HEY KWAG JUST WONDERING IF YOU THINK IT'S WORTH GETTING AN AVI DVD PLAYER THAT CAN PLAY DIVX AND AVI'S. IF SO, IS THE QUALITY NEAR DVD AND IS IT WORTH IT IN YOUR OPINION, THANKS!

In my opinion, no

-kwag

may I ask why, thanks!

DivX (XviD) does a great job on low action scenes. Much better than fast action scenes, because MPEG-4 was designed for low bit rates. If you look carefully at an MPEG-1 (KVCD) action scene on a movie, and you have the same movie as DivX and file sizes of the MPEG-1 and DivX are about the same size, you'll see that on action scenes the MPEG-1 looks better than the DivX. This is compared on a PC monitor. Now imagine how that DivX will look on a DVD player
Just encode a full 2 hour movie and make it fit on one CD You'll see how a (average) KVCDx3 blows it away
If you make the DivX fit on two CDs, then you'll barely notice any difference from a two CD KVCDx3 encode. I've yet to see a full two hour action DivX movie at ~<800MB that looks decent.

-kwag

It also seems like the Divx/Xvid formats are in a constant state of change, so for every "new-and-improved" version that comes out, you're probably going to need to upgrade the firmware on those dvd players so they'll be able to play the new formats properly. Not only does this seem like a big hassle (for both the end-users AND the companies' programmers), but also during firmware upgrades there's always a possibility of something going wrong, no matter how simple it seems (a faulty cd-r being used, a bad burn, a user not following instructions properly, a power outtage/spike halfway through upgrading, etc). If divx/xvid ever reaches a completely "stable" build where they totally stop monkeying with it, then maybe it would be a competitive format to include on stand-alone dvd players. Until then, it seems like only the more technically-advanced users would/should even bother with it (the "average joe dvd-player owner" probably doesn't even know what all the buttons on his remote control are for, much less how to properly burn a firmware disc, compare the data on the disc to ensure it is 100% identical to the downloaded upgrade file, and then upgrade his player without accidentally screwing something up and botching the memory chip). It seems like there's just way too many variables up in the air for divx/xvid to be a viable format option on standalones right now....just think of all the frustrated customers who will need tech-support or want refunds after they screw up their players. From a business perspective, it sounds like a headache waiting to happen (unless they make the upgrade process 100% idiot-proof). But then again, idiot-proof and accident-proof are 2 totally different things (and both are impossible). Even if a company mailed every single owner of one of their players an upgrade disc every single time that a new one became available, some problems just can't be foreseen (power outtages, disc damaged in transit, etc). So the more upgrades there are (which is what people want), then the more unhappy users there would be sending their players back to the company for repairs. But in the long run, if/when things are more stable and constant firmware upgrades wouldn't be required (and prices come down), then sure, divx compatibility would be pretty cool.

-d&c

I agree 100% with you, but... DIVX is just so much better with cartoon/anime! (In general).

I recently did "Peter Pan" (77 minutes, full screen) in one CD (800M), tried 544x480 and 352x480... mosquitoes surrounding every edge, and all things in cartoon have edges!

Then I tried XVID two-pass in one CD (700M cause it's a data CD), much better!

I've downloaded "Ghost In The Shell" (DivX 5 - ogm), 1 CD, two audios (Japanese and English), subtitles. Great.

I've seen some bad cartoon encodes too, like the "Heavy Metal 2000 - FAKK" I've downloaded - loads of blocks, all the time.

With newer computer generated animation, though, like Shrek or Ice Age, KVCDx3 just shines! Awesome.