RASTABT
1
released 2 Sept 2003.
DivX 5.1 and Pro
New:
* Added a new high-quality psychovisual mode that includes the following features:
o Texture cortex masking and rate distortion algorithm
o Hybrid mode (with texture cortex masking)
o Speed optimization
o Chroma operation (this option is not enabled by default for performance reasons; to enable it, create an empty file in C:\ called "DivxPvShapingChroma.txt" for "fast" mode and "DivxPvSimpleChroma.txt" for slow mode; testing shows only 1-2% gains in JND tests)
* The decoder has been rearchitected and is now 10 to 30% faster on all CPU platforms.
* The decoder now supports automatic post-processing during video playback.
* Added new features to the rate control modes of the encoder, including:
o A complexity vector log file
o An API that allows real-time control of rate control
o An API that allows forced I-frame insertion
Improved:
* Redesigned encoder GUI. The new GUI is more accessible and simplifies overall usage.
* DivX 3 compatibility. (There were no problems detected on any of the more than 60 hours of test content.)
* Performance of Nth Pass strategy planning performance.
Fixed:
* A bug that caused the quantizer to overshoot the bitrate following a transition to a complex scene.
* A bug that limited the interframe change in quantizer to the ideal quantizer or plus or minus 2.
* A bug in RGB32 to YUV conversion on Pentium 4 machines.
* A minor bug that affected multiple CPU configuration.
* A bug with the rate control video buffer verifier (VBV) that would enforce a "3 sec" max bitrate.
* Several bugs that affected Nth Pass encoding strategy planning.
* A bug that caused a different number of frames to be reported between different passes in VirtualDub.
* A bug that caused motion vector (MV) reuse to be non-functional.
* A bug that caused problems when MV reuse and psychovisual mode were used together.
* Several bugs with the installer.
* A bug that caused a crash when setting crop/resize values
DivX Player Version 2.5 (released 2003-09-02)
New:
* Integrated the DivX 5.1 decoder into the DivX Player application.
* Multiple audio tracks. The DivX Player now allows the choice of multiple audio tracks that are stored in an AVI file in accordance with the AVI file specification.
* Multi-monitor fullscreen playback. The DivX Player will now display fullscreen video playback that spans multiple monitors, if you have a system with a single desktop that crosses more than one monitor. With the right monitor setup, this allows for very large video playback screens.
* It returns from the grave… Loop video playback. At long last, the DivX Player again supports the ability to loop video playback. This feature was removed back in version 2.0 Alpha, and we intended to add it back in Real Soon Now™ for…oh, about a year and a half. Well, we finally did it.
* Improved first-time startup sequence. The DivX Player now includes a new startup sequence that is only displayed the first time the application is started. This startup sequence allows the user to subscribe to the DivX newsletter, and also will optionally send system information to DivXNetworks to give us more information for testing and product planning purposes.
* Local playback settings. In addition to the global playback settings (e.g., video post-processing level) that were supported in previous versions of the DivX Player, this version now includes local playback settings that affect only the currently loaded video. Local settings can be changed independently from global settings. So you can set your global settings to the "default" settings that work best for you, and then tweak the local settings if a given video requires slightly different settings to work best. The local playback settings are accessed via the new "Playback Properties" window.
* Windows Media Video (.wmv) file support. The DivX Player can now load and display WMV files correctly, provided that the proper video and audio codecs are installed on the computer.
* DivX® VOD video content. A number of video companies use a DivX system to buy and rent their video content on demand over the Internet. (The DivX Movies page features several of these companies.) The DivX Player can now authenticate and playback this content after it is purchased or rented. This version of the DivX Player replaces all older 1.x versions of the DivX Player.
* Recent files list. The DivX Player menu now includes a list of the most recently opened videos. This makes it easy to re-open a video that was viewed during a previous application session.
* Support for localization. This version of the DivX Player is prepared for localization into languages other than English. Localized versions of the DivX Player will be released in the coming weeks and months.
Improved:
* CPU usage reduced by 25-30%. The DivX Player has been improved so that it now requires 25-30% fewer CPU resources to play video compared to previous versions of the DivX Player.
* RAM usage reduced by 25-30%. The DivX Player memory usage has been optimized and it now uses 25-30% less memory than previous versions of the DivX Player.
* Advanced decoder properties. The DivX Player now exposes certain advanced DivX® decoder properties (e.g., film effect) that were hidden in previous versions of the DivX Player.
* Improved graphic user interface. The GUI of the DivX Player has been redesigned and improved to make it easier to use.
Changed:
* FOURCC code support. The DivX Player now natively supports a smaller list of FOURCC codes for video content in AVI files. Older versions natively supported a number of "unofficial" DivX FOURCC codes. This version of the DivX Player is stricter about what FOURCC codes it natively decodes. All other FOURCC codes are handled by external codecs.
Fixed:
* A bug that would cause fullscreen video playback to display improperly on systems with multiple monitors. In older versions of the DivX Player, the fullscreen playback would be truncated and only part of the video would be displayed on one of the monitors. The DivX Player now understands "virtual desktops," and will correctly display fullscreen video on the monitor where the DivX Player application is located.
* A bug that would cause some video content encoded with the MJPEG video codec to display improperly.
