Vestel First to Announce DivX STB for European Market

Thursday, August 28th, 2008
DivX logo

Expands the DivX® Ecosystem for High-Quality Playback of Digital Video on Any Device

SAN DIEGO & IZMIR, Turkey — DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX), a digital media company, and Vestel A.S. announced plans today to release a new STB from Vestel supporting the high-quality playback of DivX video. The new STB is currently being certified by DivX and is the first DivX capable STB to be announced for the European market, expanding the DivX ecosystem in this important emerging category.

Vestel is the world’s third largest original design manufacturer for consumer electronics and a prominent producer of STB solutions for the European market. Vestel’s DivX capable STB, the t5000, is the first device of its kind to be announced for the European market. The t5000 enables consumers to seamlessly play back high-quality DivX video stored on personal USB flash drives and complements the ecosystem of DivX Certified® devices on the market including Blu-ray players, digital televisions, mobile phones, and digital cameras. The new STB is currently being certified by DivX and will be capable of being updated to full DivX compatibility through a firmware field upgrade.

“A key defining trend of advanced television services is the convergence of video content from numerous sources,” said Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst with Parks Associates. “The ability of set-top box manufacturers to support high-quality video solutions – including DivX – will be a critical factor in their ability to offer flexible and unique viewing experience to television subscribers. The new DivX capable set-top box from Vestel is a good example of the type of integration we should expect in the future.”

“With the growing demand for devices that play back DivX video, it was natural to ensure that our latest STB was capable of supporting the standard,” said Zafer Prim, Product Manager responsible for Digital Products at Vestel A.S. “Consumers all over Europe have embraced DivX as a way to enjoy high-quality video from the PC in the living room and we are pleased to work with DivX in delivering a premium experience.”

“The STB market is an important new category for DivX and the t5000 further highlights our mission of providing consumers with a high-quality media experience across any device,” said Kevin Hell, Chief Executive Officer, DivX, Inc. “Working with Vestel has enabled us to continue expanding the DivX ecosystem into a new product category and we are delighted that consumers will be able to enjoy their favorite digital content with this device. We look forward to this device becoming fully DivX Certified.”

Products that bear the DivX Certified® logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high-quality DivX media experience that includes reliable video playback and excellent visual quality. DivX is currently working to certify Vestel’s t5000 STB and, upon DivX Certification, full functionality will be made available through a future firmware update.