Escaping the Napster trap

Hackers and movie traders love the digital film compression software DivX -- but will Hollywood? Second of two parts.

By Damien Cave

Mar 19, 2001 | Despite DivX Networks' popularity with hackers and support from open-source software developers, the company still has a long way to go before it realizes its grand ambition -- becoming the standard for digital video compression online.

Only 500,000 people have downloaded the new version of DivX, DivX ;-) Deux, and most of the movies available online -- including "Snatch" and others that have been released since the appearance of the upgraded DivX software -- still flow only through the original DivX.

Veterans of the DivX scene say Deux hasn't caught on because the original still offers higher-quality playback. This may or may not be the case. Quality depends not just on the version used, but also on who does the encoding -- a multi-step process that requires a relatively high level of technical know-how.

After having reviewed several movies and clips encoded in both formats, I can safely say that the difference appeared negligible. Both displayed pictures that are better than what you'll find on a non-cable television, but still suffered from the same weakness: pixelization. Images, especially in high-action scenes, break down from fluid motion into jagged, small squares.

DivX ;-) Deux aims to address some of these technical weaknesses. The software automatically detects problematic high-action scenes, for example, and changes the encoding bit-rate accordingly, cutting down on pixelization, though not completely. The new code is also not derived from Microsoft's original Windows Media codec, which DivX Networks' founders hope will keep Microsoft's lawyers at bay.

The homegrown nature of the code has another advantage -- because it's built from the ground up, it's also easier to fix or change. Given DivX Networks' plans for ubiquity, the pliability of DivX ;-) Deux is particularly important. When it's easier to make applications that run on top of it, it's easier to scale and enter new markets.

But technical issues are, in the long run, only one factor in determining DivX's success, and possibly not even the most important one. For DivX Networks to truly succeed, the company needs the support of the film industry -- and that means incorporating features that may not jibe with the desires of the open-source/hacker community upon whom DivX Networks is counting for support. Those are features that Hollywood will demand.

Some form of copy protection will be one of the first additions. Without Hollywood's support, there will be no convergence upon DivX as the standard. And Hollywood wants better defenses for its intellectual property. The lack of any current form of copy protection, or so-called "digital rights management" software, represents the single greatest roadblock to widespread, official distribution -- and DivX legitimacy.

Next Page: Can copy protection and free software coexist?

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