Will a Divx DVD player output 720p?

Question

I just bought a Phillips DVD-3140 DVD player that will playback Divx encoded AVI files. I sometimes find Divx files available at 720p resolutions - will these look better on my HDTV, or is the DVD output limited to the 480p resolution of standard DVDs? Is it worth downloading the bigger 720p avi files?

Answer 1

It depends if you have it hooked up with component video cables or composite cables. If its hooked with component video cables I'm almost positive that it will playback in 720p. If your are using composite cables then no. Also if you want to make your dvd player region free I put the steps below :)

1. make sure there is no disc in the player

2. turn power off and on again

3. open the tray

4. on the remote, hit 9879 and then 0. This changes unit to region 0, meaning it'll play all regions

5. hit OK on the remote

6. the screen will display a massage

Answer 2

It IS too good to be true!

It took some digging, but I found it in the official Divx User Guide (link to download below).  It's on page 106 of the PDF file that installs when you run downloaded executable file.

There are four different Divx certifications:

"Handheld," "Portable," "Home Theater," and "High Def."

Only a Divx "High Def" certified device can output Divx files encoded in 720p.  Divx "Home Theater" certified devices can't  (and of course "Handheld" and "Portable" can't either).  "Home Theater" devices do play in progressive mode, though, which is better than SDTV; it's EDTV (Extended Definition TV) but it isn't HDTV.

Your model is "Home Theater" certified (page 43 of the user manual, in the troubleshooting section: "Unable to play Divx movies -- Check to make sure the Divx file is encoded in Home Theater mode") .

Sorry!

(BTW - "Hi Def" certified Divx devices currently have a spec of 720p, not 1080i or 1080p.)