Why you should avoid DivX
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I got a new PC recently and installed all the apps I use including DivX. This used to be a simple install-and-forget codec in the old days, but now the company that owns it seems to have developed a bad case of the I-own-this-computer syndrome.
I start the installation and get to the stage where I can pick what modules to install. I just want the codec, but there's also DivX Plus Player (there are vastly superior video players out there, thanks), DivX HiQ + Web Player Beta (thank god, I had so many problems watching videos online) and DivX Plus Converter (because I want to make everyone use this shitty software). Of course you have to opt out, not in. So I only select the codec and move to the next step at which point they try to get me to install Google Chrome (again opt out). Not that there's anything wrong with Chrome, but really I have like two dozen other apps to install, could you please get on with it?
Finally it's installed and suddenly Zone Alarm pops up a message about DivX trying to access the internet.
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You're a codec, shut the fuck up and be a codec!
...so I go through the DivX preferences looking for way to stop it looking for updates and find nothing. Maybe there's an option, maybe there isn't, I just can't spend my time on this shit. I finally run msconfig and remove the the autoupdate agent from system startup. Really guys? I need an autoupdate program running on my PC permanetly for this? Who do you think you are, Microsoft?
Finally all is well until today when explorer.exe suddenly crashes. Win 7 gives me a choice to restart it or look online for a solution. I hit restart and it crashes again. Again restart and again it crashes. Finally I tell it to go figure it out online, it does it thing, restarts it and again it crashes. I reboot and nothing changes. Explorer just doesn't want to run so I take a look at the details and apparently the faulty module is DivXMFSource.dl.
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*sigh*
...so I unistall Divx and lo and behold Windows works again. Well, I guess that's it for DivX then.
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Why are you using DivX?
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@dhromed said:
They're not. Now.Why are you using DivX?
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So do you need an alternative for DivX, because I have a few I could recommend.
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Surely you could just install VLC media player and never have to really worry about codecs for local media ever again.
The only thing I've seen VLC fail at was a Real Media file, where it didn't display the video, however this was a couple of years ago now anyway.
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I was using DivX out of force of habit. I got rid of it now and have yet to find a problem. I've got Media Player Classic Home Cinema + CCCP installed and so far it seems ok.
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I switched to MPC HC when VLC would stutter intolerably on 1080p cityscapes of The Dark Knight.
Because of this, I recommend MPC over VLC.
Caveat: this was some time ago. Maybe VLC updated their x264 decoder.
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VLC isn't known for it's perfect performance. They do update there decoding regular. I use VLC mostly because i prefer there interface and settings (mostly subtitles), the program runs pretty much everything anyway, so i hardly ever need something else to play video.
Last time i couldn't run something with VLC is quite some time ago. If i remember correctly it was a 720p or 1020p movie that used to much CPU on vlc. I usually resort to the k-light codec pack, it ships with 101 codecs and MPC.
Doesn't MPC require codecs to be installed? I know from VLC that it uses it's own decoding
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@Dorus said:
Doesn't MPC require codecs to be installed?
Never had a problem.
That's a lie, actually, I wasn't able to open the .bnk files that came with AssCreed, but they were associated with MPC; it just wouldn't play them.
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Now i'm wondering why i install k-light codec pack with MPC if i can also get MPC directly.
edit: And i wonder why i still can't spell after all these years.
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@Dorus said:
Doesn't MPC require codecs to be installed? I know from VLC that it uses it's own decoding
MPC has a few internal decoders (for example, for AVC and MPEG-2), but it uses DirectShow for what it doesn't know. So yes, you need codecs.
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@DOA said:
...so I go through the DivX preferences looking for way to stop it looking for updates and find nothing. Maybe there's an option, maybe there isn't, I just can't spend my time on this shit. I finally run msconfig and remove the the autoupdate agent from system startup. Really guys? I need an autoupdate program running on my PC permanetly for this? Who do you think you are, Microsoft?
Didn't google preach "Silent Updating" as the next big thing in usability a while ago? I guess it catches on...