DivX
DivX 5.1 and Pro
New:
* Added a new high-quality psychovisual mode that includes the following features:
o Texture cortex masking and rate distortion algorithm
o Hybrid mode (with texture cortex masking)
o Speed optimization
o Chroma operation (this option is not enabled by default for performance reasons; to enable it, create an empty file in C:\ called "DivxPvShapingChroma.txt" for "fast" mode and "DivxPvSimpleChroma.txt" for slow mode; testing shows only 1-2% gains in JND tests)
* The decoder has been rearchitected and is now 10 to 30% faster on all CPU platforms.
* The decoder now supports automatic post-processing during video playback.
* Added new features to the rate control modes of the encoder, including:
o A complexity vector log file
o An API that allows real-time control of rate control
o An API that allows forced I-frame insertion
Improved:
* Redesigned encoder GUI. The new GUI is more accessible and simplifies overall usage.
* DivX 3 compatibility. (There were no problems detected on any of the more than 60 hours of test content.)
* Performance of Nth Pass strategy planning performance.
Fixed:
* A bug that caused the quantizer to overshoot the bitrate following a transition to a complex scene.
* A bug that limited the interframe change in quantizer to the ideal quantizer or plus or minus 2.
* A bug in RGB32 to YUV conversion on Pentium 4 machines.
* A minor bug that affected multiple CPU configuration.
* A bug with the rate control video buffer verifier (VBV) that would enforce a "3 sec" max bitrate.
* Several bugs that affected Nth Pass encoding strategy planning.
* A bug that caused a different number of frames to be reported between different passes in VirtualDub.
* A bug that caused motion vector (MV) reuse to be non-functional.
* A bug that caused problems when MV reuse and psychovisual mode were used together.
* Several bugs with the installer.
* A bug that caused a crash when setting crop/resize values
DivX Player Version 2.5 (released 2003-09-02)
New:
* Integrated the DivX 5.1 decoder into the DivX Player application.
* Multiple audio tracks. The DivX Player now allows the choice of multiple audio tracks that are stored in an AVI file in accordance with the AVI file specification.
* Multi-monitor fullscreen playback. The DivX Player will now display fullscreen video playback that spans multiple monitors, if you have a system with a single desktop that crosses more than one monitor. With the right monitor setup, this allows for very large video playback screens.
* It returns from the grave… Loop video playback. At long last, the DivX Player again supports the ability to loop video playback. This feature was removed back in version 2.0 Alpha, and we intended to add it back in Real Soon Now™ for…oh, about a year and a half. Well, we finally did it.
* Improved first-time startup sequence. The DivX Player now includes a new startup sequence that is only displayed the first time the application is started. This startup sequence allows the user to subscribe to the DivX newsletter, and also will optionally send system information to DivXNetworks to give us more information for testing and product planning purposes.
* Local playback settings. In addition to the global playback settings (e.g., video post-processing level) that were supported in previous versions of the DivX Player, this version now includes local playback settings that affect only the currently loaded video. Local settings can be changed independently from global settings. So you can set your global settings to the "default" settings that work best for you, and then tweak the local settings if a given video requires slightly different settings to work best. The local playback settings are accessed via the new "Playback Properties" window.
* Windows Media Video (.wmv) file support. The DivX Player can now load and display WMV files correctly, provided that the proper video and audio codecs are installed on the computer.
* DivX® VOD video content. A number of video companies use a DivX system to buy and rent their video content on demand over the Internet. (The DivX Movies page features several of these companies.) The DivX Player can now authenticate and playback this content after it is purchased or rented. This version of the DivX Player replaces all older 1.x versions of the DivX Player.
* Recent files list. The DivX Player menu now includes a list of the most recently opened videos. This makes it easy to re-open a video that was viewed during a previous application session.
* Support for localization. This version of the DivX Player is prepared for localization into languages other than English. Localized versions of the DivX Player will be released in the coming weeks and months.
Improved:
* CPU usage reduced by 25-30%. The DivX Player has been improved so that it now requires 25-30% fewer CPU resources to play video compared to previous versions of the DivX Player.
* RAM usage reduced by 25-30%. The DivX Player memory usage has been optimized and it now uses 25-30% less memory than previous versions of the DivX Player.
* Advanced decoder properties. The DivX Player now exposes certain advanced DivX® decoder properties (e.g., film effect) that were hidden in previous versions of the DivX Player.
* Improved graphic user interface. The GUI of the DivX Player has been redesigned and improved to make it easier to use.
Changed:
* FOURCC code support. The DivX Player now natively supports a smaller list of FOURCC codes for video content in AVI files. Older versions natively supported a number of "unofficial" DivX FOURCC codes. This version of the DivX Player is stricter about what FOURCC codes it natively decodes. All other FOURCC codes are handled by external codecs.
Fixed:
* A bug that would cause fullscreen video playback to display improperly on systems with multiple monitors. In older versions of the DivX Player, the fullscreen playback would be truncated and only part of the video would be displayed on one of the monitors. The DivX Player now understands "virtual desktops," and will correctly display fullscreen video on the monitor where the DivX Player application is located.
* A bug that would cause some video content encoded with the MJPEG video codec to display improperly.
DivX
