PS3 DIVX/XVID support, any news?
- Thread starter Dutch Guy
- Start date
Well should be next update, possibly Christmas, 2.01 was just a patch for problems with 2 so thats not a "real" update, not sure what the real difference is though but the PS3 is going to be DIVX certified. I read on one of the news site a rep from DIVX (or whatever) mentioned that unlike the 360 you will be able to save DIVX movies onto the hard drive rather than only external media.
That's one of the bonuses about the PS3 - you can copy your own music/pics/video to the internal HDD.
On the news pages of Joystiq or somewhere, a Sony spokesman said they hoped to release 2 more firmware updates before the end of the year. One would be a "nice Christmas present" which I took to mean the DivX update. No official word yet.
On the news pages of Joystiq or somewhere, a Sony spokesman said they hoped to release 2 more firmware updates before the end of the year. One would be a "nice Christmas present" which I took to mean the DivX update. No official word yet.
That is one point, the other is if it will play all DIVX files or only official ones, is there anything like DRM with DIVX files that could give problems.
I am waiting for this, if it will allow the playback of all DIVX files I will buy a bigger harddrive for my PS3, possibly a 500GB external USB one.
This is the slightly worrying thing - the DivX files on the PS3 may have to conform to exact specifications.
e.g. MP4 files on the PS3 will only play if they are a certain resolution and have a certain frame rate, etc. Xbox 360 will play any MP4 file as long as it has the correct codecs in the container.
Same with DivX, the devs said the 360 will attempt to play any size/resolution file as long as it's got the correct codecs. I think the PS3 will be more choosy.
e.g. MP4 files on the PS3 will only play if they are a certain resolution and have a certain frame rate, etc. Xbox 360 will play any MP4 file as long as it has the correct codecs in the container.
Same with DivX, the devs said the 360 will attempt to play any size/resolution file as long as it's got the correct codecs. I think the PS3 will be more choosy.
TVersity does work, but there are a few disadvantages.
- The PC has to be on and running (leccy alone is 70p a day at idle)
- No Fast Forward (the new Beta TVersity does offer it but does not work as well)
- Converting and Copying DIVX material works but a 314MB DIVX becomes a 1000MB Mpeg2 so filesize is bigger and it takes time to convert all the files.
- Filenames can be confusing, I have a lot of home video DVD's bcaked up and can stream them but the filenames are all the same as they are VOB's and it isn't possible to make folders.
My Pioneer DVD player is "DivX Certified" got a nice, proud DivX logo on the front of it.
It's years old, and still plays every DivX and Xvid file I've thrown at it. (EDIT: Excluding HD content, of course)
The DivX certified means, I think, that you can make DivX Authored DVDs.
I know the TMPGEnc DVD author, allows you to make menus etc, like a normal DVD, but for DivX files... but these only work on a DivX certified DVD player.
It has nothing to do with having to follow a standard, only that it can.
Hopefully, same for the PS3.
V1N.
Thsi should be of interest :-
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/ps3-meets-divx/ps3-divx-update-coming-very-soon-333742.php
The main points being the "coming soon" statement and this :-
"As far as upgrade details go, the PS3 is DivX-certified, meaning not only is playback guaranteed to function properly, but game developers can also use the compression format for in-game cutscenes In comparison, the Xbox 360 merely supports playback of DivX-encoded videos [DivX]"
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/ps3-meets-divx/ps3-divx-update-coming-very-soon-333742.php
The main points being the "coming soon" statement and this :-
"As far as upgrade details go, the PS3 is DivX-certified, meaning not only is playback guaranteed to function properly, but game developers can also use the compression format for in-game cutscenes In comparison, the Xbox 360 merely supports playback of DivX-encoded videos [DivX]"
That is the wrong way around, the Xbox 360 has the storage limitations and would benefit from compressed videos as the PS3 has Blu Ray so developers have enough space for videos.
Could help for downloadable games though?
Still, saying that, isn't h.264 more efficient anyway?
(Just asking, I genuinely don't know, I still use XVID here for my own stuff - which actually, I hope WILL play on the PS3 after the update, and be streamable from my server, that would be simply brilliant - no more disks!)
V1N.
Still, saying that, isn't h.264 more efficient anyway?
(Just asking, I genuinely don't know, I still use XVID here for my own stuff - which actually, I hope WILL play on the PS3 after the update, and be streamable from my server, that would be simply brilliant - no more disks!)
V1N.
Deleted member 651465
Deleted member 651465
Perhaps it means with the better compression, there'll be even more disc space left over on the BD disc
Either way, I welcome this support!
