PlayStation 3 to get DivX
Play own films. Wink.
DivX has added the PS3 to a long list of devices that support its fancy codec technology.
The software patch is coming at "a forthcoming date" according to the statement, although developers can use it now by updating their SDK to the recently released version 2.0. So, perhaps sooner rather than later.
DivX is a codec used quite widely around the magical world of the Internet, due to its ability to compress large video files into small video files while maintaining the quality. You have probably had to download it in the past, while watching whatever you watch late at night.
It is also very useful for ripping, burning, or doing other malicious things to copy files to your computer or pop them on DVDs. But this has popped it in the line of fire in the past, because some people use it to infringe on copyright laws. How naughty.
However, it is so widely used nowadays that even DVD-player manufacturers are including it in their hardware, just so you can play your could-be illegal disc of prison.