DivX vs. Microsoft

MercuryNews.com is running a story about the battle to encode movies for download that is raging between Microsoft and DivX.

You can see for yourself, if you've got a computer running Windows XP or Windows 2000 and broadband Internet service. A software package called the DivX Play Bundle is available free on the Web (www.divx.com). It's a relatively small file, 7.5 megabytes, that's easy to install and lets you watch DivX video.

The company Web site is also offering a free download of ``Star Wars Revelations,'' a 47-minute movie created by fans of the ``Star Wars'' series on a $20,000 budget. The 396-megabyte DivX 6 version of ``Revelations,'' when viewed with the DivX 6 player, presents a full DVD-like menu where you can jump to specific scenes and listen to commentary by the director. Video and audio quality is good enough that you'd think you were watching a DVD on your computer.

The problem is that the studios associate DivX with pirated movies, and Microsoft has worked with the studios on DRM (and I'm sure that they're better funded). I think that they should stop trying to encrypt books, movies and music and make them so cheap that it's not worth the time it takes to steal them. I remember reading in the 80's that anything that can be encrypted can be decrypted, and that has proven to be true. Why inconvenience the majority of users who will pay for the content just to continue the copy protection arms race with hackers? Apple's winning the music download game because they found a compromise that works for users and the record labels.

GreenCine is mentioned in the story:

I tried the ``Burn-to-Rent'' program at GreenCine, a San Francisco distributor of independent films that is one of DivX's biggest supporters. For lack of any better choice, I paid $4.99 for an awful 85-minute science-fiction film from 1967 called ``They Came From Beyond Space.'' I then downloaded the 568-megabyte DivX file of the movie and burned the file on a CD, with rights to view the movie 10 times.

Do you watch movies in DivX? Windows Media Player format?

Comments

[manuel]

Maybe it would make sense downloading movies if I had a T-1 connection. A couple of years ago I upgraded to DSL (the cheapest option $40/mo) with download speed around 300kps. I could upgrade to a faster connection but the price is too much. At best, it would take me 3hrs to download a 568MB Dvix file on my current connection. The same file would take 48min to download on a T-1 connection. T-1 service cost $350-1200/mo.

???

I have 3.5Mbps cable ($45) and can download 600MB in 30 minutes.

Why would you want a T1? Maybe T3.

[manuel]

That's not bad. Comcast would be my provider. It would cost $60.00 for a service comparable to yours which is still too much. Plus, I'm not too fond of the cable modem access.

[Steven Hoober]

I admit that I sometimes bittorrent a new tv show. This has always been because we forgot to record it, or there was a storm knocking the dish around and it was badly corrupted. Hence, I consider it fair use, just consuming it as originally intended and only shortly thereafter.

So, I've downloaded full quality video and then watched it on my TV monitor. Presumably, any commerical service will be about as fast as a good bittorrent download. This takes hours, so I tend to leave it downloading overnight, or while I am at work. This is okay, but only if people can be made to understand it. Like, you don't download, but queue for download, and get the video later on (not dissimilar from NetFlix mailing you things, but faster).

Quality is top notch, but only Divx is worth it. The various Windows media formats are, well, variable. So I can't tell till I play it how well it was encoded. And, serious player problems. Can't scroll, 90% of pauses in the middle will cause it to never re-display video on un-pause, etc.

Divx is the clear winner. So, the MS solution will presumably become the de facto standard.

[MattyMatt]

ugh, windows media! it's awful. why does anyone encode for it? like SH says above, scrolling never works right, the picture comes and goes, and it's crashy on slow computers. but i never have a problem with divx. i've reassociated as many file types as i can from wm player to the divx player, and would never go back. of course, quicktime beats everything.

"That's not bad. Comcast would be my provider. It would cost $60.00 for a service comparable to yours which is still too much. Plus, I'm not too fond of the cable modem access."

Comcast & Knology in mya rea and both about $45. I guess you do not have Cable TV, hence the $60 - still a good price for speed.

But, back on topic. WinMedia, yuck. I'd rather have Divx. But I can soo how people associate it with piracy.

There is a story over at BroadbandReports about how "Nearly Half of Americans Think P2P Should be Outlawed". "Those most in favor of outlawing the technology were older than fifty years of age, and most commonly lived in the Western or Southern states."

They just don't see what it is or how it works. They get too set in their ways and think anything new MUST be bad!

http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/64745

[PlungeBob]

"Divx is the clear winner. So, the MS solution will presumably become the de facto standard."

ROTFLOL!

Where is Yoda when we need him: "That way lies the Dark
Side"

I will use DivX. The industry will fight it, and we
will end up staying right where we are: they will
encrypt it into XXXX then we will crack it and encode it
as DivX.

There just isn't a better standard defined right now,
for downloadable-sized movies.

Microsoft: Just do what we say, and nobody gets hurt.

[Tony]

I use Divx all the time. Great for making backups of DVDs so you don't scratch the original...and, since I now have a streaming media server I can stream Divx movies from my PC to my TV/entertainment system.

In the other room, I have an inexpensive Philips DVD player that plays Divx.

Windows Media Player is way behind as far as DVD goes. Divx is the clear choice.

On a related note, did you notice both EMI and Sony/BMG are trying again at CD encryption? Here's the story: http://tinyurl.com/9q6kn

What this means for me is simple: I will never again buy a physical CD (not from EMI or Sony/BMG anyway), even if I *can* crack the copy protection. I've got over 500 CD's, all legally paid for, and ripped onto my PC for use with my iPod. From now on, I'll just buy from the iTunes music store and be done with it. They're really shooting themselves in the foot with this one. Thowing the baby out with the bathwater, and any other cliches that may or may not be appropriate..................

To they guy who downloads the tv eps. You probably watch them in XviD not DivX. In my experience, DivX gives a muched smoothed out picture with loss in detail. Now HDTV encoded in XviD with a good custom matrix, that is an orgasmic picture.