DivX comes to PS3

Divx comes to PS3

Apparently this is a big deal, but DivX is working with Sony to bring their file extension to the Playstation 3. According to Ars Technica, Divx and the similar XviD codec is the de facto video format for online video. They go so far as to say it’s the “MP3” of video. I must be crazy because I thought “MP4” was the “MP3” of video.

DivX

Seriously, I’m a pretty tech-savvy guy, but I haven’t downloaded a DivX file ever. I think I downloaded one XviD video once and found it too much of a pain to install the right codecs to bother with it. Is it really “de facto?” I could have sworn AVI and MPEG-4 were the video formats of choice – certainly at the websites I visit they are.

But apparently this was something a lot of people asked for from Sony and even from Microsoft’s Xbox 360 that they’ve added support. I don’t know anyone that uses DivX. I know pretty much every DVD player in existence supports the format but never figured out why (kind of like why PCs come with COM ports still).

But that’s the news, DivX and XviD are supported by the PS3. For those of you that actually use those formats, knock yourself out.

About Steven Kippel

Steven Kippel has worked as a systems designer for a leading high-end audio/video custom integrator in Southern California since 2003. He is responsible for researching new technologies and integrating them into existing systems and new construction projects. He has designed several high-profile systems for discriminating clients on the cutting-edge of technology. When he is not hard at work, Steven is spending time with his wife, playing with his band or promoting concerts and bands in the Inland Empire. His favorite bands include The Cure, U2, Eisley, Living Sacrifice and DragonForce.

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7 Comments on “DivX comes to PS3”

  1. Uh they are right and your I’m afraid wrong or at least confused 😉

    AVI is just a container like MP4, MKV etc certain videos codecs can be shoehorned into AVI and MP4 (MKV is universal you can put anything into it).

    MPEG-4 ASP = DivX, XviD, Nerodigital (asp) and 3ivx they are all based off that standard.

    MPEG-4 AVC – H.264 video.

    DivX/XviD is hugely popular especially with the TV show scene but also the fact that it is so fast to encode and a lot of easy software converters are out there. If your into HD and all that then your rather unlikely to be a fan of it due to the detail loss but for less discerning folks it’s generally the number one choice.

    (Most H.264 encoders suck balls in terms of easy-ness with the exception of Nero’s, MeGUI is the best & free but has a UI for video pro’s)

    The MP4 container which can also take MPEG-4 ASP video is really on a slow burn & the support of DivX on the game consoles with only slow it’s adoption even further.

  2. AVI, MPEG-4 is a container, sure, but that still doesn’t mean I’ve downloaded any DivX files. AVI and MPEG files aren’t DivX still.

  3. Well the biggest draw and source of content is really user generated content and obviously thats not going to be shared across the net so easily but also XviD & Co never really made it in the video streaming arena.

    But these days if it’s an AVI container it’s 99% likely to be XviD/DivX inside it, no-one uses AVI for MPEG-1/2 anymore.

  4. Personally, I’ve downloaded, encoded, converted and used Divx & Xvid codec videos many, many times.

    As a recent example, I had an MPEG2 video file that was output from a video editing program I was using. That MPEG2 file was pretty large, so I was unable to upload to YouTube due to the file size. To get around this, I converted the video file to Divx and then uploaded to YouTube.

    I also have a few Phillip’s DVD players that can play Divx and Xvid files on a CD-R. It’s very nice to have that support available on a DVD player. 🙂

  5. to clarify a point.. MPEG 4 is a multi-part standard which is still developing. MPEG 4 part 2 defines the codec divx, xvid etc are based upon. MPEG 4 part 10 defines the codec AVC/H264 are based on. MPEG 4 part 14 defines the ‘container format’ (aka .mp4 files..) that you’ve been talking about which is analogous to avi.

  6. Tech Saavy guy??? hasnt heard of divx??? I am a christian but i’ve never heard of Jesus….

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