DivX Plus HD, launched in 2009, is the brand name for the file type that DivX, Inc. has chosen for their high definition video format. DivX Plus HD files consist of high definition H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video with surround sound Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) audio, wrapped up in the open-standard Matroska container, identified by the .mkv file extension. DivX Plus HD files leverage and extend on Matroska's ability to support multiple language tracks, subtitles, chapters, and additional bonus content.

DivX Plus HD products

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Software

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As of the release of DivX 7, DivX Plus HD support has been included in the main software bundle.

On 16 March 2010, DivX released DivX Plus Software (version 8) for Windows which included:[1]

  • DivX Plus Player – Play DivX 6 files (.avi and .divx with MP3 audio) and DivX Plus HD (.mkv with AAC audio)
    • DivX to Go – A device transfer wizard for moving videos to DivX devices via USB or optical disc
  • DivX Plus Converter – Creates .mkv files via the "DivX Plus HD" menu or converts .mkv to .divx
  • DivX Plus Web Player – Plays .mkv files with H.264 video and AAC audio on web pages inside a web browser.[2]
  • DivX Plus Codec PackDirectShow components for decoding and creating DivX and DivX Plus video files

DivX Plus HD Profile

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DivX has defined profiles which are subsets of MPEG-4/AVI and H264/MKV standards. Because the grouping is a specific subset of what is in the standards, there are certification processes for each of the profiles that device manufacturers must follow. Below is the DivX Plus HD profile.[5]

All DivX Plus HD certified devices bearing a DivX Plus logo will adhere to the profile outlined in the table below, as would any tools that support the DivX profiles. DivX Plus HD devices are also tested for compliance against the DivX HD 1080p profile for MPEG4/AVI certification in order to maintain backwards compatibility[6]

Profile +HD 1080p
Codec MPEG4 part 10 (H.264)
File Extension(s) .mkv
Max. resolution (px×px×Hz) 1920×1080×30,

1280×720×60

Max VBV bitrate (bit/s) VCL: 20000000,

NAL: 24000000

Min. VBV buffer size (KiB) VCL: 3200, NAL: 3840
Macroblocks (per second) 244800
Subtitles 8×SRT
Audio 8×MP3, AC3, AAC

MKV Extensions

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DivX has introduced additional features beyond the Matroska specification that are implemented during the video file creation process and exposed during playback in DivX Plus software and on consumer electronics devices certified for DivX Plus HD. Below are the standard and extended MKV features that are specific to the DivX Plus HD profile.[7][8]

World Fonts

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Currently, font files can be easily attached to .mkv files using a Matroska mux,[9] but certain problems may arise when attempting to utilize a font during playback. Usually, performance is affected because the font file can be large and take time to load for the subtitles. The DivX Plus Word Fonts extension attempts to solve this problem by optimizing the font file during the file creation stage.[10] A DivX Plus mux, like the DivXMKVMux, can examine the subtitle file, determine which characters are required from a font file, and repack the font file for attachment with only the necessary symbols, thereby reducing the font attachment size and decreasing the time it needs to load.

Smooth FF/RW

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DivX has released a specification for a DivX Plus extension that aims to improve seeking quickly through a video file, either forward or backward. Called Smooth FF/RW, the creator of the video creates a lower resolution version of the video that is attached to the .mkv file and leveraged whenever a user instructs their player to seek fast forward or rewind.[11] When the user presses fast forward or rewind, the full resolution track is swapped out with the lower resolution version, requiring less resources; when the user presses play, the lower resolution track is instantly swapped out to the full resolution version, which is intended to solve inaccurate seeking issues or a stuttering effect during fast forward and rewind.

Multi-title Play

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Episodic content can be packaged into a single file.[12]

Authored and Auto-generated Chapters

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Access to chapter points in a video when no chapter information exists.[12]

Quick Start

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The format supports quick start where the user can begin viewing even large HD files immediately.[12]

Hardware

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The following chips have been certified or have licensing agreements for DivX Plus HD:[13]

IC Provider Model Number Date Certified Type Notes
Broadcom BCM3556 7 September 2010 DTV
BCM3549 27 August 2010
Mediatek MT8550TBAG 23 August 2010 Blu-ray Disc player
MT8550UBAG 23 August 2010
MT8555DGBG 8 July 2010
MT8555DIBG 8 July 2010
MT8555DJBG 8 July 2010
MT8555DHBG 8 July 2010
OP8531 6 July 2010
MT8653ACEG 17 June 2010
MT8652ACEG 8 June 2010
MT8555DDBG 3 June 2010
MT8555DCBG 3 June 2010
MT8555DEBG 3 June 2010
MT8555DFBG 27 May 2010
MT8550JBAG 17 May 2010
MT8530PEFG 24 March 2010 MT8530 announced as first DivX Plus HD certified chip.[14]
MT8530MEFG 24 March 2010
MT8530KEFG 5 November 2009
MT8530JEFG 5 November 2009
MT8530AEFG 30 September 2009
Panasonic MN2WS0150D3 16 August 2010 Blu-ray Disc player UniPhier chips named in licensing agreement.[15]
MN2WS0150D2 16 August 2010
MN2WS0140DFF1 10 June 2010
MN2WS0141DFF 11 May 2010
Realtek RTD1073 24 March 2010 Digital multimedia processor
RTD1283 3 March 2010

