Interest is just about zero, however, for DVD's competitor called Digital Video Express, or Divx for short. Divx is the brainchild of retailer Circuit City and a Los Angeles entertainment law firm. To buy more viewing time, Divx users have to enter their credit card numbers into the player, which has a phone jack. The player makes a telephone call to process the transaction. Divx has plenty of opposition for a number of reasons.
Critics say users can never really own the disc because they have to buy more time to view it again.
Databases kept of movie purchases raise privacy concerns, and discarded Divx discs cannot be recycled. Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures have signed on for Divx only. Divx is set to ramp up its exposure by seeding test markets in San Francisco, and purportedly Richmond, Va., next month, with a national rollout expected this fall. Although the availability of DVD rentals is low, some support there is building. Warner Home Video also announced last week a rental promotion for video stores to sell them movies and players at a low cost to boost support of the new format.