Originally posted by: wmgan
Wouldn't it be better for the original creator to release both a DVD image (or DVD-compliant MPEG) and a DivX/XviD encode? Encoding to DivX from the DVD would also cause a quality drop compared to exporting directly from the editing program.

Yes actually it would. I guess it depends on the target audience. If most of the people are just going to watch it on their computers and not share it with anyone else, then the easy thing to do is to just encode to DivX/XviD. If, however, the target audience is people who will be watching it on DVD on large screen TVs, then a DVD image or compliant MPEG is the way to go. It seems to me that the original intent was for people to take the mpeg and author it to a DVD and then watch that on their TV. That's why a lot of us want the releases kept as mpeg. Even the format they're in now doesn't require a lot to fix. Authoring isn't very difficult either.

On the other hand, a DivX/XviD encoded file won't be as easy to share. Sure, it's a smaller file size so it's easier to share over the net, but a DVD disc is a lot easier to copy and hand to someone. Most people I've ever shared these types of things with don't want to have to watch the video on their computer. They'd rather have a DVD that they can pop into just about any DVD player, instead of a file that may or may not work without downloading "yet another codec".