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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

What is DivX and Xdvid ?

What is DivX?

DivX is the name of a popular new video compression technology developed by DivX, Inc. The format was developed to enable users to play and create high-quality videos in a fast and convenient way, while still maintaining the best quality possible. The DivX codec is currently the most popular MPEG-4 based codec because of its quality, speed and efficiency as well as the wide range of DVD players that support DivX.

If you compare DivX movies to DVDs they're able to offer the same image quality at one-tenth (1/10) the size, which makes them perfectly suited for movie downloads where the bandwidth available usually is limited. This means that you can easily fit a full movie on a single CD, while still maintaining the original image quality of the DVD. The video is usually combined with AC3 or MP3 audio to provide both high quality audio and video. All of these things have contributed to the popularity of the format among those that download movies and videos online.

When you install the DivX codec it essentially works as an add-on to your system, which enables you to compress and decompress video in the DivX format. Once you've installed the DivX codec on your system you will be able to watch DivX videos using Windows Media Player or any other player that supports DivX.

To download and install the codec, goto the DivX codec section.

vX codec and player

To play and create DivX videos on your computer you first need to install the DivX codec. To install the codec, simply download the latest version available for your system and follow the installation instructions:

	DivX codec v6.8.4 for Windows XP/2000/Vista (32-bit) (19.7MB)
	DivX codec v5.2.1 for Windows ME/98 (7.3MB)
	DivX codec v6.6.1 for Mac OS X (13.5MB)
	DivX codec v5.1.1 for Mac OS (2.1MB)

When you've completed the installation of the video codec, you will be able to use the DivX player or any other media player to play DivX movies and videos (DIVX, DIV3, DIV4, DX50). If you run into any problems with the DivX codec, please refer to the DivX FAQ for help.

To learn more about downloading movies, check out our Movie Downloads section.

DivX players

Please note that all DivX players require the DivX codec in order to play DivX videos.

Windows Media Player v11.0

Windows Media Player (WMP) is probably the most commonly used DivX player, mainly because the player comes pre-installed with Windows and is capable of playing all video formats as long as you have the necessary video and audio codecs installed. This player should already be available on your system, but in case you need to upgrade to the latest version you can download it here.

Official site | Download

Media Player Classic v6.4.9.0 (Windows XP/2000)

Media Player Classic (MPC) for Windows XP/2000 is a popular media player replacement that looks and feels just like Windows Media Player, but without the unnecessary extras. However, don't be fooled by its looks, it offers all of the features you would expect from a modern media player and has been updated to support all popular video formats. We recommend this excellent media player for everyone.

Official site | Download (2.1MB)

Media Player Classic v6.4.9.0 (Windows ME/98)

Media Player Classic (MPC) for Windows ME/98 is a popular media player substitute that reminds us of older versions of Windows Media Player before it got so bulky. However, don't be misled by its appearance, it has been updated to support all popular video formats and offers all of the features you would expect from a modern media player. We recommend this great media player for everyone.

Official site | Download (1.8MB)

BSPlayer v1.37

BSPlayer is yet an alternative DivX player with support for most media files (AVI, MPG, WMV, ASF, MP3, WAV) and subtitle formats (SubRip, Subviewer and MicroDVD). The player also features custom subtitle options for fonts, colors, positions and transparency. The player supports skins and can be easily customized to look the way you want. Finally, this player offers very efficient memory and CPU usage, so if you're having problems with skipping while watching movies then you should give this player a try.

Download (2.7MB)

What is XviD?

XviD is the name of a popular new video codec being developed as an open source project by volunteer programmers from all over the world. The format was created to offer a free alternative to other commercial video codecs, and despite being open source its quality and efficiency has made it one of the most popular video codecs online. While XviD still isn't as widely used as DivX, playback of XviD movies is usually supported in new DVD players nowadays.

