Difference Between DivX and AVI

DivX vs AVI
DivX and AVI are two terms that are often used with videos, but these two terms are not exactly competing with each other. DivX is a codec used to compress the video depending on  how small the user wants it to. The Audio Video Interleave or AVI is a container format where the compressed audio and video files are stored in. They were also created by separate entities that were not collaborating on these two. AVI was developed by Microsoft while DivX was created by a company of the same name.

AVI does not do the compression of video and audio files that are stored in it, that is the job of the encoder. The job of the AVI format is to store the encoded video and audio along with the specific information needed by the player to determine the codecs needed in order to decode the data and its parameters. This is why some AVI videos can be played by some players while other AVI videos request for a codec download.

DivX is a codec that has grown in popularity due to its adaptation of the lossy encoding mechanisms that allows files to be substantially smaller without experiencing a substantial degradation in the picture. When encoding data, the user can set specifics on how compressed the file should be, though it should always be remembered the smaller you compress the file, the more data is lost. The encoded data is then stored in a container format like AVI.

Take note that DivX and AVI does not always come together. Though most videos nowadays are contained in an AVI and encoded in DivX, there are many other containers and codecs out there, most of which are compatible with these two. An AVI file can easily contain video that is encoded with other codecs like Xvid and libavcodec. DivX encoded video could also be packaged on other container formats like MP4 or 3gp.

Summary:
1. AVI is a container format while DivX is a codec for compressing video files
2. DivX was created by DivX Inc. while AVI is from Microsoft
3. DivX dictates how the video is coded while AVI is responsible for how the data is stored along with other related information
4. DivX and AVI are not exclusive or inclusive of each other. A DivX video might be in another container and an AVI file might have a video that was not encoded in DivX

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