is used/preferred in a DivX container? Nero's Recode2 will do 5.1-ch AAC, and it's quite nice. What's the advantage of a completely new format? It really seems that this new one addresses a need that's been met nicely in a fairly standardized way.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to testing the new Helium build!!

foxyshadis

16th June 2005, 01:31

I'm curous about something: You mention that GK will be able to use DivX6 with all subtitles and advanced features; does that mean that they're integrated through the panel into the primary video stream during encoding? Or is there a more complex conversation going on between the two?

Gej

16th June 2005, 02:09

prOnorama: "within the software GUI" that's mean that the codec banner for instance or the Player backround can be updated remotly, nothing intrusive or remotly related to a spyware.

len0x: What do you mean about the CLI ? We specificaly implement that to insure consistency between releases and remove the dependency on the registry for parameters setting.

StriderGT: I think that if you want to make some comparaisons you should use the codec directly with Virtual Dub. The Converter do not use the Insane mode, nor the H263 optimized quantizer.

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 02:12

I downloaded the DivXCreate bundle from the DivX.com website. So when I installed it I read the licence agreement. Especially this part interests me:

BANNERS: This software will download product banners and/or similar marketing devices from our servers and display them within the software GUI. A message will be sent to our servers indicating that a banner or similar marketing device has been served. No personal information will be communicated to DivXNetworks or its affiliates during this process.

Ehm this sounds like Adware to me, but maybe I'm seeing it wrong...any explanation?

(I did not continue the installation of DivXCreate by the way, awaiting a response)

Yep!

The common conception of Adware is software which pops ad windows up on your screen while secretly sending information about you, your computer, your browsing habbits, etc. back to the vendor. Typically the Adware component also comes from a third-party vendor, is entirely unrelated to the product it's shipping with, and completely useless to the end user also.

DivX uses banners in a completely different way. Occasionally our software (DivX codec and DivX Player) will check our servers for updated artwork and pull it down, then display it in our product. In the DivX codec you'll see it in the image area at the top of the encoder configuration window, and in the DivX Player you'll see it in the middle of the play area when no movie is playing. We've been doing this since DivX 5.2, and, to date, we have never displayed a single third-party advertisement in either product.

We have used the banner space for some promotion of DivX products, linking people to information about DivX Certified devices, directing people to our user forums, and highlighting educational material we have produced around our products, such as the DivX Codec User Guide.

We're also very privacy conscious, and we don't collect any kind of personal information as we display banners in the products. All the data pulling takes place client side, and nothing is sent to our servers. We do send a ping to a counting server which is simply aggregated (i.e. we just count the number of times we've displayed banner 'A', the number of times we've displayed banner 'B', etc.). This let's us somewhat correlate how particular banners are helping to draw attention to whatever we're trying to highlight at the time. We can't tell what any particular user sees etc. All of this functionality was built by us so we're totally in control of our own code and there are no dubious third-party components involved.

Also in respect of your privacy and personal preference, we provide options in both DivX codec and DivX Player to disable banners. You will find an option on the codec advanced setting, "Do not rotate artwork and product information", and a similar option in the DivX Player preferences.

The reason that this is called out in our EULA explicitly is not to raise your concern, but simply to be honest and forthright about our products so that you don't have to worry that DivX is doing anything underhanded.

Hope this helps!

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 02:50

@StriderGT:

DivX Converter does not user the DivX 6 codec on Insane mode under any circumstance, and automatically generates encoding parameters with respect to the source content, the DivX Certified profile you have selected, and the output file size you have selected, if any.

Setting the DivX encoder configuration GUI does not influence the settings used by DivX Converter.

To test the DivX Pro 6 codec you need to use an alternate encoding application, such as VirtualDub.

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 02:52

len0x

16th June 2005, 03:04

len0x: What do you mean about the CLI ? We specificaly implement that to insure consistency between releases and remove the dependency on the registry for parameters setting.

You didn't think that through. Many applications including GK rely on registry to set codec settings so that application doesn't need to be changed everytime you have a new version of the codec. Now you have very build-specific registry key for CLI that broke compatibily with all the above applications. GK is unusable with divx6 now...

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 03:21

Gej: len0x and I have been talking a little on this point, I am sure we can work something out :)

Bathrone

16th June 2005, 04:22

Ok some feedback

It took a number of refreshes for the PHP of your website to come up with the upgrade serial no website page. I suspect your getting hit with high load.

I had problems entering my serial number because initially I got it emailed with dashes and it wont accept dashes. After some guesswork I took out the dashes and it finally accepted my serial number.

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 05:02

Thanks Bathrone, I appreciate the heads-up, and I'll let our web team know of your access problems.

I know we were working to correct the issue with hyphenated serial numbers this afternoon, I'll check up on it in the morning.

Kairk

16th June 2005, 05:50

I just installed Divx6 and have a couple of questions:

1) Is there anyway to default it to low priority? I did a couple of test clips and had to set the priority manually each time in the feedback window.

2) I did a couple of test clips in VDubMod with Divx6 and Gspot is reporting the 4cc as Divx 5. Is this correct?

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 05:54

Hi Kairk,

There is no way to default the task priority in 6.0, but this feature should be coming in the next rev.

The FourCC code is still DX50 for compatibility with DivX Certified devices. Well spotted ;)

westgroveg

16th June 2005, 10:31

To illustrate just what DivX is now capable of, take a look at a couple of the DivX media files already using the new advanced media features: Revelations, a film by Star Wars fans, and an all new, souped-up Last Man Standing.

You would think one of DivX Networks servers would help seed this () :rolleyes:

Bathrone

16th June 2005, 11:10

Al, sorry Im a bit confused with this banner stuff.

Ive been doing some packet analysis I can see unexpected traffic going from my box to Level 3 Communications on 8.4.80.83 port 80 via TCP. I know that Level 3 Communications is you guys.

Can you please clarify what this is.

Sagittaire

16th June 2005, 12:54

Good job ... I think that for metric DivX6 is the best MPEG4 ASP codec.

jggimi

16th June 2005, 14:02

mkv and ogm dont play on dvd/divx players(or am i wrong)

i backup dvds not to be played on the pc but on divx player....You are correct, standalone players limit your container choices. But your initial complaint apparently misunderstood the capabilites of VdubMod and GK. The .avi container does not support subtitle streams -- and that's a container limitation -- but it does support multiple soundtrack streams. See VdubMod's Streams...Streams list usage in http://www.doom9.org/vdubmod-procedures.htm.

In any case, this discussion of containers and applications is off-topic to this DivX 6 thread. If you'd like to continue the discussion, please open a separate thread.

dlight

16th June 2005, 14:12

Wow, that's a lot of posts :)

Let me try and run through each of the major questions!

@Sharktooh

Love the Google Toolbar, for it is the font of all knowledge. Well, most of it. At least the top ranking knowledge anyway.

I am with Sharktooth, don't install software on my machine, especially when I just bought your product. This isn't shareware is it? And Banners?!

[@Touffi - I see this has been answered but I'll just comment on it breifly..

The DivX Codec (Free version) is included in the DivX Create Bundle. During installation, when you get to the components selection screen, drop down the components list for "DivX codec" and you'll see a checkbox for "DivX Pro Trial". Uncheck this box and you'll have the regular version of DivX codec, completely free.

So yes it's still possible to create DivX videos for free! :) We've also added bi-directional encoding to the non-Pro version so you can now get the same quality with DivX 6 codec that you could only get before with DivX Pro 5.

Some of the features only available in DivX Pro 6 are: Unconstrained profile (including fixed quantizer mode), H.263 PSNR optimized quantization, Better quality/Extreme quality/Insane quality modes, the Feedback Window, and the EKG application.

However, feel free to take advantage of our 6 Month DivX Pro Trial. You don't need to install any additional software to use it, we don't ask you to fill out any forms or go to our website, or sign your soul over to us in blood. Just leave the box checked during installation. Nice huh? ;)

I don't understand the above and your original post does not clear this up for me either.
"DivX Pro and DivX Converter are sold together in the DivX Create bundle - when you purchase one through DivX.com you'll get the other free."

