DivX is coming for Blu-ray players, while PS3 could lag behind

The single most popular Blu-ray player sold today isn't even a dedicated console, it's the Sony PS3. As we learned today, six forthcoming dedicated Blu-ray players could get something the PS3 lacks: total DivX support.

DivX announced today that six new Blu-ray players will soon come to market that have all achieved complete DivX certification. This means Panasonic, Phillips, and Denon will soon have players that fully support the format, allowing more than 25 hours of DVD-quality DivX content to be burned onto a single Blu-ray disc.

The forthcoming DivX-certified models announced are Panasonic's DMP-BD30EE, Philips' BDP7200, and Denon's DVD-2500BTC1B, DVD-3800BDC1B, DVD-3800BDSP and DVD-2500BTSP.

Sony's PlayStation 3 firmware upgrade last December included DivX functionality, bringing the popular codec into what is presently the most common Blu-ray player in the US. And DivX Inc. acknowledges that the PS3 is indeed "capable of DivX playback," though its use of the term "capable" could be synonymous with Microsoft's, as in "Vista capable."

Recent tests have shown that the PS3 player exhibits reduced functionality in its DivX playback, lacking the ability to play files over 2 GB in size, files encoded in DivX 3.11+, and copyright protected files. That's somewhat less than "DivX-certified."

A DivX spokesperson told BetaNews that the company is working with Sony to bring the PS3 up to full certification. At least until then, there now appears to be a bit more incentive to purchase a dedicated Blu-ray player.