Philips 642 - Divx 6 support

[civuck]

Does anyone know if the Philips 642 player will be able to support the new Divx 6 codec and features with a firmware upgrade?

[TOY4TWO]

I encoded a movie with Divx 6 and it played fine on the 642. No advanced features currently work though.

[kosmonautbruce]

All DivX certified DVD players can play DivX 6 files, they just can't recognize some of the advanced features (i.e., menus, metadata, etc.).

They should be able to recognize subtitles and multiple audio tracks in the DivX Media Format file.

As to firmware upgrades, that depends on the player and the manufacturer. If the player is upgradeable (not all are) then the manufacturer has to decide they want to do it. We encourage them all to do so, but it's their decision. We expect players that are certified for all DivX Media Format features to be on the market by the end of the year, early next year.

Please let me know if I can answer any further questions.

K.

[civuck]

If the player is upgradeable (not all are) then the manufacturer has to decide they want to do it. We encourage them all to do so, but it's their decision. We expect players that are certified for all DivX Media Format features to be on the market by the end of the year, early next year.

Please let me know if I can answer any further questions.
K.

Thanks for the reply.

Predictably, I have not received a response from Philips regarding the status of a possible firmware update to the popular model 642 player which would support DivX 6 menus.

Any word on this yet?

[kosmonautbruce]

No, no word from Philips yet. It is all pretty new right now, so it's going to take some time before firmwares could possibly be updated. I'll try and see if I can get more information for you guys though.

K.

[civuck]

DivX 6 support?

Found this at Yahoo! Groups...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/philips_dvp642/message/1211

Checking myself now...

[junkmalle]

Multiple audio tracks and multiplexed subtitles have been in AVI files for quite some time. They don't require Divx 6.

[kosmonautbruce]

junkmalle is correct, we have insisted on multiple audio and subtitles as part of the certification process from day one. It's just now with DivX 6 and the .divx file format that we're making it easier to create files with those features. The newer features of DivX 6, like interactive menus and chapters are what we are trying to get firmware upgrades for. I still don't have a date on when those will be available, but we are certainly working on it with manufacturers like Philips.

-K.