I paid for what I thought would include Divx Pro (Version 6?) when I bought the "DivX Create" bundle. Your site does not make it clear that I am buying a 6 month trial. Your own posting is also misleading. Am I missing something?

StriderGT

16th June 2005, 14:42

Ok I got to access the Codec Settings via Virtual Dub, but my whole comparison point was to investigate automated results (AutoGK Xvid vs Recode 2 vs DivX 6) in highest quality. Why not include a simple fast/normal/highest quality filed in the DivX converter, since the quality I got from the Converter was below AutoGK Xvid (DVD > 700Mb). It was fast but nothing extraordinary. (If it was one pass it was actually very slow :-)

BTW I read an interesting article in Tom's hardware regarding the perception of this new codec and I understand that there is an effort to depart from the DVD rip tag. But this is going to bring negative feedback from the community especially if it hampers functionallity and by this I do not mean Gknot tweaking level but access to features like the insane quality for everyone who does a conversion.

PS Thinking of it again maybe its time for lenox to step in with a AutoGK DivX 6. Otherwise one of the best new features -improved quality- is unlikely to be seen by the majority of users.

flloyd

16th June 2005, 15:50

I am having weird results when opening the DivX 6 decoder. This is what I get: http://img220.echo.cx/img220/7113/divx6bug0rd.png (http://www.imageshack.us). The other tabs look similar. What's up?

Windows MCE 2005

ArabianSwan

16th June 2005, 16:34

>_< how come I'm the only one that can't find the codec and it's configuration...

I paid for the create bundle... download.. installed.. registered and restart my PC.

I went to virtualdub.. opened one of my avs scripts.. went to compression and the divx codec is not listed there :confused:

I tried about 5 times to install and re-install but nothing.. no matter what I do I just can't get the codec neither can I find it's configuration box under the divx folder

GIVE ME MY DIVX BACK :(

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 16:54

@dlight:

We will never install the Google Toolbar without first asking if you'd like it. We'll offer you the Toolbar only under certain conditions (IE is your default browser, you don't have it already, etc.). If we don't offer it to you we won't install it.

To read more about Google Toolbar in our bundles, see here:
http://www.divx.com/divx/create/divxpro/whatisgoogle.php

With regards to banners, we do not use these in the conventional manner! I've already addressed this earlier in the thread, please see here:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=673043#post673043

When you buy the DivX Create bundle you get a registered license to DivX Pro and DivX Converter. The bundle you install is exactly the same as the regular trial bundle, but after you install it you can use the link on your start menu to enter your serial number and the product will become the full version. Alternatively, when you run either product you'll see a trial window popup where you can also enter your serial number.

@flloyd:

Windows MCE isn't currently one of our supported platforms, but I will log this issue into our tracking system and see if we can patch it up for you in the next rev :)

How do the other products look on MCE?

@ArabianSwan:

The codec is accessible through most video editing applications, including free applications like VirtualDub and VirtualDubMod, and works almost like an export plug-in.

You can check out some of our How-To guides that show you how to export DivX from various software here:

http://www.divx.com/divx/create/divxpro/guides/

The process is similar for almost all video software. Once you can use one, you can use them all.

On the same page you can also download the DivX codec User Guide. This has not been updated to reflect the DivX 6 codec yet, but all of the information and the tutorial at the start of the guide is still relevant and it's easy to follow the step-by-step instructions with the new DivX 6 codec.

Hope this helps!

ArabianSwan

16th June 2005, 17:00

DigitAl56K.. thanx for the reply
Just to let you know.. I had the CCCP playback pack removed from my PC and after doing that.. divx appeared in my list of installed codecs in virtualdub.

flloyd

16th June 2005, 17:10

DigitAl56K: The other products all look fine, except for these certain "tabs". Under DivX Player: "About" Tab looks fine but Shortcuts and Information tabs have this same blank look as well. I'm not even sure what they are supposed to be displaying. Oh and I forgot to mention that I have Intel 915G for video. Never had any display issues with any other softwares.

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 17:16

@ArabianSwan:

Ah, this is a common problem. Often when invalid entries occur in the list of codecs in the Windows configuration Video For Windows applications will simply stop enumerating them, and thus if the DivX codec entry appears after an invalid entry the video app never sees it. This happens frequently when codec packs are installed.

There are one or two tools floating around Doom9 to fix it, I also wrote a very old tool called "BigFix" which had an option to do it, and I'll be releasing this functionality as a seperate tool shortly through a DivX Support FAQ.

Glad you got it working!

@flloyd:

Thanks, I will log all of this information for our Engineering group!

Hyper Shinchan

16th June 2005, 17:23

I hope that in the future DivX converter will have some option, there's nothing to change!
Stupid question: why don't you use the official MPEG-4 container file? why do you prefer hacked avi?

moon1234

16th June 2005, 17:29

You are correct, standalone players limit your container choices. But your initial complaint apparently misunderstood the capabilites of VdubMod and GK. The .avi container does not support subtitle streams -- and that's a container limitation -- but it does support multiple soundtrack streams. See VdubMod's Streams...Streams list usage in http://www.doom9.org/vdubmod-procedures.htm.

In any case, this discussion of containers and applications is off-topic to this DivX 6 thread. If you'd like to continue the discussion, please open a separate thread.

This is totally false. AVI supports up to 99 additional streams which can be audio, subtitles or whatever. Just becuase a specific tool won't do what you want does not mean the container was not designed for it. Please take a look at AVImux GUI (http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~noe/Video-Zeug/AVIMux%20GUI/index-eng.html). I have AVI's with multiple embedded audio streams (AC3, MP3 and AAC) and up to five subtitle streams in the same AVI container. All play perfectly in Media Player Classic. You need vsfilter (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=84359) to playback and select the subtitles, but other than that they files play perfectly. I can even play these AVI's on the Phillips DVP-642. It does not recogize the embedded subtitles and picks the first audio stream, but other than that it works great.

I don't undertand what all the excitement is about. These features have been available for several years if you use the correct tools.

DigitAl56K

16th June 2005, 17:36

All, this is not a discussion on the AVI file format. The topic of this thread is the launch of DivX 6, and while all of your questions are welcome and we'll do our best to answer them, please start them in a new thread and/or post on the appropriate forum.

For a short summary on the container, see here:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=673319#post673319

Something to think about though: It's not necessarily about the container, it's about the format and what it enables you to do :) Being able to create a file with alternate audio tracks and subtitles and then drop it in your DivX Certified DVD player and watch it on a nice big HDTV is no bad thing!

Hyper Shinchan

16th June 2005, 17:50

For me the new format isn't tvery different than the old one. And it's not very different than XivD and other MPEG-4 codec.

riggits

16th June 2005, 18:01

bond

16th June 2005, 19:18

It's finally here! w00t!
DivX 6 marks a new era in DivX history. Where before DivX was simply a codec technology, today we expand the DivX universe and add the DivX Media Format to our media ecosystem. Bringing with it advanced media features such as alternate audio tracks, multiple XSUB(tm) subtitle streams, XTAG(tm) video tags, chapter points, interactive video menus with scene selection, multiple titles and more, the DivX Media Format creates a true home theater experience both on and off the desktop.
lol, i cant resist, but all these features (except menus) are available for years already ;) :D :p

ricardo.santos

16th June 2005, 20:00

This is totally false. AVI supports up to 99 additional streams which can be audio, subtitles or whatever. Just becuase a specific tool won't do what you want does not mean the container was not designed for it. Please take a look at AVImux GUI (http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~noe/Video-Zeug/AVIMux%20GUI/index-eng.html). I have AVI's with multiple embedded audio streams (AC3, MP3 and AAC) and up to five subtitle streams in the same AVI container. All play perfectly in Media Player Classic. You need vsfilter (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=84359) to playback and select the subtitles, but other than that they files play perfectly. I can even play these AVI's on the Phillips DVP-642. It does not recogize the embedded subtitles and picks the first audio stream, but other than that it works great.

