San Diego — Video-compression technology developer DivX said Wednesday it has reached a multiyear agreement with Samsung Electronics to add DivX video playback to a number of Samsung digital TV models.
DivX said the special DivX certified sets are expected to be available worldwide beginning in early 2009, and will enable the products to playback DivX media files directly via USB slots or Ethernet connections certified by the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).
The new TVs will join an assortment of Samsung components that already offer DivX file playback, including select DVD players and mobile phones.
DivX has developed special video codecs to compress digital media files for Internet distribution in high-quality playback form. Its systems allow consumers to create and watch content on the PC, living room and on mobile devices.
DivX estimated that more than 100 million DivX certified devices have already shipped worldwide from major manufacturers.