Industry Perspectives: 3ivx is not DivX
The different technologies
Both DivX Networks and 3ivx Technologies have MPEG-4 Video Encoder and Decoder components available. The latest incarnations are DivX 5.2.1 and 3ivx D4 4.5.1. Both software packages support MPEG-4 Simple Profile and Advanced Simple Profile Video and when it comes to video codec functionalities and image quality, both are a close match. The major difference lies in how the video is packaged and used.
DivX Networks opted for MPEG-4 Video and MP3 Audio to be packaged in .avi files. 3ivx Technologies on the other hand, provides a complete MPEG-4 experience with MPEG-4 AAC Audio and the .mp4 file format. It supports .avi, .mp4, .mov, .m4q, and .3gp file formats, and MP3, LC-AAC, and HE-AAC audio codecs.
On Windows, 3ivx's strong point is that it offers a variety of components to work with MPEG-4 Audio, Video, the .mp4 file format, and variants under the DirectShow framework (the primary multimedia architecture on Windows). This allows software developers to integrate 3ivx filters with their application to provide complete and transparent MPEG-4 support to their users.
Besides DirectShow, 3ivx also supports the QuickTime architecture on Mac OS and Windows. Having this QuickTime support, along with 3ivx's interoperability with Apple MPEG-4, allows content deliverers to stream live or on-demand MPEG-4 Video using the 3ivx codec.
The business case
These different technological accents are very much the results of the different business philosophies of the companies. DivX Networks has always leveraged the power of the DivX brand name. The primary example is the DivX Certified hardware and software program. They call it the creation of a DivX Ecosystem. From early on, it was logical for them to stick with the .avi file format and the MP3 codec, which were popular in the DivX 3 days as well as readily available for commercial applications.
From the very beginning, 3ivx Technologies has been technology-driven. The goal was to create professional-quality MPEG-4 products that live in an MPEG-4 Ecosystem. That allowed 3ivx to move beyond the older and proven technologies, and focus on the AAC Audio and the .mp4 file format.
3ivx Technologies' core business consists of licensing and tailoring their MPEG-4 components for bundling with software and hardware packages. Besides licensing, the company also works with multimedia service, content creation, and content delivery providers to facilitate streaming MPEG-4 video.