These features are now being confirmed, and Divx Networks take the opportunity of the Cebit Fair to talk about divX6 extensively. This evolution of divX format (we now really can speak about a format) can be summarized as follows :

  a new video container : .divx will replace .avi on a short term ;
  multi-subtitling (there are up to 5 in the demo from Divx Networks) all included in the .divx container and not any more in separate files. Used format is Xsub, which is a bitmap format (same concept as for DVD video). That’s definitely an improvement : all standalone players users know how difficult it is to use divx subtitles currently. First because there are many different formats, and also because special characters are not always rendered properly ;
  multiple audio tracks (up to 3 in the demo) ;
  chaptering possibilities ;
  metatags (information about the played file, working exactly as ID3 tags work in MP3 files) ;
  and last but not least : menus !!

The good surprise is that all of this will hold in one single file. An other decisive advantage is that many standalone players are already compatible (see our comparison ) : none is supporting menus for the time being but Divx Networks is assuring that this will be possible with a simple firmware update (for brands who can afford that). Pretty good news for the more than 20 millions owner of divx players. It’s probably too early to say, but Divx Networks has here a major asset against its main competitor Nero digital. ND is surely as good technically... but has a very poor compatibility with current players. Let’s hope this will change, as competition in this field can only be good for the endusers.

Several major actors in the divx field (manufacturers or software providers) have already announced that they would carry the new divX6 format : ESS Technology, LSI Logic, Zoran and Mediatek, and also Philips, Pinnacle Systems, Cyberlink, just to mention the most famous. Next generations of divx standalone players will obviously all be compatible and the buyers will benefit of every single divX6 new features, including (and it is important to talk about this aspect of divX) high definition. More than a standard, DivX6 is now an alternative that can compete with DVD-video...

At this stage it is worth mentionning the recent participation of Samsung in Divx Networks capital, which obviously shows that they prepared the battle. It was a long way since the first hack of Jerome Rota in 1999 (last century’s divX !)

Well... the news are excellent...but not for everyone, especially smaller actors in the field. One should not forget that the goal of all this is to turn divX6 into THE divx standard and collect the relative royalties. Free codecs will continue their way, but we might have doubts about their future compatibility with divx players : manufacturers look for security (i.e. compatibility) to avoid software maintenance as much as possible (firmware updates cost time and money). That means that we may see (as it is already the case for Sony players) some hardware which will not be compatible with free codecs like xvid for instance.

To end with the announcements, let’s mention that an agreement between Divx Networks and Thomson will strengthen the divx revolution that has just started : they both forecast to include the new MP3 surround format in the divx container. This technology brings multichannel audio to MP3 without significant growth of the file size. One advantage is that it is backward compatible. The 5.1 audio is already possible in divx today (thanks to AC3), but it loses its main interest due to the important size of the encoded files.

Divx Networks develops at the same time a concept of legal video distribution on Internet, known as Video on Demand (absent in Europe). MP3 helped the digital audio market to grow, and we may think that the association of divx and mp3 will have the same effects on digital video ; online video renting is about to become a reality. No doubts are allowed on the fact that divx may adopt the same distribution model as MP3 which is suceeding on internet since it started some time ago with Apple ITMS amongst others....