The initials DiVX refer to a sophisticated video compression system that allows movies in DVD format to be compressed with a minimal loss of quality, so they can be exchanged over the Internet. To play the movies on a computer, all you need is to have a program installed - it can be downloaded from the Internet - that will decompress the file. 

 

DiVX goes back to 1998, when a 15-year-old Norwegian student named John Johansen developed DeCSS, a program that broke through the anti-copy protection system that pre-recorded DVD movies had then, known as CSS, or Content Scrambling System. Thanks to DeCSS, the content of any DVD was totally unprotected and prepared to yield as many copies as the copier wanted. Still, and even though it seems a paradox, Johansen's goal was not to pirate the DVDs but rather to find a way to view them on the Linux oeprating system. Shortly thereafter, the French film-maker Jerome Jota, alias Gej, and German programmer Max Morice combined Johansen's software with the latest standard for video compression: MPEG-4. The result of this union was DiVX, a hybrid, multi-platform technology that turns a 90-minute, 8 Gb DVD movie into a manageable file of just 650 Mb with 640x490 resolution - a perfect size for storage on an empty CD and with a minimal loss in quality. 

 

A totally legal format
Anyone can make a DiVX copy of a DVD movie. That means the format is totally legal, so long as the goal is private use and not to show the film to a group for profit. The Motion Picture Association of America has said publicly that DiVX is only a compression technology and that therefore it is legal. Another thing altogether is the use to which the DiVX files are put. 

Meanwhile, as was the case with MP3, it has taken several years for DiVX files to leave the world of computers and be played elsewhere: DiVX files are beginning to move from computers to TV sets. To make this possible, all you need to do is tape a film in the DiVX format on a recordable disk (CD-R/RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM) and play it on a DVD-Video player. The only pre-requisite is that the player be compatible with DiVX. In other words, the player must feature specific software to decompress and play the file. This year several DVD-Video players have appeared on the market with ability to view DiVX films on a normal TV set. The pioneering model was the DVD DP-450 from the Danish firm Kiss Technology, a device able to play back any kind of music or video disk. The manufacturer has announced other models like the DP-550 or el DP-600, with a hard disk. Other manufacturers jumping into this race are Spain's Best Buy with its Easy Home DVD VX! or Woxter's X-DIV.