NEC Electronics has signed a multi-year licensing agreement to include DivX Plus HD in its EMMA chips.[16]

Consumer electronics

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The following products have been DivX Plus HD Certified:[17][18]

OEM / ODM Model Number Date Certified Type Notes
Denon DBP-1611UD 5 October 2010 Blu-ray Disc player
Marantz UD5005 12 October 2010 Blu-ray Disc player
Panasonic DMP-BDT100EE 31 August 2010 Blu-ray Disc player
SC-BTT755EGK 27 July 2010
SC-BFT800EBK 15 July 2010
SC-BFT800EGK 15 July 2010
SC-BFT800GNK 15 July 2010
SC-BTT350EGK 14 July 2010
SC-BTT755EBK 14 July 2010
SC-BTT350EBK 14 July 2010
SC-BTT350GNK 14 July 2010
SC-BTT755GNK 14 July 2010
DMP-BDT100GN 22 June 2010
DMP-BDT300EG 26 April 2010 The DMP-BDT300 has been DivX Plus HD Certified, and is Panasonic's first FullHD 3D Blu-ray Disc player.[19]
DMP-BDT300GN 26 April 2010
DMP-BDT300EE 26 April 2010
Philips BDP5180 7 September 2010 Blu-ray Disc player
BDP8000 31 August 2010
BDP7500B2 25 March 2010
BDP7500S2 3 March 2010
BDP7500 MK II 5 February 2010
BDP8000 5 February 2010
BDP5100 5 February 2010
Soniq QPB302B 2 June 2010 Blu-ray Disc player
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex TV 2 September 2010 Digital media receiver
Yamaha BD-S1067 31 August 2010 Blu-ray Disc player

x264 compatibility

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According to documentation provided by DivX on their DivX Developer Portal, it is possible to make DivX Plus HD compatible files via other H.264 encoders, such as the open source x264 encoder.[20] At minimum, the following command line creates an H.264 bitstream within the DivX Plus HD profile:

x264 --vbv-maxrate=20000 --vbv-bufsize=25000 --level 40 --bframes 3 --keyint <4*FPS> -o <output file> <input file>

Despite the popular transcoding tool HandBrake dropping .avi container support, it can still be used to create DivX Plus compatible videos if MKV is selected for format, x264 is selected for video codec, AAC is used for audio codec, and the following options are passed into the advanced settings:[21]

level=40:ref=2:bframes=2:subq=6:mixed-refs=0:weightb=0:8x8dct=0:trellis=0:vbv-maxrate=20000:vbv-bufsize=25000:weightp=0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "DivX Plus Software". DivX Labs blog. DivX, Inc. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Download DivX Plus Web Player 2.0 Beta to Play DivX Plus Video (MKV/H.264/AAC) in Web Browser". TechHail blog. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  3. ^ "DXVA – Free with the new DivX Plus H.264 Decoder". DivX Labs blog. DivX, Inc. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  4. ^ Drawbaugh, Ben (1 May 2009). "DivX fills in the gaps and adds MKV support to Windows 7". Engadget. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. ^ "DivX Profiles from divx.com".
  6. ^ "certified listing from divx.com". Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  7. ^ "MKV The new standard for digital video quality and performance". DivX. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  8. ^ "DivX Plus MKV Extensions". DivX Labs. DivX, Inc. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  9. ^ How to attach a TrueType font in Moritz Bunkus (2015). "mkvmerge -- Merge multimedia streams into a Matroska™ file". MKVToolNix. sec. attachments. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  10. ^ "World Fonts". DivX Developer Portal. DivX, Inc. Archived from the original on 14 February 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  11. ^ "Smooth FF/RW". DivX Developer Portal. DivX, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  12. ^ a b c "+HD Features". DivX. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  13. ^ "DivX Certified Hardware". DivX.com. DivX, Inc. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  14. ^ McGlaun, Shane (26 October 2009). "MediaTek MT8530 becomes world's first DivX Plus Blu-ray chip". SlashGear. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  15. ^ Lawler, Richard (11 September 2009). "Panasonic including DivX Plus HD (MKV) support into next gen Blu-ray players, TVs". Engadget. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  16. ^ Lawler, Richard (11 September 2009). "NEC chips to include DivX Plus HD support". Engadget. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Media Streamers". DivX.com. DivX, Inc. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  18. ^ "Blu-ray Players". DivX.com. DivX, Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  19. ^ Newman, Jared (27 April 2010). "Panasonic embraces DivX Plus HD in 3D Blu-ray players". MyCE – My Consumer Electronics. MyCE. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  20. ^ "Encoding with x264". DivX Developer Portal. DivX, Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  21. ^ "DivX Plus HD – H.264/MKV/AAC". HandBrake Forums. HandBrake community. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
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