Editing DIVX (section)

==Format==
DIVX was a rental format variation on the [[DVD]] player in which a customer would buy a DIVX disc (similar to a DVD) for approximately US$4.50, which was watchable for up to 48&nbsp;hours from its initial viewing. After this period, the disc could be viewed by paying a continuation fee to play it for two more days. Viewers who wanted to watch a disc an unlimited number of times could convert the disc to a "DIVX silver" disc for an additional fee.<ref name="sfgate">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/06/18/BU89741.DTL|author=Fost, Dan|date=June 18, 1999|title=Divx's Death Pleases Opponents|work=The San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425230229/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F1999%2F06%2F18%2FBU89741.DTL|archive-date=April 25, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> "DIVX gold" discs that could be played an unlimited number of times on any DIVX player were announced at the time of DIVX's introduction, but no DIVX gold titles were ever released.

Each DIVX disc was marked with a unique barcode in the [[burst cutting area]] that could be read by the player, and used to track the discs. The status of the discs was monitored through an account over a phone line.<ref name="PhoneLine">{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineinc.com/emedia/DecEM/news12.html#a|title=Divx: Studio Push or Consumer Pull?|first=Marla|last=Misek|date=December 1, 1997|website=EMedia Professional|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980211233851/http://www.onlineinc.com/emedia/DecEM/news12.html#a|archive-date=February 11, 1998|url-status=dead|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref> DIVX player owners had to set up an account with DIVX to which additional viewing fees could be charged. The player would call an account server over the phone line to charge for viewing fees similar to the way [[DirecTV]] and [[Dish Network]] [[satellite]] systems handle [[pay-per-view]].

In addition to the normal [[Content Scramble System]] (CSS) encryption, DIVX discs used [[Triple DES]] encryption and an alternative channel modulation coding scheme, which prevented them from being read in standard DVD players.<ref name="DVDDM"/> Most of the discs would be manufactured by United Kingdom-based [[Nimbus CD International]].<ref name="NCDInt">{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-328908.html|title=Divx dust-up looms|first=Stephanie|last=Miles|date=April 30, 1998|website=CNET News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000831173539/http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-328908.html|archive-date=August 31, 2000|url-status=dead|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref>

DIVX players manufactured by [[Zenith Electronics]] (who would go bankrupt shortly before the launch of the format<ref name="ZenithBankruptcy">{{cite web|url=http://www.e-town.com/news/articles/zenith052298dea.html|title=Zenith Death Watch is Over|first=David J.|last=Elrich|date=May 22, 1998|website=E/Town News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990505023123/http://www.e-town.com/news/articles/zenith052298dea.html|archive-date=May 5, 1999|url-status=dead|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref>), Thomson Consumer Electronics ([[RCA (trademark)|RCA]] and [[ProScan]]),<ref name="ZenithThomsonDIVX">{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,14073,00.html|title=Zenith trumpets Divx for DVD|first=Jim|last=Davis|date=September 9, 1997|website=CNET News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990116222206/http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,14073,00.html|archive-date=January 16, 1999|url-status=dead|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref> and [[Panasonic|Matsushita Electric (Panasonic)]] started to become available in mid-1998. These players differed from regular DVD players with the addition of a security IC chip (powered by  [[ARM Holdings|ARM]] [[RISC]] and manufactured by [[VLSI Technology|VLSI]]) that controlled the [[codec|encode/decode]] of the digital content.<ref name="SecurityChip">{{cite web|url=http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?EET19980105S0068|title=VLSI's data-security IC finds spot in DVD player|first=Junko|last=Yoshida|date=January 5, 1998|website=TechWeb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990913002235/http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?EET19980105S0068|archive-date=September 13, 1999|url-status=dead|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref> Mail systems were included on some players as well.<ref name="FirstLookAtDivxPlayer">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/divx0317.html|title=Divx: Beyond the Hype|first=Bill|last=Hunt|date=March 17, 1998|website=The Digital Bits|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990428145918/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/divx0317.html|archive-date=April 28, 1999|url-status=dead|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref> Because of widespread studio support, manufacturers anticipated that demand for the units would be high. Initially, the players were approximately twice as expensive as standard DVD players, but price reductions occurred within months of release.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}