I don't undertand what all the excitement is about. These features have been available for several years if you use the correct tools.

of course you can do that with avimuxgui, but i wanna watch it on divx player and if i use that tool i cant choose audio or subtitles tracks on the divx player . i dont watch divx on pc but on the tv.

not everyone has english as native language or can read english.

bond

16th June 2005, 20:04

about menus:

first of all respect for offering that! really a missing goodie in the mpeg-4 world

than my question about menus (without having tested the divx tools):
is the user able to convert dvd menus to .divx ones easily (i mean ala "one-click")?
is it possible to design/create a menu from the scratch?
what options do divx menus support?

ricardo.santos

16th June 2005, 20:05

lol, i cant resist, but all these features (except menus) are available for years already ;) :D :p

where were switchable subtitles/audio tracks?
of course they have on the pc but not on dvd/divx players?

does everyone watch divx on their pc's?
am i the only 1 using dvd/divx players?

ChronoReverse

16th June 2005, 21:01

Does this mean that existing DivX Standalones will playback DivX6 media with the extensions (menus etc)?

ricardo.santos

16th June 2005, 21:25

"ChronoReverse Does this mean that existing DivX Standalones will playback DivX6 media with the extensions (menus etc)?"

present divx players only support video and xsub subs, standalones that play menus only available at end of year

Surlyrich

17th June 2005, 01:51

I posted a similar question regarding the creation of DivX menus in the DivX forums. Apparently, tools for menu creation will be released with the new SDK sometime soon. Not sure about DVD to DivX menus... guess we will have to wait and see, but I doubt it. Hopefully it wont be too much drama to re-create them.

Personally I cant wait till there are stand alone players capable of playing divx/mpeg4 with menus etc and that will take one of the new HD DVD/bluray recordable formats. Imagine having every 007 movie in high definition with menus and extras all on one disc. Or, All 7 seasons of Star Trek DS9 with menus etc on 1-2 discs. My guess is that they wont be that far off.

westgroveg

17th June 2005, 02:10

@ricardo.santos
My standalone plays back the DIVX container with switchable xsub files. An obvious advantage to using a DIVX file is it provides smother seeking (at least on my standalone) than AVI.

Fateh2002

17th June 2005, 02:12

it is really a great progress for Divx, spesially when their will be a device that
support it.......
i agree with the other user for the option to control the size of the file....
and i was wonder if i will bw apple to create a .divx file for tv show episodes
with episodes selection menu and play all button like DVD.....
and it will only support xsub or vobsub will be in consideration....
cuz i prefare vobsub for many reasons like the color of the subtitle and
you can put different locations for some lines........
i hope the DVD Player that support .divx files with all the features mentioned
and other features coming as the they promise will be released soon and
updated freqeuntly.......
it will be great if i can create a .divx file for tv show......

12gage

17th June 2005, 05:55

hello all, the improved quality sounds great but i'm having a problem. I installed not opting for the trial to just be able to use the codec, restarted and when I try encoding to divX with GK/V-Dub i get this message "Video compression error: An unknown error occured (maybe corrupt data). Error code -100" My .avs script has converttoYV12() in it, I tried with and without, also tried removing all filters. I also tried installing the HeliumBuild and got the same error. But when trying the DivXConvert it was okay. My script converted fine with XviD, what am I doing wrong?

Bathrone

17th June 2005, 07:45

So, no one can explain or can replicate the unexpected TCP traffic to Divx that I reported about earlier in the thread?

DigitAl56K

17th June 2005, 08:20

So, no one can explain or can replicate the unexpected TCP traffic to Divx that I reported about earlier in the thread?

I can explain it, breifly, because I'm tired as hell and I'm going to bed ;)

Our products check for updates by pulling down a file from our servers that contains a list of the latest available versions. All of the version checking is done client-side and no information is sent to us.

Banners may also cause some network traffic, check out this post that explains how it all works:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=673043#post673043

I'm probably going to post more about this tomorrow for anyone who is interested, and I'll also read back over the last couple of pages here that I haven't got to yet and answer all the questions there too.

Have a good night everyone, hope you're enjoying DivX 6 so far :)

-Al

daphy

17th June 2005, 10:02

Hi,

I did my first test with the converter yesterday -> I simply try to open a VOB file (certainly not the VIDEO_TS.VOB -> all the others in the asset 01)
I ended up with an error -> missing plugin :confused:

Plugin, what plugin?

THX Daphy

thomaz909

17th June 2005, 11:36

this is the worst collection of applications i have ever used. the divx player gui runs with 5 fps when moving the gui :) installers and application wants to connect to the internet and do what ? explain me mister DigitAl56K what does divx do in the internet. is it a browser and why does it start hidden processes 10 times during installation. u want to do some hacking action on my pc ? and wtf is divxcreator. may i laugh ? for me im finished with divx and will change to good old xvid. thanks for killing the divx project and create a cheap looking/feeling quicktime,realplayer product.

Great Dragon

17th June 2005, 12:37

I have an error msg when playback DIVX 5.0 file via Media Player Classic.
Unhandled exeption in mplayerc.exe (DIVXDEC.AX): 0xC0000005: Access Violation.

If using native DivX Player or Windows Media Player - everything is fine :(

288GTO

17th June 2005, 12:53

Gej

17th June 2005, 17:42

288GTO and 12Gage: Can I have a little more information on the source clip you are trying to encode, resoution, fps, AVIsynth script.

12gage

17th June 2005, 20:50

Gej: Source= DeadWood DVD Disc (.d2v), fps= 23.97, .avs had DeGrainMedian, RemoveGrain, and UnDot. But also tried without any. Can't remember res. (sorry i'm at work) if this isn't specifc enough i'll post the rest when i get home. thanks for the help

#################BEGIN#################

LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\DGMPGDec\DGDecode.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\Undot.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\degrainmedian.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\RemoveGrainSSE2.dll")

mpeg2source("F:\DeadWood_D4\110.d2v", idct=0)

#The above line is correct to deblock your Mpeg2 source
#Only Use Deblock() if the source is AVI

trim(0,0)

Lanczos4Resize(512,288)

undot()
converttoYV12()
DeGrainMedian(limitY=5,limitUV=10,mode=2)
RemoveGrain(mode=2)
undot()

###############END###################

DigitAl56K

17th June 2005, 22:08

@Hyper Shinchan:

The new format is very different from the old one. DivX 3,4, and 5 content, as it was officially defined for DivX Certified profiles, essentially comprised a DivX video stream with an MP3 audio stream in an AVI file.

We have extended the format specification to include many advanced media featues: interactive menus, chapter points, video tags, subtitles, alternate audio tracks, and some other bits and pieces that will become useful later down the road. As we began our design, one of the key goals we wanted to meet was backwards compatibility with existing DivX Certified devices. We have a lot of users who own DivX Certified DVD players, and we wanted them to be able to download DivX media files, including the advanced media features, and be able to watch them in their existing player. This reason, along with other secondary concerns (such as past research we had done on the ability of typical devices to parse other containers) led us to a RIFF-structure schema.

Through foresight and planning, we ensured that when we first created the DivX Certified progam for manufacturers it already contained support for alternate audio tracks and subtitles, and even though we did not expose these through our software products or SDKs these features have always been tested as part of our Certification process. This means that today you can take a DivX media file with subtitles and multiple audio tracks and enjoy it on your TV using your DivX DVD player.

Certified DVD Players that do not yet support all of the advanced media features will play the main title from a DivX media file. These players did not necessarily contain the embedded logic to specifically handle the new features, like menus, video tags, and chapter points, and so we carefully researched means to integrate these into our format in a way that caused these players to skip over them. Much research and development time was invested in order to create the magic that makes DivX 6 work :) While you see a container that looks similar to AVI, we see thousands of hours of compatibility testing.

Each of the components in a DivX media file is also somewhat specialized. Subtitles use the XSUB format, video tags use the XTAG format, menus use our own menuing format, etc., and this leads me to your next point...

