DIGITAL DIGEST - http://www.digital-digest.com
DIGITAL DIGEST | LIVE UPDATE Issue 25 Supplement 5
Your "whenever I have time to write one" newsletter
Tuesday, 21st August, 2001

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SUPPLEMENT :

1. DivX Codec version 4.0 Final released

2. Software stealing links from websites

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1. DivX Codec version 4.0 Final released

The fourth major release of the DivX 4.x codec has been released,
this time no longer a beta!!

The final version have had many changes since the first beta came out
nearly a month ago, and already looks like a very polished
professional video codec.

The full list of changes from Beta 3 includes :

* Fixed more problems with decoding 3.x
* Removed last SSE instruction from YUY2->YV12 MMX conversion function
* Added sanity checks for log file contents
* DirectShow filter was not applying brightness/contrast/saturation
settings when starting playback
* Reverted DirectShow filter overlay operation to beta2 style due to
reports about decreased performance on some computers
* Fixed few problems in 2-pass VBR ( sorry guys! )
* Fixed memory leak at highest postproc levels
* Fixed bug with coding as 'skipped' macroblocks that differ only in
chrominance
* Fixed buffer overflow in decoder
* Purple areas were appearing sometimes near right edge of picture (
bug
in encoder )
* Added support of log file format version 2 ( should add minimal
ability for external programs to control 2nd pass )
* Encoder assumes that 1 kbps = 1000 bits per second
* Crash with YUY2 output, height=16*x+2, width!=16*x
* More fixes for decoding 3.11 with non-16*x dimensions

You can download the codec here :

http://www.divx-digest.com/software/divxcodec4.html

You can also download the official DivX player, named The Playa,
which includes the latest DivX codec as part of the installation
package :

http://www.divx-digest.com/software/playa.html

Please post your experiences with the codec in our DivX
Conversion/Encoding forum :

http://pub101.ezboard.com/fdigitalvideoforumfrm19

Enjoy =)


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2. Software stealing links from websites

Last but not least, in case you haven't heard, there is a new
software on the block that will randomly add links on webpages - and
no, it's not a virus. The software is called TOPtext, and it is a new
way of advertising that finds keywords on webpages and add links to
other sites that have paid for these keywords - because this can be
implemented without the authority of the webpage owner, there is now
a huge outcry over the effects of such advertising (since it distorts
the original intention of the webpage, and put the control of the
page's contents out of the hands of the original publisher). What's
more surprising is that you could have this software installed on
your computer, without you even knowing about it (or at least not
take too much notice of it)!!

You can read more about it in this post I have posted in our forum :

http://pub101.ezboard.com/fdigitalvideoforumfrm30.showMessage?
topicID=8.topic


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