Welcome to the first Internet site devoted to SAVING DIVX.
What is DIVX?
DIVX is an special feature of the DVD video format. It is found on many of the newer DVD players.
What does this feature do?
The DIVX feature is intended to primarily to benefit consumers who rent movies more often than they puchase them. DVD players equipped with the DIVX feature can play DIVX enhanced DVD movies. These DIVX enhanced DVDs offer limited viewing periods that are similar in function and cost to traditional video rentals. However, only DIVX offers the superior picture and sound quality of the DVD format while eliminating the hassles involved with a renting film from a video store.
How does it do that?
DIVX eliminates the inconvienent trips involved with renting movies. DIVX movies can be purchased at ten major national consumer electronics store chains. DIVX movies will soon be avaliable at several major groccery and department stores. One could easily pick up a DIVX movie in the course of normal shopping. One trip to the video store has just been saved. DIVX makes this practical because it eliminates the consideration of whether or not one has time to watch the film. Since DIVX movies are purchased and not rented, there is no need to return them. Another trip has been saved. Also, because there are no returns, DIVX eliminates the potential for late fees.
One might then wonder what makes purchasing a DIVX movie different from buying that movie outright. The answer is that for a fee substantially lower than the typical movie's purchase price, DIVX offers the viewer a 48 hour period with in which to watch the movie. While this viewing window is similar to a video rental period, it does not begin until the viewer inserts the disc and presses play. Compare this with a video rental period, which begins before one even leaves the store. If one wants to see a rented movie after their viewing period has expired (assuming they returned the movie in the first place) they have to go to the video store and re-rent that film. This also means a subsequent trip to return the re-rented movie. With DIVX's convienent electronic registration system, one can purchase additional viewing periods without ever leaving their house. Two more trips saved.
DIVX can even make it easier to add movies to one's permanent collection. While a DIVX disc is intially only viewable for forty-eight hours one can use DIVX's sophisticated electronic registration system to give the disc unlimited viewing periods. Once again, this can be done without leaving the house. There is no need to go to the store and buy anything. DIVX has just made another trip unnecessary.
How does DIVX's registration system work?
The consumer calls the DIVX billing agency to setup an account. Once the account is setup the consumer can change the registration status of each of their DIVX movies individually via the on screen menu of their DIVX equipped DVD player. For the initial $4.50 purchase price, the DIVX movie comes with a pre-registered 48 hour viewing period and what is know as "rental" status (a misnomer since the disc was purchased). After the initial viewing period expires the customer can register the disc for another 48 hour viewing period. This costs about $3.25 and the disc retains its "rental" status. The consumer can register a DIVX movie for additional 48 hour viewing periods as often as they want. However, if the consumer knows that they want to add the movie to their permanent collection then they can pay a one time fee that gives them unlimited viewing periods on any DIVX equipped DVD player registered to their account. The the one time fee is set by the studio that released the movie and is usually between $15 and $20. When a consumer registers a disc for unlimited viewing they change its status from "rental" to "Silver".
Once the customer has selected a registration option for a movie, their choice is stored in their player's internal memory. The player will then continue to run that disc for a period time appropriate to the registration option choosen.
The player will eventually report the customer's registration choices to the DIVX billing agency by making a toll free call via its internal modem (DIVX equipped DVD player require a phone line connection). The call takes place about once a month, usually sometime after midnight and lasts about thirty seconds. The billing agency uses the information to calculate the customer's bill.
If the customer has more than one DIVX equipped DVD player registered to their account then billing agency will send any disc registration status changes to the internal memories of those players. This way the customer can watch the affected disc on any of their DIVX equipped DVD players.