There are a lot of technologies out there on the market, codec or otherwise. You say that DivX codec is similar to XVID. Yes, it is, but at some point in time we have to stop focusing solely on technology. What use is any technology if it does not fulfil your needs? Let me use the new shiny H.264/AVC as an example. Commonly touted by technology purists as the be-all and end-all of video compression, how does AVC help you create a rich content experience? It doesn't. On it's own, no codec technology does. On it's own, no container technology does. When you buy a DVD (if you buy a DVD.. ;)), do you put it back on the shelf if the studio used the wrong MPEG-2 codec? Do you even care which codec they used? Do you even know what the codecs they use are? :)

At the end of the day, all of these technologies have to be brought together in a format for them to be useful. The format ultimately has to be supported in consumer electronics, like DVD players, before it becomes useful to most people (and this includes both the tech-heads and your parents ;)). To make the format supported in CE, you have to have development kits and certification. To ensure the customer experience is good, you also have to have strong certification.

The DivX Media Format encapsulate all of this knowledge, thinking, planning, and execution. When you take a look at the older DivX AVI format, or even at other formats that are out there, they don't necessarily bring all of these pieces together. When you focus on any particular new technology in general, remember that it's not necessarily useful until it's placed into a larger picture.

This is why we built the DivX Media Format, and this is why you should create DivX media files.

</soapbox>

squid_80

17th June 2005, 22:26

A bit off-topic, but what's the plan for a windows x64 native codec? There seems to be rumours aplenty, but no official statement...

bond

17th June 2005, 22:26

DigitAl56K
now i understand it, and i thought you guys created this for getting our money ;)

</anti marketing cynism>

serious: its good to see divx starting to battle DVD directly, but i also think it will be not easy to convince a majority of the people to really choose divx over dvd, after all .divx is not (yet) an industry-wide accepted standard (are the specs even publically available?)

murattttt

17th June 2005, 22:54

Dear DigitAl56K,
We have been fans of divx since the beginning. We were delighted by it and telling everyone about it. However nowadays I can't suggest anyone to install the all new all shiny divx 6. Why? Will their computer blow up? Maybe they will. Since the day that I noticed so many hidden applications tried to connect to the internet (When I wasn't online) and stole my precious cpu time up to 100 % I know for sure that I can't continue using a dodo just because it seems nice. Divx has improved that much but do I get a support directly from any third party program to create my own menus, subtitles, surround audio? No (Then maybe I get - I'm so far from the divx scene, a year sth.). What is the convenience of DVD encoding? There are zillions of back up programs. What if I like to create my own media into sth other than DVD but with multiple/surround audio, menus, chapters. You could do that with fusion but closed it just like Sony did to Beatamax. Yes betamax cassettes were of a higher quality but who cares if you have to spend more money to buy the patents for a higher tech that no one (99%) will notice? Do the math for divx, dr divx and the never existed support on the (non)linear video editing side. Was this so difficult so far? I don't think so.
So keep up the good work. I'm waiting to hear from the least interested guy to hear how super - duper divx (codec and / or the container) is.

ricardo.santos

18th June 2005, 00:12

@ricardo.santos
My standalone plays back the DIVX container with switchable xsub files. An obvious advantage to using a DIVX file is it provides smother seeking (at least on my standalone) than AVI.

this is one thing i have been waiting for a long time but i tried and the xsubs dont looks so good.

my subs are really thin and a mixture of white and red

Ice =A=

18th June 2005, 00:23

First, thanks to DigitAl56K for adressing our concerns about the internet connections that DivX is trying to establish so often. I understand that those are not "dangerous", but do you really need them? Don't forget that especially the hard core useres are the ones that spread a codec (that really hasn't changed over time!) and those will really not like ANY internet connection that is not really (!) necessary!
And especially in this sector, it has become extremely difficult to regain lost trust these days! So be careful what you do!!!

Concerning murattttt's post: I have to confess that I only understand part of it.
Did you really close the new DivX container format? I thought there would be coming out quite some 3rd party development tools for DivX6?!

Concerning the encoding program with too few options (about which here are a lot of complaints):
As I said before: A codec is mainly spread by experienced users, and those want options! A lot of them! :) I don't think the time is ripe for the broad masses to really encode their own videos, is it?

One mor thing (in favour of DivX): DivX has become not only a codec but indeed a complete product and marketing scheme. Thanks to that, we are able to view DivX files (generated on our PC) also in stand allone players in our living rooms. That's a good thing and I'm grateful for that!
There just have to be drawbacks: Since ther is a large base of players for that codec, you can't change/improve that codec significantly, our you will loose that advantage.
So ther will be better codecs, no doubt about that. But DivX is no bad codec for sure, and consider it's advantages, too!

Gej

18th June 2005, 00:26

Options, lot's of them, here: http://labs.divx.com/archives/000055.html The multi thread enabled Helium Codec with the additional "Settings" tabs

Ice =A=

18th June 2005, 00:29

Well, good idea, that helium version!!!
It really seems to be geared for the geeks and hardcore users, so maybe you should "market" it as that! :)

Gej

18th June 2005, 00:31

Not hardcore as in “Ron Jeremy” :-)

LordRPI

18th June 2005, 00:42

:goodpost:

Ice =A=

18th June 2005, 00:57

Oh well, nobody is perfect! :)
English is not my native language, so have mercy upon me!!! ;)
Here in germany we use that word "Hardcoreuser" all the time! Well, we use the word "hardcore" too, to be honest...

Hyper Shinchan

18th June 2005, 01:41

12gage

18th June 2005, 04:16

just a couple of questions, until i get an answer about ht error with v-dub, if i want to encode using DivXConverter using an .avs file, how do i add audio? and assuming i eventually can use the codec externally how do i make a .divx file? thanks in advance to thoses with the answers.

StriderGT

18th June 2005, 04:35

I found the DivxEncSettings log in the Video_TS folder of my movie: 97 min animated picture:

bicubic_B 0.000000
bicubic_C 0.750000
bitrate 909000
complexity modulation 0.000000
crop bottom 0
crop left 0
crop right 0
crop top 0
data partitioning 0
deinterlace 0
enable crop 0
enable resize 1
input clock 25000
input frame period 1000
interlace mode 0
internal timescale 0
key frame threshold 50
log file read C:\DOCUME~1\Strider\LOCALS~1\Temp\aax38.tmp\encode.log
log file write C:\DOCUME~1\Strider\LOCALS~1\Temp\aax38.tmp\encode.log
max key interval 300
mv file c:\mvinfo.bin
psychovisual 0
pv strength frame -1.000000
quality 1
quantizer 4.000000
quarter pel 0
resize height 288
resize mode 1
resize width 512
spatial level 0.200000
spatial passes 1
temporal enable 1
temporal level 0.400000
use bidirect 1
use gmc 0
vbr mode 3
vbv bitrate 4854000
vbv occupancy 2359296
vbv size 3145728
temporal enable 1
temporal level -1717986918
spatial passes 1
spatial level -1717986918

I guess similar settings will be used by the DivX 6 Converter for all people doing a DVD > 700MB conversion. Single(=Spatial?) pass explains both the speed and the lack of uber quality.

DigitAl56K

18th June 2005, 06:07

@Bathrone and thomaz909

As promised, I wrote up more information about network traffic, etc.

See here:
http://forums.divx.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/201101651/m/593109352

Hope this helps you,

-Al

hajj_3

18th June 2005, 09:52

i get the "divx settings manager" in my tray icon every time i play an xvid or divx movie, d "support generic mpeg4 encoding" is enabled, but i cant find an option to stop the program from loading into my tray icon, where is this option and if there isnt an option can you add this to divx 6.0.1 please.

another vote for advanced options in divx converter, its FAR to basic at the moment, so will carry on using auto guardian knot.

Sergei_Esenin

18th June 2005, 10:52

Thanks to DigitAl56K for his reply.
I want to say:
1. I've understood that you make this container file to make it backward compatible with the old player, but I don't think that it's good. Yes, there are a lot of DivX player out there, but won't they change them one them? So wasn't it better to use an ISO patented container like MP4?

