DivX DVD Players

[jm]

I just wanted to ask how future proof a DivX capable DVD player is. I currently have a 5.xx compatible player, but does that mean it won't be compatible with version 7, 8, 9 etc? It would be annoying as hell to have to buy a new one whenever a new version is released. If firmware is the problem, apart from the manufacturers website, where else can you get it?

Thanks for your help

[jman98]

This is a good question. The maintainers of the commercial Divx codec (http://www.divx.com) took some pains to make sure that version 6 of the codec itself was backwards compatible with version 5. The advanced features of version 6 like menus, subtitles, etc. don't work on version 5 players, but the video itself is completely backwards compatible. Since these people want use of their product to grow, logically it would be stupid for them to not continue the compatibility. So while anything could happen, the only evidence to date leads towards future compatibility. So don't worry.

Firmware is probably not the issue with Divx. Well, it might be for advanced features of version 6 (not sure about that), but the actual decoding of Divx files has nothing to do with firmware and it involves a special decoding chip in the player. No chip - no decoding. This is why you can't make DVD players that lack the chip decode Divx with a firmware fix - it's not a firmware issue and it never was.

[jagabo]

I agree that Divx isn't likely to change the playback spec of the Divx codec. But they have purchased MainConcept so they will probably introduce a h.264 based encoder in the near future (which Divx certified players won't play).

http://investors.divx.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=275837

I expect the community will switch to h.264 eventually.

[jm]

What does h.264 mean for backwards compatibility?

[jagabo]

Backward compatability with Divx? None. It requires much more powerful decoding chips. There are only a few players that can play h.264 now.

[jm]

ahh ok.