DivX players installed with wired and wireless networking features are now widely available on the market, as the digital players emerge as mainstream in the market.

Unlike the previous models that require users to store downloaded files in an built-in hard disk drive before playback on TV, new models are capable of playing back PC files on TV directly.

As a digital gadget shuttling between consumer electronics and computers, DivX is now gaining popularity. And adoption is expected to pick up steam, with more digital player companies making similar moves toward DivX.

According to industry sources, Han ID and ALTech unveiled wireless DivX player `Wi-vix` and wired `MG-35`, respectively, early this month, and Diviko is also poised to launch a wired DivX player in May this year.

"DivX players had been viewed as mere PC peripherals or components in the past, but they are now linked to computers and TVs in real time," said Kim Chan-su, CEO of Han ID. "They will change the home theater environment."

If DivX is successfully combined with PVR features that allow TV receiving and program recording, they may dominate the home networking scene by serving as IP set-top-box and home media server as well.

Some DivX player makers have installed IP addresses of certain portal sites into products, and others consider adding control of consumer electronic appliances and lighting.

"The next big thing will likely become wireless multimedia set-top-boxes," said industry observers. "DviX makers will compete with set-top-box rivals, but they are quite confident about securing a niche."

Han ID`s `Wi-vix 100` is installed with a high-speed wireless LAN card (802.11g/b), and supports up to 1920i resolution. It is also equipped with USB 2.0, DVI video output port and 5.1-channel sound.

The company also plans to introduce a multimedia set-top-box capable of playing back Internet multimedia files on TV.

ALTech has unveiled `MG-35` with home networking features. The new product is linked to PC over LAN, and receives stored mobile images and data. It adopts a sigma design chipset to play back a variety of moving images including DivX, XviD and MPEG and music files such as OGG and WMA.

Diviko is poised to unveil a DivX player that plays back mobile images over LAN link with PC. The company also plans to install an HDTV card to the new model, and introduce an IP set-top-box in September this year.