Why would the MP4 container have been inherently better--just because it's a (far from universal, and severely limited in practice) "standard"? The great thing about standards is, there are so many to choose from. :sly: Seriously, a "standard" is only useful insofar as it meets one's needs. I like the MPEG-4 container and have used it where appropriate; yet, Matroska is more flexible for most of my needs and I use it far more often. Is MP4 better because it's somebody's idea of a standard? Is Matroska better because it's more flexible? Is the new .divx DMF better because it's backwards-compatible? The answers are of course, yes, yes, and yes. :D

Seriously, there are advantages to each of the three approaches, and disadvantages to each. But from a pure business standpoint, given Divx's installed base of existing hardware players which mostly support only AVI yet, it would've been stupid to adopt MP4 if it were possible to add their new features without breaking backwards compatibility. That would've alienated more customers than are alienated by the newly extended container, so it's an easy business choice.

Again, there's nothing inherently superior about MP4--it has advantages, but nothing all-important. Likewise with Matroska, which has become my container of choice. There are advantages to each container, and niches where each can logically be preferred. .MP4, .MKV, .divx, and others all have their places, and will coexist nicely. The fact that you may wish everyone would adopt MP4, and I may wish everyone would adopt Matroska, is irrelevent to the reality that we all have different needs and priorities. :cool:

namchik

18th June 2005, 12:33

divx player doesnt play XviD-videos (xvid decoder and even ffdshow are installed)...

288GTO

18th June 2005, 16:54

Gej & 12Gage,

I think I made a beginner mistake, though I'm not a beginner. In the GKnot DivX codec settings for "First Pass" (Button) there was a default setting of "Multipass, nth Pass" after installing DivX6. I changed this to "Multipass, 1st Pass" and I got a perfect result.
By the way, I encoded the James Bond movie "The world is not enough" which I recorded from ditial cable TV.

kind regards,

288GTO

12gage

18th June 2005, 17:15

thanks alot for the response, i'll give it a try

it worked like a charm, thanks again that was getting frustrating

Hyper Shinchan

18th June 2005, 18:40

The fact that you may wish everyone would adopt MP4, and I may wish everyone would adopt Matroska, is irrelevent to the reality that we all have different needs and priorities.
I wish a more large spread of the MP4 container 'coz it's more flexible than avi.
I don't know if there are the old problem of avi with his new DivX, but avi has large problem with MP3 VBR, it doesn't support exactly AAC (also if it's possible to place AAC audio tracks with AVIMux GUI, I've heard, but I haven't ever checked it by myself). I don't think that mkv will become one day a large spread standard (at least for the home video), but MP4 thanks to Nero Digital, Apple's I-Pod, and last but not least Sony's PSP it's becoming to be a widely accepted standard.
Of course, they can make as they wish, they don't want to alienate their old customers, if they are happy in this way.....

neo_anderson

18th June 2005, 19:24

i do not know how to write avisynth script! so , i have been using gknot for a long time now for script creation! but, it resizes 16:9 dvd's to like 704x304, but if i remember correctly, dr. divx did 720X304 ! so, can i edit or write avs script myself! can anyone help me in telling me format of avisynth script?

12gage

18th June 2005, 19:48

neo: i've found the easiest way to edit a .avs script is to open it in v-dub mod then select script editor and make any changes you need. Hope this helps.

Also i'm wondering if there is a program that helps you take a avi and make a .divx file, with the chapters and subs?

Fateh2002

18th June 2005, 21:54

i just wanna know, the new version of Divx will preserve the ratio of the vedio like DVD
or we must resize the video during the encoding process to preserve the original ratio.....

ricardo.santos

18th June 2005, 23:26

yes it preserves i tried with both 4:3 and 16:9 and the results i get are 1.33.1 and
1.80.1

i checked this cm's digital video tool.

Sergei_Esenin

19th June 2005, 03:11

I wish a more large spread of the MP4 container 'coz it's more flexible than avi.

In theory, MP4 is more flexible than AVI. In practice, AVI is far more flexible because MP4 private stream support is unimplemented in splitters/decoders except for a few special cases like Nero's subs. That limits the usefulness of MP4 to a few specific codecs and formats explicitly in the spec, whereas *almost* anything can be muxed into AVI and easily used by existing splitters/decoders. So, in practice, AVI is by far more flexible--though Matroska is at least as flexible in practice, but with the advantages of better ground-up design without the hacks AVI uses, which is why I put most of my files in the MKV container.

For a real-world case of how MP4 falls far short and becomes too limited, I compress a lot of TV shows to MPEG-4 ASP or AVC. Perfect for MP4 since those codecs are native to the MP4 container. *But*, many TV show DVDs use stereo AC3 sound @ 192, a low enough bitrate for the inefficient AC3 codec that a good sound system already exposes some artifacting. I can either recompress to AAC, which would be silly since it would only save a few MB and degrade the already not-great sound quality a little more, or I can keep the AC3--which makes the most sense snce it's only a few MB more and retains 100% original quality. But the MP4 container/system doesn't currently support this; even as a private stream, no current playback support exists. So, Matroska or even AVI are quite superior in terms of flexibility.

Granted, that's a very specific case and not a problem everyone will encounter or be bothered by. But it proves that MP4 is *less* flexible than even AVI, not more so. And a quick search for the term AC3 on the common networks shows that keeping the original AC3 sound is something many people want to do--AVI and MKV allow it; MP4 doesn't, at least not in a presently useful way.

I don't think that mkv will become one day a large spread standard (at least for the home video)

I agree. Matroska will probably never become an extremely widespread standard. But it doesn't need to, because it's open source, well used in tech-savvy circles, and supported by so many great tools that if a problem ever happens with future support the streams can be easily demuxed and put into whatever's popular at the time. That's the beauty of it. Even if MP4 ever becomes the de facto new standard to replace AVI, right now MP4 is too crippled and inflexible. For creating new content in ASP or AVC with AAC or MP3 audio (or a few other less-used codecs), it's great and I give it points for being a uniform standard. But for dealing with existing content and much potential upcoming content (HD-DVD and Blu-ray allow more video and audio codecs than MP4 allows), it's too limited by being too closely tied to its small number of native codecs. Maybe a variety of codecs will get filter and player support as private streams in future, but right now MP4 is too restricted. Whatever it is, MP4 is not "more flexible than avi"--it's very inflexible. Matroska brings far more to the table if flexibility and modern design are one's priorities. AVI has flexibility advantages too, but with hacks to a cruftier, less modern architecture.

MP4 thanks to Nero Digital, Apple's I-Pod, and last but not least Sony's PSP it's becoming to be a widely accepted standard.

It's still not nearly as common as AVI or (shudder) WMV. I have my doubts that it will ever be, since AVI and WMV are entrenched and "good enough" for most uses and the MP4 implementations you just listed are all partly or largely incompatible. If you could download an MP4 file from Apple to play on your PSP, and create an MP4 with Nero that will play on as many STBs as AVI can, then you'd have a great contender. But the implementations don't all "talk" to each other and aren't all mutually compatible. In theory the MP4 container could be a unifying framework; in practice, it's being pushed by only a few parties and not in a unified 100% interoperable way. This gets complicated by DRM--WMV allows for a more-or-less unified DRM framework for content providers who want it; MP4 doesn't have uniform DRM in practice so content providers will be grafting their own protection on like Apple did with iTMS, and different implementations will cause consumer confusion. Don't get me wrong, I dislike DRM--but it's a reality which will impact the coming MP4 vs WMV fight in the online content industry.

The MP4 container may be a standard, but it has an uphill battle against the ubiquity of WMV and AVI before it becomes *the* standard. Especially in online content distribution, WM9 in the WMV container (popular on all kinds of sites) and MPEG-4 ASP in the AVI container (popular on pr0n sites) has a hold MP4 is going to have a hard time loosening. Yes, I *hope* it eventually wins against those formats. No, I'm not certain it will.

For personal file creation, MP4 faces a similar uphill battle. Which brings us back on topic to the "extended AVI" DMF which Divx went with. Maintaining backwards compatibility while grafting on modern features is perhaps the smartest thing Divx Networks has ever done. While MP4 is fighting the uphill battle against AVI and WMV armed with superior technology under the hood but few if any *practical* advantages to the container, DMF already has the largest installed base on both the PC and STB thanks to its riff structure. Again, smart business move.

