Industry Perspectives: 3ivx is not DivX

3ivx and DivX are two different products from two different companies. Nevertheless, they are often associated with each other, and their similarities go beyond their names. In this article we explore the roots of the companies, how they evolved, and the technologies they represent.

How it all began
DivX
The DivX story begins with a French compositing information graphic artist named Jérôme Rota. Jérôme, also known as "Gej," found a way to circumvent a restriction in an early Microsoft implementation of the MPEG-4 video specification. Microsoft, which developed the MS-MPEG4 [codec, only allowed encoded audio and video to be stored in the proprietary .asf file format (now more commonly known as the .wmv file format). Jérôme extracted the MS-MPEG4 codec out of the Windows Media architecture, circumvented this format limitation in favor of the .avi file format, and started distributing the patched version under the DivX 3 brand.

DivX 3 made it possible to use MS-MPEG4 video with the .avi file format. The underground community picked up on DivX 3 and started the practice of what would later be known as "ripping movies"—extracting the audio and video from copy-protected formats—and distributing them on the Internet. In the process, DivX 3 became an outlaw phenomenon. Together with Jordan Greenhall, Rota decided to take advantage of the DivX brand awareness, and partnered with investors to start up DivX Networks in 2000.

During the next couple of years DivX Networks would release DivX 4 and DivX 5, their own implementations of the MPEG-4 standard.

3ivx
Jan Devos and Stuart Espey, the two founders of 3ivx who originally met via the Internet, started working together in 1999. They were both intrigued by the possibilities and advances in video compression. Excited by the commercial prospects of digital video, they started to work on 3ivx in May 2000 to provide an alternative for the DivX codec that would be built from the ground up.

The 3ivx development team experimented with numerous video compression techniques, which eventually resulted in the initial versions of the 3ivx video codec (known as D1, D2, D3 and D3.5), all based on the MPEG-4 standard. 3ivx D4, however, would be the first version which was actually compliant with the standard.

3ivx D4 4.5.1 is the current version of the codec, but the release of 3ivx 5.0 is imminent. This will be the last traditional MPEG-4 release after which 3ivx will move on to AVC (also known as H.264).

Where do the names DivX and 3ivx come from?
DivX
Before Rota started using the name DivX, there was a company called Digital Video Express that owned a patent on a home video idea. Together with retailer Circuit City, they developed the idea into a videodisc rental system under the Divx name. Divx was originally an acronym for Digital Video Express.

The rental system consisted of encrypted Divx DVDs and Divx players, which could play back the protected discs in addition to ordinary DVD-Video titles. When connected to a phone line, a Divx player would download a decryption key for the disc, which allowed it to be viewed for a limited amount of time, usually 48 hours.

Film enthusiasts were disappointed by the time limitation, even though you could extend the rental interval via the modem connection for an additional fee. Video rental firms opposed the system because it threatened their lucrative late fees. Many in the DVD industry felt that Divx was hindering the acceptance of the technology by confusing the market with two formats. Eventually, Divx died a silent death in July 2001.

Which brings us back to the DivX:) video codec, its name an ironic reference—a wink, as the name itself conveyed—to the failed Divx system. Later, when DivX Networks became a company, it dropped the ";-)" emote-icon from the name and purchased the www.divx.com domain name divx.com.

3ivx
The name 3ivx was chosen as a reaction to the original DivX 3 codec. 3ivx Technologies was one of the first companies that developed an MPEG-4 video codec of its own based on the MPEG-4 specification. The 3ivx codec provided an alternative to the DivX 3 codec.