[Jason Dunn]

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040303/35268_1.html

"HandHeld Entertainment and DivXNetworks, Inc. today announced a licensing agreement to integrate the patent-pending DivX® video decoder with HandHeld's popular $99 ZVUE personal video player, which will allow playback of DivX and MPEG-4 compatible files on the ZVUE. The ZVUE is the first DivX Certified(TM) handheld product on the market, offering users the ability to play all versions of DivX video content on a portable device. The DivX-enabled ZVUE player was tested by DivXNetworks' and HandHeld Entertainment's teams of video engineers to ensure high performance and full interoperability with the entire suite of DivX technologies. DivX, often called the "MP3 of video," is among the most popular video technologies in the world with over 120 million users."

I still haven't put my hands on a ZVUE, but this announcement bodes well for them - playback devices are useless without good content, and by tapping into the scads of DivX content out there, the ZVUE suddenly becomes a more realistic player - but that's assuming it's easy to get the content on there. And let's not forget the issue of transcoding - if the ZVUE requires a specific resolution and bit rate, you'll have to put your videos in that format, which is another drop in quality from double compression.

UPDATE: I made an error on the headline the first time - the ZVUE will support DivX. Sorry for the mix-up!

[Jason Dunn]

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040303/35268_1.html

"HandHeld Entertainment and DivXNetworks, Inc. today announced a licensing agreement to integrate the patent-pending DivX® video decoder with HandHeld's popular $99 ZVUE personal video player, which will allow playback of DivX and MPEG-4 compatible files on the ZVUE. The ZVUE is the first DivX Certified(TM) handheld product on the market, offering users the ability to play all versions of DivX video content on a portable device. The DivX-enabled ZVUE player was tested by DivXNetworks' and HandHeld Entertainment's teams of video engineers to ensure high performance and full interoperability with the entire suite of DivX technologies. DivX, often called the "MP3 of video," is among the most popular video technologies in the world with over 120 million users."

I still haven't put my hands on a ZVUE, but this announcement bodes well for them - playback devices are useless without good content, and by tapping into the scads of DivX content out there, the ZVUE suddenly becomes a more realistic player - but that's assuming it's easy to get the content on there. And let's not forget the issue of transcoding - if the ZVUE requires a specific resolution and bit rate, you'll have to put your videos in that format, which is another drop in quality from double compression.

UPDATE: I made an error on the headline the first time - the ZVUE will support DivX. Sorry for the mix-up!

[klinux]

Dunno how well this will succeed though. They are selling content such as music video and sporting events at $7-$15 a pop. Who would be willing to pay for that since for that amount you can easily buy real songs from iTunes, a physical CD, or heck a cheap dvd!

I predict failure....

[Russell]

Originally Posted by klinux

Dunno how well this will succeed though. They are selling content such as music video and sporting events at $7-$15 a pop. Who would be willing to pay for that since for that amount you can easily buy real songs from iTunes, a physical CD, or heck a cheap dvd!

I predict failure....

You didn't read the post klinux. With DivX, you don't have to buy music videos and sporting events if you don't want. You can put your own content on the player. Whatever you want. Erase your SD card, and put something else on there. I have one with LOTR clips on it right now.