Curtain rising on new Divx player
By Stephanie Miles
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 10, 1998, 5:50 p.m. PT
news.com
The newest Divx player will hit stores this weekend, but analysts say chances for
technology's long-term success have not improved much.
Divx is a limited-use, pay-per-view version of the 4.7GB DVD (digital versatile disc). Priced
around $5 for a rental, Divx movies are viewable only for about 48 hours after the first use
unless the movie is purchased.
Proponents say Divx offers a hassle-free viewing medium by cutting out the return trip to
the video store. Critics have said that the watch-once, throw-away technology adds neither
convenience nor value to DVD and causes market confusion by introducing yet another
potential standard.
The technology, to date available only in the
test markets of San Francisco and
Richmond, Virginia, was initially hampered by
the relatively small number of Divx-enabled
DVD players available. But this weekend,
Panasonic will introduce its Divx player after
recent rollouts from Thomson and Zenith.
The Panasonic player, the DVD-X410, will retail for $549, according to Digital Video
Express, which developed Divx with backing from Circuit City. It will play Divx and DVD
discs.
Industry critics say the introduction of the Panasonic player represents the fulfillment of a
deal struck more than a year ago and not the arrival of a new player. In addition, more Divx
manufacturers will not solve problems with the basic distribution model.
"These guys all announced [products] a long time ago," said Van Baker, an analyst at
Dataquest, noting that it costs manufacturers relatively little to cover their bets between
DVD and Divx while the market emerges.
Do you want to know more?
Read related news
View story in The Big Picture
Go to Message Boards
Search News.com
"It's early enough that it's a no-lose proposition for [manufacturers]. They're not committed
to the platform, but neutral to the platform from the beginning--they will produce and let the
market decide," Baker said.
Initially, Divx promised more exclusive movie titles than DVD video, Baker said, but the
opposite has occurred. And consumers have been skeptical about promises of
convenience. Consumer electronics stores where Divx titles are available generally do not
keep the business hours of video stores that consumers have become accustomed
to--which carry standard DVD titles.
"If it's 10 o'clock on a Friday night and you want to rent a movie, where do you go?
Consumer electronics stores can't compete with video stores in terms of hours and
convenient accessibility to titles," Baker said.
Divx players, which retail for around $150 more than DVD players, are attractive to
manufacturers for their profit margins, but the risk of market confusion remains.
"Most of us look at this and say the world does not need nor want two DVD video
standards," said Jim Porter, of DiskTrend. "Divx is going to be a minor player and will
eventually go away. In the meantime, the industry has become disgusted with so many
standards that increase the buyers' risk and teach a whole lot of consumers to hold off and
not buy anything."
|