And now I'll shut up about containers, because I've gotten off topic. :) I'll just reiterate that each format has its advantages, and the advantage of DMF in combining modern features with backwards compatibility cannot be underestimated. The average end user doesn't care about format architecture--he just cares about having the cool new features, but still keeping use of his old hardware. DMF does that, making it a potential success.

ckjnigel

19th June 2005, 09:13

Gee, that was great, Sergei! I almost understood it all and now have a better idea of how the big corporations are arrayed to control us.
...but I'm wondering why Yahoo is going with MS formats...

tommy_vercetti

19th June 2005, 10:50

Why does VirtualDub crash on even trying to see the About box for DivX 6YV12 codec in the compression settings.

P.S. Would have put up a screenshot but somehow this firefox is not letting me attach it.

namchik

19th June 2005, 11:07

tommy_vercetti
maybe 4CC "YV12" belongs to more than 1 codec (e.g. when XviD is installed)...
I unchecked the UV12 when installing DivX 6

neo_anderson

19th June 2005, 11:10

hey divx team, when will those docs and tools for creating .divx files be available?

tommy_vercetti

19th June 2005, 15:57

The crash log file for any one interested

DoctorRad

19th June 2005, 16:07

>>> Firmware update to support the DivX Media Format <<<

Does this mean that if we use AVI as a container, that existing DivX certified players will playback DivX 6 material? Or will that require a firmware update too??

Dr. Matt...

stephanV

19th June 2005, 17:10

DivX certified devices always have supported AVI...

Sagittaire

19th June 2005, 23:14

For metric DivX6 is the best ... MPEG4 ASP codec. Good work DXN ...

PS: in my test N Pass (3 and more) is impossible. Problem with stat file with more than 2 pass ...

|--------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| Codec | PProc | Bitrate | Size | OPSNR | SSIM 0 | SSIM 2 |
|--------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| DivX6 ASP | PP4 | 446 | 6757 | 39.85 | 70.17 | 65.02 |
| XviD ASP | PP4 | 446 | 6756 | 39.66 | 69.55 | 64.33 |
| LAVC ASP | PP4 | 447 | 6775 | 39.71 | 69.51 | 63.82 |
| Nero AVC HP | PP0 | 446 | 6747 | 40.96 | 76.20 | 71.63 |
| x264 AVC HP | PP0 | 446 | 6747 | 40.85 | 74.82 | 70.40 |
| Nero AVC MP | PP0 | 446 | 6747 | 40.61 | 74.69 | 69.93 |
| x264 AVC MP | PP0 | 446 | 6750 | 40.64 | 73.83 | 69.23 |
| VP7 | PP2 | 446 | 6760 | 40.84 | 74.42 | 70.05 |
| VP6 | PP4 | 446 | 6769 | 40.28 | 71.86 | 66.89 |
| WMV9 | PP1 | 446 | 6746 | 39.51 | 69.58 | 64.07 |
| RV10 | HF2 | 446 | 6743 | 39.84 | 69.86 | 64.60 |
| DivX3 | PP4 | 447 | 6771 | 38.70 | 65.11 | 58.56 |
|--------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| DivX6 ASP | PP4 | 896 | 13493 | 42.78 | 81.14 | 77.99 |
| XviD ASP | PP4 | 896 | 13489 | 42.66 | 80.99 | 77.96 |
| LAVC ASP | PP4 | 897 | 13528 | 42.77 | 80.95 | 77.77 |
| Nero AVC HP | PP0 | 896 | 13490 | 43.63 | 84.39 | 81.60 |
| x264 AVC HP | PP0 | 896 | 13491 | 43.46 | 83.27 | 80.50 |
| Nero AVC MP | PP0 | 896 | 13491 | 43.37 | 83.65 | 80.71 |
| x264 AVC MP | PP0 | 896 | 13498 | 43.26 | 82.66 | 79.75 |
| VP7 | PP2 | 897 | 13534 | 43.34 | 82.75 | 80.02 |
| VP6 | PP4 | 896 | 13481 | 42.99 | 81.39 | 78.41 |
| WMV9 | PP1 | 896 | 13510 | 42.52 | 79.88 | 76.73 |
| RV10 | HF2 | 896 | 13493 | 42.77 | 80.82 | 77.72 |
| DivX3 | PP4 | 896 | 13508 | 41.84 | 78.27 | 74.40 |
|--------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
SSIM 0: Lumimask Off
SSIM 1: Lumimask On (Original Lumimask)
SSIM 2: Lumimask On (One2Tech Patch)

code65536

20th June 2005, 02:20

A feature request for DivX 6...

Could you add an option to disable the tray icon when not using the DivX container? Call me a control-freak, but I like to keep a tidy tray without many icons in it. I understand the purpose of the icon when playing back files encased in the new-fangled DivX container, but it's not necessary for old vanilla .avi files, except to access the decoder configuration. And while on that topic, when I tried to access the decoder configuration during playback by going to DivX codec properties as listed by my playback software, it just gives me an about tab (screenshot attached, though I think you know what I mean). Could the decoder controls be put back there (at least, could it be put there if the user has disabled the tray icon, assuming that my first feature request is granted? ;))

Hyper Shinchan

20th June 2005, 02:50

Sergei, the yurs is a good (and long) reply.
Maybe a variety of codecs will get filter and player support as private streams in future, but right now MP4 is too restricted
MP4 isn't properly not flexible" for the few format that it can handle, but there aren't many tools to mux other format. With MP4Box you can mux Vorbis, with Nero Recode Vobsubs, with I-Tunes Apple Lossless format, but they are private streams, they aren't compatible between them.
MP4 was made to support MPEG-4, there aren't reasons to include other format, it's the same that you say that vob doesn't support a lot of streams, and it was made to be a "standard" kike mpg and other industrial file containers, it's different from mkv.
When I convert from AC3 2.0 192 kbps to AAC LC 2.0 80 kbps I free a lot of space for the video, and coz I don't have this "great" audio system" I don't hear the difference; when I convert fromAC3 5.1 448 kbps to AAC-HE 5.1 128 Kbps I free a LOT of space for the video, of course if you don't like AAC compression I don't see why you should use ASP for the video, also the video is afflicted by compression, maybe it's more afflicted than the audio.
It's still not nearly as common as AVI or (shudder) WMV. I have my doubts that it will ever be, since AVI and WMV are entrenched and "good enough" for most uses and the MP4 implementations you just listed are all partly or largely incompatible. If you could download an MP4 file from Apple to play on your PSP, and create an MP4 with Nero that will play on as many STBs as AVI can, then you'd have a great contender. But the implementations don't all "talk" to each other and aren't all mutually compatible.
At the moment there aren't a lot of these devices, I know, nut maybe in the future they will become more and more spread (on some websites you can already found clips in MP4 PSP compatible, I-Pod is the most spread portable audio devices, and I hope that there will be more and more MP4 compatible DVD players).
WMV has many problems coz is a private standard, it's spread on internet, but when you talk about hardware devices it's very different.
And now I'll shut up about containers, because I've gotten off topic. I'll just reiterate that each format has its advantages, and the advantage of DMF in combining modern features with backwards compatibility cannot be underestimated. The average end user doesn't care about format architecture--he just cares about having the cool new features, but still keeping use of his old hardware. DMF does that, making it a potential success.
It's a smart business move, as you said before, right?
P.S.: I'm sorry if I'm off topic from a long time, should I open a new thread?

DoctorRad

20th June 2005, 07:01

DivX certified devices always have supported AVI...
That doesn't answer my question, so I'll rephrase it:

Will existing DivX Certified players playback a DivX 6 bitstream in an AVI container?

Dr. Matt...

stephanV

20th June 2005, 09:32

Why not? MPEG4 is MPEG4, its not like they invented a new bit stream...the whole point about DivX6 is that it is still compatible with DivX 5.

SeeMoreDigital

20th June 2005, 09:47

That doesn't answer my question, so I'll rephrase it:

Will existing DivX Certified players playback a DivX 6 bitstream in an AVI container?

