What is Divx?

Fredv wrote on 11/15/2008, 7:48 AM

I was sent some media that was coded with something called Divx. It will not import into the timeline despite the sender's claim it works "flawlessly" in Final Cut.

I'm not up on Codecs and how they play in editors, but when I do a search for Divx it seems to be a program like a viewer of content such as Real Video, or Windows Media Player. It doesn't seem to be a real Codec.

The sender tells me I may need a patch for Vegas for Divx 6.6.1 Codec to play his scene shots. He also claims the file size is 50% smaller than a Mpeg2 broadcast quality file without the degradation in quality. This seems a little too good to be true.

Should I be able to import scenes into Vegas? Any truth to what he's saying, or should I just tell the guy if he wants his project done to send me the origianl DVpro tape or a DVD-Data disc of the raw capture?

Sorry for this being O.T. but this is the first time I've run into this video format/codec.

Comments

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 7:58 AM

I have been learning about this codec as well, and found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DivX_Media_Format#DivX_Media_Format_.28DMF.29this link[/link] that was quite helpful.

I frequent a fishing forum, and they have a video upload site with a 100MB max size for uploads. You can upload as much as you want, it just can't be bigger than 100MB at a time. I recorded our local fisheries biologist speaking to our Muskies Inc. chapter last week, and ended up rendering it to WMV in Vegas, because I couldn't find another codec that would allow me to stay under the 100MB size limit without ending up with 10 parts to the talk! As it was I had to split the 90 minute presentation into four parts. But I don't see that Vegas supports the DivX codec at this time, unless I missed it. I am just learning all the different codecs myself though, so that may be entirely possible...

TB

rs170a wrote on 11/15/2008, 8:09 AM

But I don't see that Vegas supports the DivX codec at this time, unless I missed it.

You need to have the DivX codec installed on your computer.
I got the encoder when it was offered for free some time ago so I'm not sure if the player alone is sufficient.
Choose AVI as the "Save as type", choose your template, click the Custom button and the Video tab.
Select the DivX codec in the Video Format box, customize as desired and render.
There's an option somewhere to disable the DivX logo from appearing in your video but, as I don't use this codec, I'm not sure where it is.
A forum search will no doubt tell you where to find it.

Mike

jrazz wrote on 11/15/2008, 8:20 AM

I also use DivX and I swore by it until Stage6.com was shut down. I have since moved on to blip.tv as they allow you to link directly to your upload file for embeds and I still embed to DivX.

If you look at my website and click on the enter at the top, I have a blurp about why I have/had DivX as my format of choice.

j razz

xstr8guy@sbcglobal.net wrote on 11/15/2008, 8:46 AM

I think the Divx option is only availabe in 8.0 not 8.1. All you need to do is download the codec here... http://www.divx.com/

And the codec will appear as an option when you're rendering an AVI file. It will be in the video tab under "configure".

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 9:09 AM

Well, I think I just blew $20...lol. Well, maybe it's not that bad but I might have to render the project to AVI format in Vegas and then use the DivX encoder utility to convert to the correct format.

The free version of DivX does not offer the encoder--for that you have to pay $20. OK, no big deal. I downloaded, installed and registered the product. Following Mike's instructions, I don't see any DivX option though. So I went looking on the DivX website, which (I might add) is somewhat confusing until *after* you've paid for the product. (Then you get a nice email with instructions how to register, and a few links that are very helpful.) So I found a link on their "asknet" system that shows how to use the DivX encoder with various applications--but Vegas doesn't seem to one of them. Premiere Pro is there, as are Pinnacle, Ulead and Virtual Dub. But no Vegas, and when you search for Vegas there's no information in the asknet database.

So I am not sure what this all means, other than that I cannot get the new DivX encoder version from within Vegas. But I believe that I still can use the included converter utility to encode with the DivX codec; it will simply take another step. Not a big deal I suppose--I'll just need to play around with the settings a bit to try and get the best results.

Thanks for the tips Mike.

TB

EDIT: Ah, thanks xstr8guy, that did it! I should have looked there but didn't and misunderstood Mike's instructions (which are correct). Totally my fault, and it does indeed work from within Vegas. Cool!

Thanks again guys!

Laurence wrote on 11/15/2008, 9:12 AM

DivX is considered a little outdated by some (even though it has recently been updated) but I still love it. Some of the advantages are:

1/ Very good quality.
2/ Very fast encodes.
3/ Very low CPU usage on decode (to the point where you can do things like play back HD video on an old P3!)
4/ Many DVD players play back DivX files (I use this one all the time).
5/ Works well with an AC3 audio track for surround sound movies.

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 9:20 AM

Which template would you guys recommend using to render a video for upload to a site only allowing a maximum file size of 100MB, and a maximum resolution of 480x360?

EDIT: The original video is 90 minutes long, and was shot in HDV format from my FX1. I rendered it into 4 parts, initially using the WMV codec.

TB

Fredv wrote on 11/15/2008, 11:32 AM

OK. It appears that all I need is the free version if I want to play the clips, and only need to buy it if I want to create clips in DIVx.

Thanks, everyone. This clears it up real good.

Chienworks wrote on 11/15/2008, 12:09 PM

There's no need to pay for it at all. The free version doesn't have all the extra goodies, but it does include the complete codec, which means "encoder/decoder". With the free version installed you'll be able to render DivX .avi files from Vegas as we as use them on the timeline.

It used to be that the free version encoded a DivX watermark on the output, but the newer releases include an option to turn that off.

