DivX 7 to officially support MKV
Like anyone else, we can't get enough video formats -- not -- but unlike H.264, DivX, XviD and MPEG-2 the latest rage is Matroska (aka MKV) is not a codec, but a container. It is the format which holds other formats, so you should be wondering, what's so special about it? It is special because it can hold new combinations of codecs and it is open for anyone to use. The most popular new feature is its ability to contain x.264 video, DTS audio, and at the same time subtitles in multiple languages, all in the same file. It is quickly becoming the replacement for AVI, and has the best chance of becoming the mp3 of video, than any other container has before. The problem of course is support. As usual Windows is covered, but thanks to Perian, Macs have support now too. And of course the most universal player in the world, VLC does too. But now it appears it has warranted some commercial support and the next version of DivX will play nice too. This of course doesn't mean that any hardware vendors will join in -- other than the Popcorn Hour that is -- but it's a step in the right direction.
Filed under: Internet
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sean @ Jun 30th 2008 6:13PM
If you dont know , now you know!
MKV is the future of online downloads of HD content. Legal and Illegal.
Don-Don @ Jun 30th 2008 6:27PM
Will this support trickle down to hardware that supports DivX? aka 360/PS3?
KiraXD @ Jun 30th 2008 6:36PM
oh how awesome that would be! i dont see it happening very soon... and since my 360/ps3/pc are all hooked up to the same HD LCD TV its not that big of a deal to me... but it would still be aweome for people who just have one or the other.
KiraXD @ Jun 30th 2008 6:28PM
wow. awesome stuff... ive been watching all my videos in MKV for a few years now (super popular format with anime) and totally agree that MKV is the future.
jimmy @ Jun 30th 2008 7:04PM
microsoft, are you listening?
(xbox360 support for mkv pleeeeeeeeeeease)
lanod35 @ Jun 30th 2008 7:17PM
Divx7 support Mkv, PS3 support officialy Divx, so PS3 will support MKV?
Excellent news ;)
andy @ Jul 1st 2008 10:38PM
I have a 360 and not a PS3. Hopefully adoption by one will force all.... including Tivo and the other set top boxes.
andy @ Jul 1st 2008 10:39PM
hopefully it'll force adoption by all of the other game consoles and set top box makers
xemumanic @ Jun 30th 2008 7:56PM
Hopefully, options for switching audio and subtitle tracks makes its way into the next version of Vista Media Center (Fiji?). I think most everything else is already in place, and DivX 7 supporting MKV makes it all the more legitimate.
Hopefully, the 360 and PS3 also get on this bandwagon themselves.
Also, I understand that DivX is working on a AVC/H.264 decoder/encoder, so maybe that new movie download service that Sony is going to introduce is going to use H.264 after all. Still 3 years to late IMO, but it makes all the difference when everyone is using this form of video compression. It supported by hardware, and now the software is coming together.
GrammrCheckr @ Jun 30th 2008 9:26PM
It's = It is
Its = belonging to it
David S @ Jun 30th 2008 9:58PM
As much as I like mkv, I just don't see it replacing .mp4 . Probably the wost side effect of iPod dominance is that any video that's meant for portable playback more or less has to be mp4. mp4's also have support with the PS3 and 360, so they win with hardware support over the mkv. We all love our scene releases in mkvs, but I can't do anything with them beyond the PC, where mp4s seem to have a head start.
J.Goodwin @ Jun 30th 2008 10:16PM
I hate MKV. We have the perfectly good MP4 container, it's a standard, stop forcing new open source shit on us.
Seriously, just because Microsoft comes up with poorly supported and badly documented things like WMV doesn't mean that you Linux people need to come up with more of them yourselves.
Mike4 @ Jul 1st 2008 1:27PM
It's too bad you feel that way, because mkv is the best container out there. MP4 is also good, but it doesn't support 5.1 audio, so when you convert an mkv movie to an mp4, your audio is converted down to 2.0 stereo.
WMV is ok, but the file sizes are always twice the size of mkv files.
Unfortunately, mkv is not used by that many media players, but hopefully this will change when more and more people realize what a great and versatile format it is. Most people are forced to connect their computer to their HDTV in order to watch their mkv files, but if you can find a media player that supports them, there's nothing better. Luckily, I own a Popcorn Hour and can watch these files on my TV without my computer. I can also watch pretty much any other format possible on it.
When it comes to HD content, nothing beats mkv. MP4 is a close second, though.
dj496 @ Jun 30th 2008 11:29PM
I'm really liking MKV and hope it takes off. It's not only the MP3 of video, but the FLAC too, capable of the highest HD quality that you want to pack into it - and open-source.
Having said that I hope FLAC takes off for audio, and that it actually increases interest in "quality" music that can be listened to without throwing up, wanting to die (etc).
amount @ Jun 30th 2008 11:54PM
Who the hell even uses DivX. Worst player. And this story is saying that the new DivX player will play mkv files; it has nothing to do with the DivX format, and thus has nothing to do with the PS3.
Jnas @ Jul 1st 2008 6:12AM
Ok, if this means PS3 supports mkv, i will have an orgasm right on my keyboard.
1stGreg @ Jul 1st 2008 12:58PM
The PS3 is supposed to be the console "fully DiVX compliant", as was said by DiVX themselves.
So, in theory, yup, it would mean that MKV support is coming to PS3.
dnettles @ Jul 1st 2008 8:13AM
I really like my Popcorn Hour.
Down @ Jul 1st 2008 8:19AM
Why don't hardware companies just install VLC player into their systems e.g. dvd players, blu-ray players, games consoles, etc?
thomas @ Jul 1st 2008 3:17PM
I prefer TViX 6500A over Popcorn Hour and all the other NMT boxes anytime.. MKV actually works on this one - including all the x264 files in 1080p.
Mike4 @ Jul 1st 2008 10:39PM
The Popcorn Hour plays mkv files play perfectly - especially all the x264 files in 1080p. Maybe you're getting it confused with something else?
I don't know much about the TViX 6500A, but I thought there was something it didn't play or do. The Popcorn Hour plays everything and I believe it's only about half the price of the TViX, which is why I chose it over the others I was looking at.