Dr. Matt...Short answer... yes!

All "DivX Certified" players should indeed be able to play DivX6 streams placed within the .AVI container.

With regard to the .DIVX container, all "DivX Certified" players should be able to play (at the very minimum) the audio and video elements of an DivX6 encode.

However, until manufacturers provide firmware upgrades for their players, you will not gain full access to DivX6's (.divx), menus, chapters and maybe even the subtitles.

Cheers

neo_anderson

21st June 2005, 06:18

hey, which is recommended for a 2-cd rip in divx 6 of a dvd movie, h.263, h.263 optimized or mpeg-2?

ripper64

22nd June 2005, 16:38

hey, which is recommended for a 2-cd rip in divx 6 of a dvd movie, h.263, h.263 optimized or mpeg-2?I would go for MPEG-2.

Great, DivX6. I especially like the new interface. Much better without popup dialogs!

Sharktooth

22nd June 2005, 18:29

MPEG-2 in divx is buggy (it got never fixed).
Just use "h.263 optimized".

Gej

22nd June 2005, 18:39

I you have time always use "h263 optimzed" it is really good !

SeeMoreDigital

22nd June 2005, 18:43

As a matter of interest, does the latest version of "DivX Player" support Mpeg4+MP3 files in .MP4... like previous versions?

Cheers

Buggle

22nd June 2005, 21:09

I am having problems playing back Div3 content with the new DivX6.
First I tried to play back an incomplete (but fixed) stream. It did not give me picture, there was only sound. After switching off postprocessing image appeared, after re-enabling postprocessing it stayed that way, luckily.

Then I tried to encode a different Div3 stream to VCD to watch it on my other tv, and it didn't work. TMPG kept on giving me errors, and told me the file consistet of about 488.000 frames while it is only 114926 big.

Then another movie (also in Div3 format) played back incorrectly, with only smeared out colors ed, regardless of the point in the movie. This movie worked before installing DivX6, I am absolutely sure about that.

I am installing 5.2.1 now because of this. Not that all of my movies are encoded in Div3, but these problems are not giving me much confidence in this versions decoder. I'll be waiting for the minor revs...

Ice =A=

22nd June 2005, 22:39

Concerning playback problems with older (DivX3) files I can confirm that! I had exactly the same problem as Buggle (including the "solution" by switching off overlay). Till now I thought that would be some problem with my system only, but as it looks like it's not.

xelagot

23rd June 2005, 00:06

All avis encoded with XVid are now being decoded by the DivX 6 codec (I see this because the DivX logo shows overlayed). This means I can not use or test the XVid decoder at all now since I upgraded. I see no option in the DivX decoder to stop this behaviour.

The XVid decoder also has the ability to decode DivX, but they have the decency to allow you to chose this option, they do not force you to use it. Can the DivX decoder have the same respect for other codecs?

I hope this was a glitch, but plagued now by constant warnings of my firewall about DivX trying to contact internet and highjacking other applications to do so without my consent, I'm in doubt.

I think a professional codec has NO BUSINESS contacting remote hosts (for whatever reason) or decoding other codecs without prior consent. Or installing toolbars. A codec is there to COde and DECode. I hope this gets fixed soon.

X

SeeMoreDigital

23rd June 2005, 00:15

Hi xelagot,

Try clicking on the "DivX Configuration" option (available via: Start/Programs/DivX etc).

Once their, deselect "Support Decoding of Generic MPEG-4 Video".

Cheers

ChronoCross

23rd June 2005, 00:16

All avis encoded with XVid are now being decoded by the DivX 6 codec (I see this because the DivX logo shows overlayed). This means I can not use or test the XVid decoder at all now since I upgraded. I see no option in the DivX decoder to stop this behaviour.

The XVid decoder also has the ability to decode DivX, but they have the decency to allow you to chose this option, they do not force you to use it. Can the DivX decoder have the same respect for other codecs?

I hope this was a glitch, but plagued now by constant warnings of my firewall about DivX trying to contact internet and highjacking other applications to do so without my consent, I'm in doubt.

I think a codec has NO BUSINESS contacting remote hosts (for whatever reason) or decoding other codecs without prior consent. A codec is there to COde and DECode. I hope this gets fixed soon.

X

I have to agree with you on that one. The fact that everytime I open the encoder window in vdubmod rundll32.dll tries to contact divx is getting on my nerves.

xelagot

23rd June 2005, 00:49

SeeMoreDigital:

thanks, that worked :) Why the heck is this not an option (as far as I could see) in the installer? Or are we supposed to be wizzards?

Cheers.

xelagot

23rd June 2005, 00:58

I have to agree with you on that one. The fact that everytime I open the encoder window in vdubmod rundll32.dll tries to contact divx is getting on my nerves.

Another wizzard trick: when you configure the codec settings in VDM, click on the "advanced" button (bottom left). Unselect both "rotate artwork..." and "always check for new version at startup".

More mysteries solved :devil:

X

DigitAl56K

23rd June 2005, 07:17

Ok, here we go:

@squid_80:

A 64-bit version of DivX looks ever more likely as 64-bit CPUs are upon us. The key piece that is missing is a 64-bit OS ready to ship in volume. You may, of course, see releases on DivX Labs before then.

@ricardo.santos:

Are you using DivX Player to view the subtitles? I think there may be an issue with the way it renders them. Have you tried Windows Media Player?

@Hyper Shinchan:
In the future will DivX includes AVC? It cannot remain the same forever.....

Possibly, when it makes sense. AVC is by no means a bad technology, and we certainly don't want to knock it on the head. Right now when we look at the CE space and the system requirements for a good experience with AVC with respect to emerging use cases like HD video we still expect that it will not be immediately useful to most people (although still interesting to the tech enthusiast, of course). When we look at AVC in comparison to DivX 6 we also see that for things like HD video there really isn't too much difference between the two. In fact, the difference is often so small that it will be nigh-on indistinguishable to the majority of people, although DivX 6 will play on lots of certified devices and on lower spec'd pc's. Also remember that with DivX 6 we're launching an entire format, and not simply a video codec. When your video already looks great, the next thing is to enhance the experience with extra features, and the DivX Media Format is designed to let you do that.

@12gage:
If you want to encode with audio in DivX Converter using .avs scripts, you may need the latest version of AVISynth (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/avisynth2/AviSynth_050505.exe?download). If your audio is stored seperately, you can apply AudioDub() to combine it with the video.

@hajj_3:
You should be able to prevent the DivX Toolbar appearing in the tray area by renaming DivXSM.exe

@namchik:
DivX Player certainly should play XVID video. I'll look into that, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

@neo_anderson:
AVISynth is a lot less difficult to work with than it may first appear. Basically .avs files are just like regular .txt files that you can edit in Notepad. Inside the .avs file you can list a series of functions to be performed on a clip. The idea is that some of the functions are built-in, some can be used after you load a special plugin (using LoadPlugin("filename.dll")), and generally you use a Source filter (like AVISource("filename.avi)) to input a video, apply some filters (like LanczosResize(720,304)), and then return the output video at the end of the script, which is what an app like VirtualDub will see. There are some good sample scripts on the AVISynth website, and it's very easy to pick it up and experiment once you get started.

@Sergei_Esenin:

I'll just reiterate that each format has its advantages, and the advantage of DMF in combining modern features with backwards compatibility cannot be underestimated. The average end user doesn't care about format architecture--he just cares about having the cool new features, but still keeping use of his old hardware. DMF does that, making it a potential success.

Great comment! We'll pay you later... ;)

@namchik:

Lots of drivers and codec packs provide YV12 support to VFW applications. The issue is not so much that many codecs use the YV12 fourcc, but more so that VFW apps need a means to receive YV12 video. DivX provides this means in case you don't have something else that does it. You can, as you pointed out, turn it off during installation.

@neo_anderson:

How long it takes us to release the tools depends on how long we can lock fluffy in the office. So far he's been there 6 days straight. He almost escaped once when we scheduled thekid to watch over him, then released thekid was out of the country for a month, but fortunately the industrial cabling held tight and disaster was averted.

