DivX - some basic questions

[tmh]

I know I'll hear "Try to SEARCH" for this basic a question......but I did and so many threads contain DivX info I couldn't sort it all out. I looked at the definitions and see DivX is much more compact than DVD format, so that's a start. Anyhow, here's what I'm curious about after seeing the format discussed so often and so many tools to work with DivX.

1. Why would one want to convert to DivX? (PC viewing? Compatable DVD player viewing? Send file on internet? etc.)

2. If Ihave DV footage from my camcorder that I want copies of would DivX be a useful final output format?

3. What is the quality of DivX format compared to VCD, DVD or whatever?

4. Is DivX generally viewable on modern DVD players (I know I can just check mine, butwondering if it's generally useable when making video for others)?

5. Can one burn DivX to a DVD disc?

Thanks for any help on these questions.

[Baldrick]

1. yep, send file over net. if you just are going to watch the video in dvd players is dvd enough.

3. you can get divx in any quality, from low resolution like vcd up to hd quality.

4. many newer dvd players supports divx, see our dvd player database and www.divx.com for a hardware list.

5. yes.

[manono]

Hi-

I'll try and give some answers, but different people may have differing answers for some of the questions.

1. Could be lots of reasons. To save the DVD collection from grubby fingered youngsters. To share over the internet in a size much smaller than the source. As a hobby, to teach yourself about video encoding. If you don't have a DVD burner, and are limited to burning CD-Rs, then AVIs (DivX, XviD) are naturals to create from DVD or your camcorder footage. Or for playing on a standalone DVD/MPEG-4 player.

2. I don't have a camcorder, but isn't the footage usually (always?) interlaced? AVIs are almost always progressive. If you create an AVI therefore, you'll have to deinterlace (usually). A better bet might be SVCD or DVD for interlaced sources. But there are decent deinterlacers, so it can be made to look OK if converted to DivX or XviD.

3. It depends on the resolution, but generally, an AVI is much better than VCD, a little bit better than SVCD (although there are those that might argue that point), and not nearly as good as DVD. Those are the AVIs created for 1 or 2 CDs. At high bitrates and using good quantization matrices, XviDs can be as good as a reencoded DVD with still much smaller file sizes.

4. No. To view an AVI on a standalone, it has to be that special class of DVD/MPEG-4 player. And you can view them on a computer and on a growing number of portable viewing devices.

5. Yes.

Edit: baldrick beat me to it.

[TBoneit]

I have a Toshiba Sd 3990 that plays Divx, Xvid, Raw unauthored MPGs as well as DVDs.

Divx Can be high quality depends on how well it is done.

1. To put more video on a DVD at DVD quality.

2. Could be, But I'd also do a regular DVD format of it for relatives to view on their DVD players.

3. Once again depends on how ell it is done. It can look really good or really bad or anywhere inbetween. Same thing with a DVD you can make a really good one or you can try and squeeze to much onto it and end up with VCD quality.

4. only a small subset of DVD players can play Divx. Here they show 6,786 DVD players and 1,023 support Divx and even then they may not support all the Divx features.

5. Depends on the player. Many use it to fit a movie on a CDrom. The Toshiba I have plays them off of a DVD.

[ktnwin]

Here are my attempts to answer your questions:

1. Why would one want to convert to DivX? (PC viewing? Compatable DVD player viewing? Send file on internet? etc.)
Answer: for PC viewing, send thru Internet, a lot of digital cameras also capture video in this format nowaday. Divx is more flexible (resolution and bitrate) than DVD format. You can get a very small screen vide 120x80 for example and fit many hours on a single CD.

2. If Ihave DV footage from my camcorder that I want copies of would DivX be a useful final output format?
Answer: Of course the final format would be DVD as it can be played on mostly all DVD players. But nothing prevent you to encode it to Divx for sharing over Internet.

3. What is the quality of DivX format compared to VCD, DVD or whatever?
Answer: With the same source video, a well made DVD is always better than VCD for sure.
Divx could be as good as the best DVD but can also be made to be worst than VCD. It all has to do with resolution and encoding bitrate.

4. Is DivX generally viewable on modern DVD players (I know I can just check mine, butwondering if it's generally useable when making video for others)?
Answer: There are quite a few DVD players that can play Divx now, there is also a new 7" portable DVD player that can play it. You can click on DVD Players tab on the left side and look for them. I found no less than 30 of them.

5. Can one burn DivX to a DVD disc?
Answer: of course, it's just a data file, no authoring is needed.

In the future, we can expect new DVD players to support this format. There is no authoring involved, just burn the DivX file(s) to DVD disc. However, there is no chapters with Divx.

There are also USB-2 enclosure (for portable HDD, you need to add a hard drive to it) that can connected to TV for playing Divx files (and VOB, MPEG, MP3, WMA, etc...).

[tmh]

OK. Thanks all! That cleared it up for me.

Two more questions though......

Let's say I take DV footage from a kid's ball game, convert to DivX to send to other parents via internet (or post to a web site they can go to to view).

1. is this a better quality/file size tradeoff than other formats like wmv?

2. Can most media players (Windows media Player) on PC play DivX or would folks need to go download/install a DivX codec to play it (which is more than some are able to do as i'm sure you know)?

[KBeee]

DivX and WMV are about on a par in the quality/size stakes, but for the 95% of computer users who are computer illiterate WMV would be a safer format for distribution.
Let MS do your thinking for you....

[jimmalenko]

DivX and WMV are about on a par in the quality/size stakes, but for the 95% of computer users who are computer illiterate WMV would be a safer format for distribution.
Let MS do your thinking for you....

So long as those illiterate people aren't MAC people

[tmh]

Thaks.