Download DivX 5.2

Thanks to Prewestnl we are pointed to version 5.2 of the video codec DivX. This release can be downloaded in the freeware version and if paid Pro variant† The difference between the two programs is that DivX Pro has better compression software. Both versions are capable of playing DivX videos and encoding movie files to the DivX format. The 5.2 version changelog shows the following changes:

New:

• Localized versions for French, German and Japanese
• Bi-directional coding using an adaptive method
• Fully adaptive multiple consecutive B-frames
• MPEG-2/H.263 quantization choice
• Built-in bit rate calculator
• Update checking tool
• Automatic update notification for the DivX encoder
• Fast mode, revamped for better performance, compression and quality
• Feedback mode which is now multithreaded, taking advantage of HyperThreaded or dual CPU for better efficiency
• 3 point GMC support in the DivX decoder

Changed:

• “Slowest” mode removed as the quality differential with “Slow” mode was insignificant, yet the performance differential was massive
• DivX Pro Adware bundle replaced by DivX Pro 6-month free trial

improved:

• Smooth playback supporting multiple consecutive B-frames
• Quantizer, now using quant scale in video packets

Fixed (Encoder):

• A rare issue where rate control sometimes inserted Q=31 frames in video combining low light conditions, high bitrate and specific motion patterns
• Fastest mode to respect the user-specified average bitrate (Old “Fastest” behavior can be obtained by disabling profiles and performing 1-Pass, Quality-based encoding with Q=3)

Fixed (Decoder):

• A crash occurring in some rare cases with clips that have dimensions divisible only by 2 and use YUY2 color mode
• Black screen when decoding old buggy MPEG-4 clips that lack VOL header
• Internal flush operation with “Smooth playback” feature
• Intra inverse quantization (type 1)
• Support for generic MPEG-4 (XVID and 3ivX)
• Data partitioning clip
• Deblocking to no longer cause solid blocks to appear during playback
• DivX decoder to always play DivX video

Known Issues

• If you are a registered user of the paid version of DivX Pro, there is no need to purchase another copy of the software. If you own an earlier version than DivX Pro 5.1 you must reactivate your software.
• No confirmation window pops up while downgrading the codec version with an older installer build.
• When using VirtualDub for encoding AVI files, an additional frame is created in the log file for certain test clips.
• VirtualDub crashes during a batch encode job when the following combination of parameters is used:
  • 1-pass quality based
  • Profiles are disabled
  • Content is encoded as interlaced
• Installation of Pro Codec may take several minutes (in some cases, Bgregister program gets hung during the installation).
• Encoding hangs when log menu of VirtualDub Status window is selected for a specific codec settings.
• A few minor GUI bugs (some fields do accept out-of-bound values ​​and CLI not updated immediately for a specific CLI values).
• DivX Pro 5.1 beta users, running under a 15 day trial period, may have problems with registration. If the installation hangs at 99%, and the registration screen become unresponsive, abort the registration process by closing the registration window or killing the bgregister.exe process. Go to the Windows/system32 directory and delete the file named “KGyGaAvL.bak” Re-run the registration application by selecting Start->Program Files->DivX->DivX Pro Codec->bgregister.exe. The user should be able to register properly now.
• The encoding performance/quality slider has been modified to have only four settings. These settings do not map to the old settings in the DivX 5.0.5 codec. Please note that encoding speed will not correlate to the previous encoding speeds for each setting.
• The default post-processing level has been raised. If you experience CPU utilization problems, or slow playback, decrease the post-processing level until playback quality is acceptable.

[break]The regular version of DivX is free to use. However, DivX Pro can only be downloaded as shareware and will be disabled after six months of use. The following package can be downloaded:

DivX 5.2 for Windows 2k/XP
DivX 5.2 for Windows 98/Me

DivX Pro 5.2 for Windows 2k/XP
DivX Pro 5.2 for Windows 98/Me