XVID vs. DIVX

[El Sid]

i noticed that the new version of DVX has Xvid as the default codec. Is it better than DivX?
I am asking that because UncasMs's guide recomends DivX and the results are great

[UncasMS]

one good reason to make it the default codec is this:

xvid is NOT commercial and thus part of the syspack jernst provides for dvx

divx5.x, however, is a commercial codec and will not be integrated in the syspack therefor.

so it is quite fine to make the very codec the default codec that the user will already have on his machine.

i wont say xvid is way superior to divx5

[Enchanter]

"Is it (XviD) better than DivX?"

It depends on the person. I personally prefer XviD, but I know a great deal of people who share the same thought with me, OR the opposite. It's in the eyes of the beholder, as they say.

Regards.

[divxdude]

agreed its whichever one triggers your eye candy gland.

[El Sid]

thanks everyone!
Both of them give excellent results

[Enchanter]

You're welcome.

[thanhvn]

which one gives better compression ratio (provided comparable quality) for:

1) anime?
2) fast-action movies?
3) slow-action movies?

is it true that xvid is less stable but more flexible than divx?

[Enchanter]

For anime, DivX 3.11 and XviD, the latter bettering the other one in compressibility (bar ringing artifacts). Forget DivX 5.

For the non-anime genres, use only DivX 5 and/or XviD.


"is it true that xvid is less stable but more flexible than divx?"

I never had any problems with XviD. In fact, I prefer XviD for its spyware-free installers.


Cheers.

[SpikeSpiegel]

I think that for "normal" movies, if high "definition-video quality-sharpness"/"file dimension" ratio is needed, there's nothing better than DivX.
Yes, perceived video quality is subjective, but I don't think that anybody likes noise or macroblocks: with DivX they appear only if BPF ratio (bitrate/resolution*fps) is really low, with XviD the bitrate must be really higher.
Old versions (5.01-5.02) use a strange "blur filter": it was useful for low bitrate values, but definition loss was unacceptable. Now it has been totally removed.
The last version (5.1.1) is the best relase ever.

Anyway the greatest advantage of XviD is flexibility, that makes this codec the best choice for anime movies because uniform-color/high-contrast pictures require a particular processing. Using the right configuration Xvid can be really faster than DivX.

The best conf. for DivX is: use Standard mode and multipass, DISABLE all options except B-frames, NEVER use deinterlace or resize-crop via codec

[Enchanter]

"with DivX they appear only if BPF ratio (bitrate/resolution*fps) is really low, with XviD the bitrate must be really higher."

I have instead always found DivX to falter miserably at low bitrates compared to XviD (with the right configuration, of course).

Regards.

[UncasMS]

for animees or other kind of movies that was, enchanter?

i agree with spikespiegel when it comes to noise and ringing, divx turns out to be smoother than xvid for me

i have never dealt with animee, though

[SpikeSpiegel]

Originally posted by SpikeSpiegel
with DivX they appear only if BPF ratio (bitrate/resolution*fps) is really low, with XviD the bitrate must be really higher.

In fact I was referring to normal movies using XviD in "MaxDefinition mode" (->mpeg, VHQ=max)

[Enchanter]

Uncas,

"for animees or other kind of movies that was, enchanter?"

Both genres, I guess. XviD's flexibility allows the encoder to fine-tune its parameters to better suit low-bitrate situations, where as with DivX 5, there is not much that can be tweaked.

I do not use DivX much nowadays though, so things might have improved some for the codec.


Spike,

""MaxDefinition mode" (->mpeg, VHQ=max)"

You should never use the quantisiser MPEG with low bitrates. The resulting video is less compressible than, say, what you would get with the H.263 quantisiser. Compression artifacts will be more likely that way.


Regards.

[FlipNautix]

For me, XviD and DivX are good depending on the type of video. For example, for things such as anime -- with drawn animation (without too much texture regarding lighting and tone) XviD is better to use.

For movies like the Matrix -- which has extensive different shades and texturing, DivX is probably a better encoder to go with.

[SpikeSpiegel]

Originally posted by Enchanter
You should never use the quantisiser MPEG with low bitrates. The resulting video is less compressible than, say, what you would get with the H.263 quantisiser. Compression artifacts will be more likely that way

Well, the problem is that using H.263 the video has less details (this method smooths pictures decreasing definition), so there are less variables to calculate, that's why it works better producing less noise/artifacts.

This is not a problem with anime, the reason is the same why a 512*384 anime video looks like a 720*540 one (Ok, not always): it has less details/shades of colors, so it doesn't need the same definition of a normal movie.

Obviously a "smooth" video is better than a noisy one, but, if with DivX I can have a clean and sharp video, that's my choice.

Something tells me you haven't already tested the last version, isn't it?