Rich Fiscus
26 Feb 2008 1:29
DivX, Inc., developers of the MPEG-4 ASP Codec of the same name, have announced they'll be shutting down their Stage6 video sharing service and website. Despite its popularity, or more perhaps more accurately because of it, DivX has been unable to develop a business model capable of turning a profit. As of February 28 it will cease operation.
Unlike sites such as YouTube and its clones, Stage6 was intended to provide high quality video, and it even includes a download feature that allows you to save videos to your hard drive for viewing later. However, that quality comes at no small cost in Bandwidth or manpower. After trying unsuccessfully to find a way to spin-off Stage6 as an independent business, and lacking an interested buyer, The decision was made to shut the service down.
In a message on the Stage6 website, a DivX representative summed it up, saying "the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it’s really as simple as that."
The uploading feature has already been shut off. You'll be able to view and download videos until the end of the month.