H264 Vs Divx

[NautTboy]

What's the major different between these two? I know H264 encode/compress HD up to 1080. Can't we use Dvix compression with 1280×720 or 1920×1080 resolution and get the same result or it only goes up to 480i? I asked since a lot of DVD player does not play H264 format as yet.

[jman98]

Good question. Short answer - Divx is older technology and H.264 is new technology. H.264 takes advantage of some technological improvements in encoding and as a result can deliver better quality at a lower bit rate than Divx. That doesn't mean that Divx is crap, but H.264 is better.

Yes, you can encode 1280x720 and 1920x1080 with Divx. No problem. However, it will take higher bitrate and thus produce larger files to get the same quality as H.264.

H.264 playback requires a lot of processing power and it takes newer and more expensive playback chips to do it in standalone players. Divx doesn't require that much horsepower to decode it, so chips that can do it have been around for years and are pretty cheap to put in DVD players.

[poisondeathray]

Also note DivX compatible DVD players are usually limited to SD 720x480 or 720x576 in "home theater" profile

As jman98 says, if you use DivX in "unrestricted profile", you will be able to encode 1080p, but it won't play on most DVD players

If you use DivX plus HD profile from Divx 7 , you can use HD (Divx 7 HD is actually a version of h.264, not MPEG4-ASP like the older DivX 6), but there are not very many certified devices (but media players like WDTV, TviX, Popcorn Hour can play it, along with compatible h.264 streams)

[jagabo]

Note that Divx 7 includes both the old MPEG 4 Part 2 encoder (ie, traditional Divx) as well as the new MPEG 4 part 10 (h.264) encoder (the latter only in the Divx converter program and a closed beta CLI encoder) and can produce HD with both.

[edDV]

Also note DivX compatible DVD players are usually limited to SD 720x480 or 720x576 in "home theater" profile

As jman98 says, if you use DivX in "unrestricted profile", you will be able to encode 1080p, but it won't play on most DVD players

But HD Divx will play on some certified Sigma Designs chipset 8xxx players where h.264 may not.

Some Blu-Ray players will play an "AVCHD" version of h.264 but not all.

Some "media players" are less restrictive on h.264, others are more restrictive.

I hope this fully answered your question.

[NautTboy]

Thanks for all your input.

"Also note DivX compatible DVD players are usually limited to SD 720x480 or 720x576 in "home theater" profile " make sense.

I might just tried 720 resolution Divx and play on my dvd player and see if it plays. This question just came up at work and hard to find time at home to sit down and actually test.

[edDV]

Thanks for all your input.

"Also note DivX compatible DVD players are usually limited to SD 720x480 or 720x576 in "home theater" profile " make sense.

I might just tried 720 resolution Divx and play on my dvd player and see if it plays. This question just came up at work and hard to find time at home to sit down and actually test.

Quick test.

If the player sells for under $100 figure 720x480/576.

If it sells for over $200 check the Divx certified list.

[NautTboy]

I have the cheap brand. Mostly it is the cheap brand that plays almost everything. I have the RJtech karaoke. It's plays all,(tested) DVD, miniDVD, SVCD, VCD, CD+G, DIVX and JPEG. Of course, not H264 format avi(tested).

Since I don't have HD/BR drive, I will have to download some sample and try to convert to Divx with HD resolution and test it.

[edDV]

I have the cheap brand. Mostly it is the cheap brand that plays almost everything. I have the RJtech karaoke. It's plays all,(tested) DVD, miniDVD, SVCD, VCD, CD+G, DIVX and JPEG. Of course, not H264 format avi(tested).

Since I don't have HD/BR drive, I will have to download some sample and try to convert to Divx with HD resolution and test it.

It won't play an HD file.

[NautTboy]

Ok, so what is really a 1080p Upconverting/upscale DVD player? If a DVD is able to produce 1080 resolution(HD) and capable of playing Divx, does that mean it could play HD resolution? I would encode it to 1080 or 720 divx, tho I won't get much time on a DVD as mentioned earlier. That's fine, I'm not backing up any DVDs, more of family videos.

I'm kinda confuse, when a dvd resolution is 480 and it mentioned 720/1080 upconverting.

[jagabo]

Ok, so what is really a 1080p Upconverting/upscale DVD player?

A player with the power to play standard definition DVD and a chip which upscales the output, line by line.

If a DVD is able to produce 1080 resolution(HD) and capable of playing Divx, does that mean it could play HD resolution?

No. Most can only play standard definition sources. Only the output is upscaled. (I've only heard of one or two DVD players that have the ability to play HD Divx. I don't remember the brand/model.)

I would encode it to 1080 or 720 divx, tho I won't get much time on a DVD as mentioned earlier. That's fine, I'm not backing up any DVDs, more of family videos.

And you won't be playing the 1080p or 720p on any standard def Divx/DVD player.

I'm kinda confuse, when a dvd resolution is 480 and it mentioned 720/1080 upconverting.

An upscaling DVD player decompresses the MPEG video to 720x480 (720x576 PAL). Then there is an upscaling chip that takes that image, line by line (or a few lines at a time) and upscales it for output to the TV. The player doesn't have the power or memory to decompress high definition frames. If you want something that can play high definition sources you need a blu-ray player or a players specifically designed for high def playback. Like the Popcorn Hour or the Western Digital TV HD Media Player (AKA WDTV).

[NautTboy]

Ok, what's the advantages of the upscale let just ask? HDTV has RCA, SVIDEO, Component input, why need the HDMI when you will get what a DVD max anyway.

[edDV]

Ok, what's the advantages of the upscale let just ask? HDTV has RCA, SVIDEO, Component input, why need the HDMI when you will get what a DVD max anyway.

The TV can do the deinterlace/upscale if you feed it analog, 480i or 480p. Quality varies. The DVD player may do a better job if your HDTV is an older or cheap model.

For Divx HD certified hardware players look here.
http://www.divx.com/en/partner/certified/oemodm