View Source: DivX - Waikato Linux Users Group

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A popular MPEG4 derived video CoDec.

Originally released in 2000 as "DivX ;-)", the codec started life as a hacked version of MicrosoftCorporation's [MPEG]4 codec, that could save to [AVI] instead of just Microsoft's ASF, and had support for [MP3] audio.

In 2001, the codec was cleaned up and proprietary parts rewritten, and it was released as "DivX" (without the smiley.) An open source project called [Project Mayo|http://www.projectmayo.com] emerged around it, and it was later forked in two directions, a [divx.com|http://www.divx.com] commercial enterprise, releasing proprietary "pro" versions with more encoding features as well as a [free] player, and OpenDivX, [Free] software from Project Mayo.  OpenDivX was the basis for the newer codec [Xvid].

The name itself is a crack at [Circuit City's failed DIVX format|http://www.fightdivx.com/index2.html] for [DVD] viewing; a DIVX [DVD] was bought by the customer but cost $4.50 each play, and a DIVX player was connected to a telephone line to dial out and bill the customer each time.

7 pages link to DivX:

Last edited on Sunday, August 1, 2004 10:40:43 am by CraigBox

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