Perhaps it means with the better compression, there'll be even more disc space left over on the BD disc
Either way, I welcome this support!
Yeah, I meant after the suggestion above, about being able to use it in game.
Dutch Guy said about the PS3 not needing it, due to bluray, but, I was thinking along the lines of in-game video for downloadable content.
Would keep the size down, for both downloading, and HDD space required.
Then I asked the question, as to whether h.264 is more efficient (with its compression, so you get better quality, with less space) which would rule out needing DivX in game anyway. But I'm still looking forward to DivX support, as I make a lot of my own XVID files, which would make my year if I could access them all from my server... I hope that is supported, and not just playing from disk/usb key.
As for just streaming your own made/downloaded DivX files, yes I know you can do that now, via a transcoding system, but I'm still looking forward to "proper" support... then my low powered server can stream all my files to the PS3, without needing to transcode anything.
V1N.
well since i run over 1tb on my pc to my 360 my over 200 movies tv shows all work fine plus the 360 is allways connected via cat5 same as the pc its all good the only thing is media player searching when new movies are added so the 360 picks them up
well since i run over 1tb on my pc to my 360 my over 200 movies tv shows all work fine plus the 360 is allways connected via cat5 same as the pc its all good the only thing is media player searching when new movies are added so the 360 picks them up
That's cool.
So the XBOX can stream DivX/Xvid straight from your PC, with no transcoding?
If so, that's brilliant, and along with the other file formats, makes it a good media centre system at last. I'm not trying to say it wasn't one before, but with "proper" DivX support now, that makes it a lot more useful to me.
I'll wait for the PS3 update now, and see if that can stream DivX over the network, as well as it does MPEG2, which I do at the moment with shows from my PVR to free up it's 160gb HDD. If I could set my PC to compress all the MPEG2s in my PVR folder, to the file server as DivX, and still be able to stream them, that would be a brilliant, and more efficient way of... well, it's exactly what I want. What I don't want, is to have to copy the DivX files to a disk to view them, as that would be no better (convenience wise) than my current DivX DVD player.
Good that the XBOX* does it then, a really useful feature. I hope the PS3 update is just as flexible.
V1N.
Actually, with a bit home homebrew, the XBOX(1) did it anyway, didn't it?
I know a few people who bought them, only for this purpose. The "next-gen" consoles were indeed a step backwards in this capability.The PC on and running thing I've been thinking of recently.
I've been running a file 24/7 for years.
I've been thinking about getting a NAS (Network attached storage) in the new year. For those that have never heard of them, it's, to describe it simply, like a usb2 harddive, a HDD in an enclusure, but works over your network. The upshot of it is, if you buy one, and I've been looking at the 500gb and 750gb models, you copy all your media, and/or backups. and/or basically anything you want access to on more than one system, and you can then access it on any network attached system.
So, for me personally, I would copy a lot of TV episodes, and other video I have in DivX/Xvid on there, as well as my entire music collection, all my photos... basically every piece of media I have. This is currently what my server does.
Now, if the PS3 (and Xbox360) can now/can shortly play back XVID files, and not need any kind of transcoding, then that's great. It won't cost anything near the cost of a full PC to run. It'll just be a small box with one HDD in it, on 24/7. It would mean that while I sit at my main PC, I can be listening to music.... or have access to all my media. I watch TV eps on a laptop in bed, so I'd always have access to that, and the PS3 would also have access to all my media. Full access, to all my media, 24/7, without needing disks.
So, just need the PS3 to be able to stream DivX over LAN, and that'll be fantastic. No more transcoding, so a NAS will do the job.
I also use my server for hosting websites, downloading large files, like PC demos, etc. Some NAS can do that too, without the need for a PC. Clever things. So, that's my plan, assuming over the Xmas period the PS3 does get DivX support, that works over the network, I shall get a NAS. Instant access to all, from my PC, on the TV, and in the bedroom.
I'm not sure what you mean Dutch Guy, with your filenames problem?
Mainly as I encode stuff either captures from a MiniDV, or my PVR.
I use AutoGK, and find it excellent, and easy to use. I'm not sure how it deals with encoding DVDs, as I've never used it for that. I'd take a look though, if you'd like to know, otherwise, it's a freeware app, so no hassle to try.
V1N.
EDIT: Sorry mate, just re-read, and it was TVversity you were talking about, being less than ideal for DivX. When I've tried it in the past, I used the one built into Winamp, that worked well, and I'm sure I used FF and rewind.