User guide

DivX Plus Player for Windows
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DivX, LLC User Guide
DIVX PLUS TERMS
AVI:
AVI has become the most popular container file format used for
watching video on the PC. AVI files can hold different types of
video and audio streams inside, and with the help of DivX video
compression technology, they can display incredible video
quality while maintaining a small file size.
AVI is the container file format used by DivX video versions 3
through 6. It has become the most popular file type for sharing
high-quality video on the Internet, and it’s common to see
these files with either an .avi or .divx extension. The AVI file
container itself has been in use since the days of Windows
3.11, with various modern extensions being added through the
years, including by DivX. AVI files support a range of video and
codecs, and many AVI files shared today are DivX files — that
is they specifically contain DivX video paired with MP3 or AC3
audio. AVI is an acronym for ‘Audio Video Interleave’, which
describes the manner in which the audio and video streams are
broken down into ‘chunks’ of data and arranged so that audio
and video chunks representing any particular moment of time
appear near each other in the file. This allows the file to be read
linearly during playback, which would not be possible if streams
were written in their entirety out one after the other. This makes
a critical difference for optical storage solutions like CD, DVD,
and Blu-ray, where seeking back and forth can be extremely
slow.
Technically speaking, .divx files are based
on the .avi container, but may include extra
features like Xsub subtitles or chapter titles.
DivX Author can also create .divx files that
include DVD-like menus that can be enjoyed in
DivX Plus Player. DivX Certified devices will play
DivX video regardless of whether they’re in a
.divx or .avi container.
What’s the difference
between .divx and .avi?