Jøran Toresen wrote on 11/15/2008, 12:30 PM

Chienworks, I think there are some differences between the free download and the Pro version (that costs $20); I quote from the divX home page:

“Why Buy DivX Pro for Windows?
What's the difference between the free DivX for Windows download and DivX Pro for Windows? Only DivX Pro for Windows comes with the full versions of the DivX Converter and the DivX Pro Codec.”

And:

“DivX Converter
DivX Converter is the official DivX video creation software application. It lets you:
• Drag-and-drop nearly any video format to create a high-quality, highly compressed DivX video
• Merge and convert multiple videos into a single DivX file with an automatically generated menu
• Back up your home-made DVDs, compress a full movie to fit onto one regular CD (requires the optional $9.99 DivX Converter MPEG-2/DVD Plug-in)
• Convert up to 1080p HD

DivX Pro Codec
DivX Pro Codec includes the most advanced version of the DivX video codec so you can create the highest-quality DivX files using DivX Converter or another third-party encoding tool. With DivX Pro Codec you get:
• Higher performance, especially on HyperThreaded, dual core and dual CPU (SMP) systems
• HD conversion at up to 1080p resolutions
• Six preset encoding modes to optimize visual quality and performance

DivX Pro for Windows includes everything you need to create great-looking DivX videos that you can:
• Stream to a DivX Connected media player
• Watch on any DivX Certified device – from your DivX Certified mobile phone to your big screen digital TV”

Jøran Toresen

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 12:37 PM

Right...you may NOT need to buy the Pro version. Of course the DivX people don't make that clear, which is how I ended up buying it. But I would try it out a bunch first, and then buy it only if you need to.

Having said that, I was able to get things to work--using Mike's instructions above. And I will say that this codec works very nicely indeed! Even at 460x320 resolution, the video is very clear and high quality. Much nicer than the WMV version I had first rendered. In all fairness the file is much larger than the WMV file was, so it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. But overall I am not too disappointed in paying $20 when I likely didn't have to. Again, the DivX folks don't make it too clear on just what the differences between the free and pro versions are, so you have to be hesitant or you'll spend $20 you probably don't need to.

TB

EDIT: Joran, I am still not sure you need the "full version" of the DivX encoder to use it with Vegas. The DivX site is simply not very forthcoming with this information, and why would they be I guess...their goal is to get you buy the Pro version, lol. Since buying the Pro version I have found some various forum threads that suggest that indeed, the free version gives you enough functionality to use it with a NLE such as Vegas. As far as I can tell, the Pro version gives you stand-alone encoding capability, such as the little application that accepts drag & drop files for encoding with DivX. By the way, I don't really see a way to use the codec from inside of Vegas without getting the DivX watermark in the lower right corner of the video. It isn't a big deal for the most part, but my guess is any option to *not* show it requires use of the Pro version of the product. I haven't played around with that application enough to know this for sure though...

But from what I can tell, I probably made a mistake by buying it--but didn't know enough at the time *not* to buy it. Hopefully someone else can avoid that same mistake after reading this thread.

Jøran Toresen wrote on 11/15/2008, 3:37 PM

Tcbetka, I don’t think you have to buy the pro version to render to DivX in Vegas. But read what they say about the Pro version compared to the Free version. Personally I’m glad I’ve purchased the Pro version.

Jøran Toresen

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 4:11 PM

I *did* read the differences, but I still don't think it's very descriptive...just like their website. But I sure like their codec though.

But I agree with you Joran--you likely do not need to have the Pro version to encode DivX from Vegas. In hindsight, I purchased it in error most likely, as I probably won't use all the features the Pro version offers. I must admit that I am amazed by how good the video looks after encoding it with the DivX 6.8.5 codec and using only the NTSC DV frame size. I actually just made a couple of test renders to see the quality versus file size, and then created my own template.

Now that I bought the Pro version though, I might play around with it a bit more and use some of the Pro features--once I figure out what they mean by "higher performance" means, and how useful the "six preset encoding modes" are. I'm quite happy to hear that you're happy you got the Pro version though, because you obviously know way more about DivX than I do--and that means that I maybe didn't waste $20 like I first thought I did, lol.

TB

John_Cline wrote on 11/15/2008, 4:43 PM

Keep in mind that while DivX will encode video whose image dimensions in pixels are divisible by either 4 or 8, it MUCH prefers video that is divisible by 16. To quote the DivX FAQ directly; "we still strongly recommend encoding only content with resolutions divisible by 16, as the 4 and 8 dimensions will not encode as efficiently." Therefore, the optimum dimensions for 16:9 DivX encodes are:

1280x720
1024x576
768x432
512x288
256x144

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 4:47 PM

I goofed before when I mentioned the resolution a few posts back--I encoded it to 480x460 pixel resolution. There were a few different options on the upload server, and I just remembered it incorrectly. The one I used was 480x360...so that's divisible by 16.

Sorry for the confusion.

TB

John_Cline wrote on 11/15/2008, 4:57 PM

Actually, the 480 is divisible by 16, but the 360 is not. 512x384 is the closest. Regardless, DivX will encode 480x360 just fine, just not as efficiently since it deals in 16x16 blocks. I believe the WMV is 8x8 blocks (as is DV encoding for that matter.)

tcbetka wrote on 11/15/2008, 5:16 PM

Ah, so *both* dimensions should be divisible by 16? I did not know that. You've taught me something again!

The video server for this particular forum only has a few options: 320x240, 400x300 and 480x360...all 4:3 resolutions. Those are the only options you have, but the owner of the server recommends the DIvX codec, and in fact uses it for most of his work. And indeed, when I re-rendered the project with the DivX codec at 480x360, the results were excellent. I have quickly become a fan of DivX...

TB