DivXNetworks has released the DivX 5.0 suite of video technologies. Designed to offer a complete solution for the creation, production and distribution of DVD-quality digital video, the new suite includes a component that the folks at DivXNetworks say is the first publicly available MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile video codec for the Mac.
The DivX 5.0 Product line comes in two flavors. The standard DivX 5.0 product includes enhancements in speed, performance and visual quality, as well as full decoding compatibility with the MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile standard, according to Jordan Greenhall, co-founder and CEO of DivXNetwork. It’s free for personal use and available for download at the company Web site.
Then there’s DivX Pro 5.0, the first version of DivX video compression technology designed specifically for professional users. It includes a set of advanced encoding techniques and built-in video processing tools. DivX Pro 5.0 is available for download on DivX.com, with a one-time licensing fee for personal use or through a free ad-supported version.
DivX 5.0 offers faster encoding of high-quality digital video than any other video compression technology available, Greenhall said. Version 5.0 enables up to 20 percent faster decoding than previous versions, scaling up to achieve real-time decoding of high definition resolution video content without any special hardware, he added.
The new product line offers significantly compression ratios, reducing file size by up to 41 percent over previous versions. DivX 5.0 offers the ability to encode and decode MPEG-4 Simple Profile and Advanced Simple Profile video. Version 5.0 features an MPEG-4 Creator tool that can automatically convert AVI format video to a new DivX MPEG-4 compliant format, for a “create once, play anywhere” effect. And a new DivX Player offers improved performance, greater reliability, new file format, and increased functionality, as well as a new look and feel, Greenhall said.
DivX 5.0 also includes video technology previously unavailable to the public, he added. One of these features is the “precise and intelligent ” allocation of data through process called Psychovisual Modeling. Using knowledge of the Human Visual System (HVS), DivX 5.0 assigns a Psychovisual Complexity Rating (PCR) to each video frame, and removes data that can’t be seen by human eyes in full-speed video sequences. This technology improves the efficiency of video data allocation and increases the overall video quality, Greenhall said.