I am looking at purchasing a divx decoder card for my PC. The only one I can find is by Sigma Designs http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/xcard.htm Has any bought one ? Are they any good ? Where can I get one from in the UK ? The PC I am using is an 'old' PIII 450Mhz machine that I have plugged into my main TV which I use to capture programs of Digital TV (using dazzle dvc2 mpeg2 capture card). I have it linked via ethernet into my faster (Athlon 1800) PC which is in another room. I would like to play the divx files from this machine via the ethernet onto my TV and would like to be able to easily Fastforward / rewind , etc using a remote control. I want to use a hardware decoder so that the processor isn't loaded up when I am also recording of TV using my Dazzle capture card. Any guidance would be apreciated
I just got my Real Magic XCard. It is really good quality for the price. I have roughly the same setup as you, I wanted to put together a dedicated divx/dvd player. The output is crisp and it has a nice remote control so you can sit on the couch pause, ff, etc. Only a couple issues. The application software that comes with it is not the best interface in the world. I am sure it will improve over time and I hope that someone can hack out a new interface. Next, you still need a computer monitor so you can see the application, load files, etc. Lastly, finding DivX 4 and up files are harder to find than I thought. My whole collection in DivX 3.11 which is not compatable so it means going through the hassle of converting them all. Regardless of the drawbacks, I would recommend this card. It is a cheap with a goood quality picture.
thanks rambot for the info. After the lack of replys on this board I stil decided to take the plunge and buy an xcard which I have had for a couple. I can agree totally with all the comments you have made and definitly agree that the only drawback is about playing divx 4 or above. Hopefully this will become less of a problem as people move forward to the newer standards !!
It doesn't play DivX5 clips either if you've used bidir encoding, GMC or q-pixels. And if you have followed the XviD vs Sigma war over the last couple of days, you already know that there are certain kinda ethical questions related to Sigma's products as well... Oh, DivXNetworks has also dropped their co-operation with Sigma due the fact that the card doesn't provide support to DivX5 nor DivX3 and that they've stoled XviD code. More from our news section, http://www.afterdawn.com/news/
