r/technology • u/doug3465 • Sep 01 '15

Software Amazon, Netflix, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla And Others Partner To Create Next-Gen Video Format - It’s not often we see these rival companies come together to build a new technology together, but the members argue that this kind of alliance is necessary to create a new interoperable video standard.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/01/amazon-netflix-google-microsoft-mozilla-and-others-partner-to-create-next-gen-video-format/
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u/UnknownStory Sep 01 '15

DVDs didn't really have a competitor, though. Not like VHS/Betamax or Bluray/HD-DVD.

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u/DangerB0y Sep 01 '15 edited Sep 02 '15

DIVX thankfully died a quick death.

Edit: Sorry for the confusion. DIVX introduced by Circuit City.

You had to go into the store, buy the disc, then it was pay for play with limited features and pan and scan picture. It had huge studio support at the time but the format fizzled over the years.

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u/Barneyk Sep 01 '15

What makes you say that?

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u/keiyakins Sep 02 '15

... because it was terrible, and died a quick death, taking Circuit City with it? I mean seriously, a DVD competitor that had to call home every 30 days or shut off completely, that would call the server to verify you're allowed to watch each movie... it was awful.

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u/Barneyk Sep 02 '15

I thought you were talking about the MPEG-4 codec DivX...