Divx HELP!!!!!

[ranger6901]

Is there anyway to view the old divx discs I still have like 8 of them from when divx first came out? Should I just toss them?

[redwudz]

The first thing to do would be to drop the Divx onto AVIcodec or Gspot and see which codec they use. Then check the codecs in 'Tools' to the left for availibility. VLC Media Player might be able to view them also without installing any codecs.

[ranger6901]

Is There anyway to get them on dvd?

[ranger6901]

This is what it says when I drop it in avicodec program.

Video : 2.47 MB, 8000 Kbps, 29.970 fps, 720*480 (16:9), MPG2 = MPEG 2 (SVCD/DVD), Supported

So which program would i need,also the media player you suggested does not play it either.

[junkmalle]

Are you talking about the old Circuit City Divx disk format? I wonder if DVDDecrypter will decrypt them from the DVD?

[redwudz]

That doesn't appear to be a Divx file, it reads as a DVD spec (MPEG-2)video in widescreen format.

VLC Media Player should have worked.

[redwudz]

junkmalle, you may be right. I almost bought one of those players.

I'll look around a little, but I doubt there is any way to play them without decryption, as that was their aim in creating the format.

This from Nickyguides site:

"What Was DIVX?

When DVD's first appeared a system of pay-per-view DVD rental was developed by Circuit City Los Angeles entertainment law firm Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca & Fischer. They called it DIgital Video eXpress or DIVX for short.

DIVX was at best a bad implementation of a good idea and at worst an evil scheme designed to exploit the buyer! It was basically a DVD rental system a bit like Sky Box Office. You bought a DIVX player which was a DVD player with a modem connected to your phone line. Then you were allowed to buy any DIVX movie you liked for about $4.50. You could take the movie home and watch it as many times as you liked for a period of 48 hours. Then, every time you wanted to watch that movie again you would be charged $3.25. Then your DIVX player would send a note to the central DIVX computer through the phone line and unlock it for 48 hours.

The idea sounded good because you didn't need to worry about taking the 'rented' movie back to the shop late. It was also possible to order a movie and have it delivered to you rather than having to move your lazy ass!

Nevertheless most people hated the idea with a vengeance! Each disc cost more than a normal rental. It wasn't a true DVD, just a cheap cut down disc. They didn't have any extras, no widescreen and no alternative language support - you got the movie and that was it! You couldn't take the movie to watch at a friend's house because the DIVX needed to be unlocked. If your friend had a DIVX player they'd need to pay to watch it. You could "buy" the movie, which meant it was always unlocked, but you couldn't sell or give the movie to anyone else because they couldn't play it.

The telephone connection also allowed the makers of DIVX to track what movies you were watching and build up statistical data on viewing habits and tastes. Most considered this an invasion of privacy. Who wants the world to know how many times a day you watched 'Attack of the surfing, killer-bikini vampire women'?! Of course, saying that, Sky Digital and many Cable companies do pretty much the same thing!

Although DIVX got full backing by Twentieth Century Fox, Disney (Buena Vista), Universal, MGM, DreamWorks SKG and Paramount, in June 16, 1999 the DIVX scheme was discontinued."

[redwudz]

If they are the defunct Circuit City DivX format, save them for another ten years or so and sell them on Ebay as classic memorabilia. You might recover your investment.

[celtic_druid]

DivX used Triple-DES encryption. It would be very hard to crack and I can't really see any motivation for anyone to do it.

[ranger6901]

Yes They are Divx from back in the day when the players first came out, I don't beleive circuit city was the only one to sell them.Either way from what I gather is that its not even worth my time, so maybe i will just disspose of them.