@DoctorRad:

Existing DivX 6 players will play DivX 6 video in a DivX AVI file, and the main title of a DivX media file - optionally with subtitles and alternate audio tracks.

@Sagittaire:

Awesome test results! I'll look into that >2-pass problem for you.

@code65536:

We might be able to add an option to turn off the tray icon. I'll talk to the team about it. The decoder controls are available from the tray, or from your start menu.

@Sharktooth:

Yes, the MPEG quantization is still a little iffy ;) I know some of the team have been looking into the problem recently.

@SeeMoreDigital:

DivX Player 6 should support MPEG-4 ASP and MP3 audio in a .mp4 container. If you find a file you have problems with let me know!

@Buggle:

That DivX 3 problem sounds really bizarre. Do you know anything about the files that you're trying to play? I.e. the way that they were encoded? This would help us track down any issue. We do test the decoder against a series of DivX 3 files on every release, but obviously we don't have one which triggers this particular condition. Is there any chance that you could send us a clip if I give you an FTP location to upload to?

@ChronoCross:

To stop the codec making any connections turn off "Rotate product artwork" and "Always check for updates" in the encoder settings.

More information:
http://forums.divx.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/201101651/m/593109352

And that wraps up another gigantic posting orgy for the night. Have fun everyone! :)

ricardo.santos

23rd June 2005, 09:24

digiatl56k

@ricardo.santos:

"Are you using DivX Player to view the subtitles? I think there may be an issue with the way it renders them. Have you tried Windows Media Player?"

i dont view divx on pc, i bought a divx standalone palyer for that, but answering your question the divxmedia player and wmp display them badly, even my standalone doesnt display them properly( too thin, not well shaped the letteres, bits missing of letters, almost transparent)

i stopped complaining as i found a method to display them properly using srt2bmp,fuse and divx5.2.1(drdivx, gordian)

if u only need subs very ocasionally i guess divxconverter will work for u, but if subs are IMPORTANT for u I RECOMEND :
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=89718

USING that method really improved a lot the subs, they're perfect.
Digital56k if u have time, can u try that method and compare it with the results from divxconverter? not being funny or anything but i guess you wil be surprised with the output quality.
this is my personal opinion.

Buggle

23rd June 2005, 09:26

Ok, here we go:

@Buggle:

That DivX 3 problem sounds really bizarre. Do you know anything about the files that you're trying to play? I.e. the way that they were encoded? This would help us track down any issue. We do test the decoder against a series of DivX 3 files on every release, but obviously we don't have one which triggers this particular condition. Is there any chance that you could send us a clip if I give you an FTP location to upload to?

Sure, i'd be more than happy to help :) How much data do you need from each file?
By the way, the movie that gave me that colored smearing works fine now again with 5.2.1

neo_anderson

23rd June 2005, 09:44

thks for the reply digital56k, i am really looking forward to the release of those tools, one more small thing, which resize should i use, lancos or bicubic, as i noticed that many use bicubic, so which one would u prefer? i usually go for 2-cd dvd to divx rips!

SeeMoreDigital

23rd June 2005, 11:16

@SeeMoreDigital:

DivX Player 6 should support MPEG-4 ASP and MP3 audio in a .mp4 container. If you find a file you have problems with let me know!DivX "video only" streams placed within the MP4 container using MP4Box, play with green flashes!

DivX video with MP3 streams placed within the MP4 container using MP4Box, display the following error message: -

http://img299.echo.cx/img299/454/divxplayererror9lw.png

Cheers

Buggle

23rd June 2005, 11:30

An update on the problem:
After installing 5.2.1 again I still can't put the one avi directly to TMPG. So I cannot be sure it is DivX6 that caused that problem. I solved it by frameserving it into TMPG with VirtualDub. That works fine (although a little slower).
But as said, the other problem was gone after installing 5.2.1

Buggle

26th June 2005, 23:03

@Buggle:

That DivX 3 problem sounds really bizarre. Do you know anything about the files that you're trying to play? I.e. the way that they were encoded? This would help us track down any issue. We do test the decoder against a series of DivX 3 files on every release, but obviously we don't have one which triggers this particular condition. Is there any chance that you could send us a clip if I give you an FTP location to upload to?

Do you still want those clips? I could upload them tuesdayafternoon (GMT+1)

jNA!

28th June 2005, 07:02

i look forward to a full dvd backup guide with menus and special features

Sagittaire

6th July 2005, 06:28

GMC with DivX 6 don't work ...

bug or not bug ... ???

IceBone

21st July 2005, 15:01

Hmm, only insane quality will get quality above that of xvid 1.1 with 6of9 matrix + some other tweaks, however it takes 3x as long to encode. I'd rather use x264 then. It produces a better picture still and takes the same to encode.

SeeMoreDigital

21st July 2005, 16:43

GMC with DivX 6 don't work ...

bug or not bug ... ???I'm inclined to agree... Or should I say, MPEG4 Modifier does: -

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1562/divx6divx503b1571gmctest7fm.png

Cheers

Cyberace

26th July 2005, 14:39

You probebly better of reporting the bug/symptom on www.divx.com forums :(

Sharktooth

26th July 2005, 14:55

bah... the divx gmc is so useless it can be completely removed from the codec as well...
so actually the codec is doing you a favour... it keeps it disabled... :D

IgorC

26th July 2005, 22:14

Qpel in Divx6 is also totally borked. Helium version admit Insane mode + Qpel. But if use only insane(without Qpel) mode the result is better.
To use H263+ not always better than H263 especially on high bitrates when there is no need to use smooth quant.

P.S. There isn't even one psymode that's wasn't borked.
P.S2. MPEG quant. also borked.

khushalbhadra

28th July 2005, 14:48

neo_anderson

28th July 2005, 20:49

I am having problem with Divx 6....since I have installed Divx 6 on my system its,whenever I try to play a divx files theres this windows explorer error....i am continuing to have the same problem...plus some older divx movies are running in frames...
what should I do now.....

Hey Khushal, pls post more info, like ur system specs, ur os version, etc. Also, u can try the divx bigfix 1.6b, but that might unregister/remove some important stuff such as dvobsub filter, so pls go through it's options carefully, and then install it carefully! pls see the attachment for it, and report back!

khushalbhadra

31st July 2005, 05:30

My Pc configuration
AMD Athlon 2500+
Motherboard:Nforce2
ram:512 DDR
Graphic card GeforceFx 5200
OS:Windows Xp with service pack2

Now the problem is that whenever I play a divx file there is this windows explorer error it says problem with something Gtcodec.dll this error is only when I install divx 6..when I uninstall it and install the previous version of divx i.e 5.2 everythings running fine.

neo_anderson

31st July 2005, 20:07

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/BigFix.htm

Try this fix, it fixes most of the divx problems!

ArcticFox

11th August 2005, 16:23

Whys Divx6 High Definition Profile limited to 4mbps, 4mbps at 720p is bad enough let alone 1080, is there a way of changing it so i can have more than 4mbps?

CiNcH

11th August 2005, 21:10

So why do you use a profile? Shall the output be compatible with a DivX HD standalone player? If not use 'unrestricted' instead of a profile... if you want bitrates beyond 4 mbps.

Lupo Silenzioso

12th August 2005, 16:59

Here's my problem with divx 6:
When i open an avi with multiple audio tracks i can't change from one audio track to another. If i click on the divx icon on the systray, the audio menu is "dark" (it means that i can't click on it).
ah, i use windows xp and the core media player (latest version).
With divx 5 i didn't have this kind of problem; and now i have no problems with media player classic.

Edit: when i open the file a windows of divx6 appears at the right bottom of the screen, saying "This file contains multiple audio tracks".

thefluffy

13th August 2005, 17:26

So why do you use a profile? Shall the output be compatible with a DivX HD standalone player? If not use 'unrestricted' instead of a profile... if you want bitrates beyond 4 mbps.

I believe this limitation is a bug in the codec. The number should be 6Mbps.

CiNcH

13th August 2005, 18:46

Seems true. According to the DivX Certified Program max average birate for Home Theater Profile is 4000 kbps and for HD even 8000 kbps...