The XviD codec makes it possible to compress a full-length DVD-quality movie enough to fit on a single CD (might require 2 CDs depending on the length of the movie), while still maintaining the original image quality. Despite the fact that XviD movies offer higher quality video at smaller file sizes they take less time to encode than MPEG-2 due to the incredible compression technology. The video is usually combined with MP3 or AC3 audio to enable both high quality video and audio. These factors and the fact that the codec is distributed for free has contributed to the success of the format.

When you install the XviD codec it basically provides your system with specific instructions how to compress and decompress video in the XviD format. Once you've installed the XviD codec on your system you will be able to play XviD videos using Windows Media Player or any other XviD-enabled player.

To download and install the codec, goto the XviD codec section.

XviD codec

To play XviD videos you first need to install the XviD codec on your computer. To install the XviD codec, simply download the latest version of the codec available for your system and follow the installation instructions:

	XviD codec v1.1.3 for Windows (627KB)
	XviD codec v1.1.3 for Mac OS (Link)

After you've installed the video codec on your system, your media player of choice should be able to play all XviD movies and videos. If you run into any problems, please refer to the XviD FAQ for solutions to common XviD codec installation and playback problems.

To learn more about downloading movies, check out our Movie Downloads section.

XviD players

Please note that all XviD players require the XviD codec in order to play XviD videos.

Windows Media Player v11.0

Windows Media Player (WMP) is one of the most commonly used XviD players, primarily because it's the default media player in Windows and it's capable of playing pretty much any video format with the right codecs installed. This player should be installed on your computer already, but in case you don't have the latest version you can download it here.

Official site | Download

Media Player Classic v6.4.9.0 (Windows XP/2000)

Media Player Classic (MPC) is a popular media player substitute for Windows XP/2000 that looks and feels just like Windows Media Player v6.4, but don't be fooled by its looks. It has been updated to support all popular video formats and offers all the features you would expect from a modern media player without any unnecessary extras. We recommend this awesome media player for everyone.

Official site | Download (2.1MB)

Media Player Classic v6.4.9.0 (Windows ME/98)

Media Player Classic (MPC) is a popular media player substitute for Windows ME/98 that looks and feels just like Windows Media Player v6.4, but don't be fooled by its looks. It has been updated to support all popular video formats and offers all the features you would expect from a modern media player without any unnecessary extras. We recommend this light-weight media player for everyone.

Official site | Download (1.8MB)

BSPlayer v1.37

BSPlayer is yet another XviD player alternative capable of playing back most media files (AVI, MPG, ASF, WMV, WAV, MP3) and subtitle formats (MicroDVD, Subviewer and SubRip). The player also supports custom subtitle positioning, colors, fonts and transparency. If you want to change the look and feel you can download new skins online. Finally, this player features quite efficient CPU and memory usage, so if you run into problems with skipping during playback you might want to give this player a try.

Download (2.7MB)

What are subtitles?

A subtitle is the text at the bottom of the screen in a movie. The purpose of a subtitle is usually to translate the movie dialogue from a language the viewer doesn't understand to one they do. Subtitles can also be helpful for people who for some reason have trouble following the dialogue in a movie.

Watching movies with subtitles

To watch DivX/XviD movies with subtitles you first need to install a DirectShow filter for Windows Media Player which is called DirectVobSub. To install DirectVobSub, follow these easy steps:

1) Download DirectVobSub
2) Run the exe-file to start the installation

After you've installed DirectVobSub on your system, Windows Media Player should be able to show subtitles in DivX and XviD movies. However, you will also need to download a separate subtitle file before you get subtitles in a movie. Once you've downloaded a subtitle for a movie you simply place it in the same folder as the DivX or XviD movie you want to watch. Then you have to make sure the filename of the movie and subtitle is the same. Otherwise you will have to rename the subtitle file, so the player understands that they are associated. Also make sure that the subtitle file has the ".sub" or ".srt" file-extension. Finally, you play the movie and hopefully you have subtitles in it.