DivX-Pro's and Cons.
 

I've just started to look at DivX for Web/CD/DVD and am interested in opinions, hints, tricks etc.

Rob, you've mentioned it a bit, which is why I checked it out. What kind of settings do you use for say a 1min 4:3 web video.

Did I mention DiVX? hmm... Well, I know it is a great format
and that it is used a lot, but I don't use it actually. I usually
output to MPEG2. Sorry :) ... But I do know quite a bit about
formats, so I can tell you some of the pro's / con's...

Pro:
- very small size / quality
- free to use (non-pro version)
- should have smaller encoding times then MPEG2

Con:
- not everyone has DiVX codec, it is also not available
for every platform!
- Only playable on a computer (not DVD player for example)

I think that sums it up..... If I think of more I'll let you know.
The easiest way to decide your format is to first lay down:

- quality demands
- file size demands
- platform / player demands

That usually gives you the answer of wether to go with
MPEG (1 or 2), DiVX (mpeg 4), QuickTime or perhaps some
other encoding technology.

Hope this has helped some

Adrian....

DivX is an MPEG4 format that is about as good as MPEG2(SVCD and DVD) The difference between DivX and MPEG2 is that DivX compresses to a smaller file size than MPEG2, however, it requires much more processor power to decode. So, that's the tradeoff. The beauty of DivX is its ability to do variable bitrate, multi-pass encoding. For my experience, QT5(sorensen 3) is not nearly as good as either Divx5 or SVCD at bitrates over 3000 Kb/sec. But, this is a religious issue...;-)

While some set top boxes will play SVCD (APEX), there are currently no set top DivX players. I understand that the people at www.mydivx.com have recently licensed their technology for the manufacture of a set top DivX player.

Thanks Rob, as usual good info.

I guess I got you mixed up with someone else. Sorry bout that.

Adrian,

No problem! MPEG2 can also do variable multipass bitrate
files.