DivX Networks announced today the launch of the DivX 6 video encoding suite, the company's latest proposal for MPEG-4 based video. The new suite is also enhanced with the DivX Media Format (DMF), an addition to video encoding that enables consumers to create menu pages and chapter titles, similar to what today's DVD's provide.

After quite some time of market failure, DivX has found its way to recovery. The format became popular among the internet community, with convenient features making video distribution an easy everyday task for most internet users.

The major step however, was taken last year, where DivX actually found its way back into DVD players. The company's strong commitment to the market, established the DiVx format as a secondary decoding format embedded in hardware. Currently, DiVX-certified players are available in most consumer electronics stores. The concept of rich video performance, efficient encoding and more interactive features sounded quite appealing to consumers, leading to market success.

DivX Media Format

Introduced with the new suite, the new DivX Media Format (DMF) offers an improved video codec and support for advanced features like interactive video menus, chapter points, multiple subtitles and alternate audio tracks.

The XSUB subtitles let you author movies with multiple language subtitle sets. Interactive video menus allow users to navigate between various scenes or bonus features and select from audio track and subtitle options. Chapter points allows jumping straight to the scene you want to watch, from anywhere within the video. Last but not least, alternate audio tracks enable audio tracks in multiple language versions or separate audio tracks for specific speaker configurations.

DivX products have been combined into two different software bundles to make it clearer what each product does. The DivX Play Bundle gathers everything you need to play a DivX file (DivX codec and DivX Player). The DivX Create Bundle includes everything you need to create and play a DivX file (DivX Player, DivX Pro and DivX Converter).

DivX Create Bundle

The DivX bundle package includes the following:

• DivX Converter
  The DivX Converter allows you to convert nearly any digital video into a DivX media file with a ‘drag and drop’ functionality. The DivX Converter includes an optional MPEG-2/DVD plug-in for an additional fee. According to DivX Networks, the new DivX 6 codec offers up to 40% better quality and compression than the previous DivX 5 codec.
• DivX Pro
  DivX Pro is the professional version of the digital video codec. The company claims that DivX Pro surpasses WMV9 and H.264 baseline in comprehensive 3rd party tests.
• DivX Player
  The DivX Player is capable of playing every DivX file, with integrated support for advanced features of the DivX Media Format and special enhancements for high definition (HD) playback.

DivX Play Bundle

The DivX Play Bundle includes:

• DivX Player
  The DivX Player is capable of playing every DivX file ever created, with integrated support for advanced DivX Media Format features and special enhancements for high definition (HD) playback.
• DivX Media File playback
  DivX Play supports the DivX Media Format allowing you to watch DivX videos (including DivX VOD movies) with advanced interactive features on your PC such as video menus, subtitles and alternate audio tracks.

Current DivX Certified devices will playback DivX 6 files, but will not offer full support for the advanced media features of the DivX Media Format. Devices that offer full support for the DivX Media Format are expected to reach retail shelves in late 2005.

For additional information and downloads visit http://www.divx.com