DivX playback coming to PS3

divx ps3No sooner do I buy my latest piece of hardware — the iPod Touch — my gadget lust moves on to something new. That something is a PlayStation 3.

Already impressed with the device’s next-generation gaming potential, media playback options, and the inclusion of a Blu-Ray player — and further tempted by the recent price drop — today’s news that DivX support on the PS3 will be arriving shortly, may have just pushed me over the edge.

Ars Technica reports:

DivX has announced that the Sony PlayStation 3 will soon support the DivX video codec. We suspected as much when the PS3 2.0 firmware was released, as it includes the ability to detect both DivX and Xvid files. According to the DivX team, full support will arrive with a future software update. DivX CEO Kevin Hell said in a statement, “We are excited to work with Sony Computer Entertainment to bring DivX to PS3. Our technology will expand the multimedia functionality of PS3 by enabling users to enjoy access to the broad library of content in the DivX digital media format.”

Of course that “broad library of content” which Kevin Hall refers to, includes lots of pirated content such as Hollywood blockbusters or PVR’d television programs (which don’t expire seven days after download).

DivX content may not always sit on the right side of the law, but until the big studios deliver their content online in the way that people want, DivX will continue to be the MP3 for video, and to that end, every digital video device needs to support it.

last100 is edited by Steve O'Hear. Aside from founding last100, Steve is co-founder and CEO of Beepl and a freelance journalist who has written for numerous publications, including TechCrunch, The Guardian, ZDNet, ReadWriteWeb and Macworld, and also wrote and directed the Silicon Valley documentary, In Search of the Valley. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

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