NetFlix.com Posts Comparison To Divx NetFlix.com has announced that in light of the roll-out of the new Divx format, NetFlix.com will post a comparison matrix of NetFlix.com and Divx on its Internet site.
Highlights in the comparison matrix include the following points. In addition to carrying more than ten times the number of titles as Divx, NetFlix.com lets consumers enjoy the titles they rent for seven days (as compared to Divx's 48 hour viewing window), and lets consumers automatically extend their viewing period (as opposed to Divx's requirement for phone line access). By allowing customers to shop via the Internet, and receive and return their DVDs via U.S. mail in pre-paid, pre-addressed envelops, NetFlix.com provides its customers with nationwide DVD availability as well as unparalleled shopping convenience. Netflix.com's success has in large part been due to the company's ability to provide even the most popular DVD titles to each and every customer that wants them, quickly and conveniently. - *Divx is a closed standard developed by Digital Video Express LP; discs cannot be played on standard DVD players or DVD-ROM drives. The Open DVD standard enables DVDs to be read on any standard DVD player or DVD-ROM drive found in computers. The Open DVD standards defined and developed by the DVD Forum, a multi-company association that includes: Hitachi LTD., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Philips Electronics N.V., Pioneer Electronics Corp., Sony Corp., Thomson Multimedia, Time Warner Inc., Toshiba Corp., and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. *As of February 1999, three titles in the original theatrical widescreen aspect ratio format are available. **NetFlix.com charges $4.00 for each of the first two discs in an order, $3.00 for each additional disc. Shipping and handling is $2.00 for the first disc in an order and $1.00 for each additional disk to maximum of $5.00.