XviD to 3ivx then back to XviD (Packed Bitstream removal problem)

I don't blame DivX for everything. OK, I blame it for almost everything :D Of course I'd like to see VBV support in XviD - it's lack is one problem when trying to decode XviD by hardware, but not the only one. I just don't want people to hate XviD because of its more advanced features (like 3-warppoint GMC, multiple B-frames).

What I would like to see is XviD have it's default setup set to max compatability with hardware (and software) players. If people want to fiddle with the extra encoding settings then fine. But please don't force XvID features on people by default as the newbies will end up encoding stuff in XviD and then finding it does not playback on their shiney new MPEG4 player. EDIT Why not even put it as an install option? "Would you like to use XviD's special features or use maximum compatability mode (Maximum compatability mode ensures playback on most hardware players)? YES/NO" Simple really.

The fact is the DivX version of the Mpeg4 codec came out long before a hardware players did. DivX confused the hardware player market by effectively saying "ASP profiles are OK in Mpeg4, but only as long as you implement them our way, ie: using 1 warp point and 1 b-frame". It was all very good at the time, but things have moved on at quite a pace. So much so that we now have hardware players with more than enough computing power to cope with features such as multiple b-frames and 3 warp points. Hell if they can cope with Qpel, they should be able to cope with just about anything! Don't get me wrong I like DivX. I've still got at least 100 movies on my server using the DivX codec. Arguably, if it was not for them (and their certification), who knows where the Mpeg4 hardware player market would be now. But I think you can't argue that they are 'currently' a bit behind the Mpeg4 times... no multiple b-frames, no 'solid' warp point configuration, no 'anamorphic signalling' implementation. Jeez, they even removed MP4 container support after DivX5.0.2. How forward thinking was that? Gej has hinted by saying future versions of DivX will include multiple b-frame encoding... I only hope that their certification program will be altered accordingly and more importantly, that owners of existing Mpeg4 hardware players will be able to receive firmware up-dates so their players can cope with them! Cheers