DivX® is a technology to compress and playback video files. creates and distributes this technology which often refered to as the "MP3 of video". In a nutshell, DivX® has revolutionized the creation, playback and distribution of high-quality digital video.

DivX® has become the most popular MPEG-4 compatible video compression technology on the market due to its very high compression ratio which enables DVD-quality video and audio at typically 7-10 times smaller storage requirements than standard DVD/Mpeg2 compression technology.

A commercial DVD title which takes 4.7 gigabytes of storage can be converted to DivX® format with no noticeable loss of video and audio quality within less than 700 megabytes of storage which can be archived on cheap CD media. DivX® technology allows broadband users to encode and distribute DVD-quality video at 500-700 Kbps. According to Viant Research, there are over half a million DivX® video files traded daily on the Internet.

When you install DivX® on your system it basically works as an add-on to your system with instructions how to compress and decompress (playback) video in that video format. Once DivX® is installed on your system you will be able to play DivX® movies using Windows Media Player or any other DivX-enabled player.

On the down side, DivX® movies are not compatible with DVD technology in the sense that all interactions that require DVD commands are lost after the conversion. DVD menu presentation, title and chapter selection, angle selection, etc. are not available with DivX® technology.

The following are some highlights of the DivX® video technology:
Video file format: Most common form as a Windows .avi file.

Video Resolution: Variable, 640x480 is the most common or default PAL/NTSC resolution

Bitrate: Varies depending on the video resolution and the audio bitrate. 650 MB typically stores 80-90 minutes at 640x480

Video Quality: Varies depending upon compression parameters. Most common quality is SVHS/DVD at 10-15% the storage requirements by DVD technology.

Audio Quality: Most common is CD Quality or better at 48 kHz or 96 kBits, 2-channel stereo.

Encoding time: 18-20 frames per second on a P3-1GHz.