Authoring DivX Videos

I downloaded a 30-day trial copy of the DivX Author software from, well where else -- DivX. Creating DivX movies complete with DVD-style menus was pretty easy. You can import still images/photos, music files or video files (divx, avi, etc.). Video files can easily be edited with the built-in Editor. You can cut sections you don't want, or cut only the section that you do want. Then you put a music track to serve as the background music.

All these look great. The only problem is -- the output of DivX Author can only be played by DivX Ultra certified players. As far as I know, there are no DivX Ultra-certified players in the Philippine market yet. A scan of the list of certified players at DivX shows one that does interest me though -- the Philips DVP5982 has the features including an HDMI interface and upscaling capability to HD (1080i/1080p). And most amazingly, it lists for as low as $59.99 at Circuit City! At the current exchange rate, that's only around P2,500! And so far, I'm pretty happy with the performance of my Philips DVR, which unfortunately, is only DivX standard certified (not Ultra).