CES DivX today launched DivX 7.

Hoorah.

The major points of the new version are: it's still free, you can get "high-performance true HD" - 1080p to the rest of us - playback, and it now supports H.264 HD files - in a .mkv container - and AAC surround sound.

DivX also announced the launch of the DivX Plus Certification programme, which will enable consumer electronics manufacturers to add support for the new format to a variety of devices, including DVD players, Blu-ray players, HD TVs, mobile phones and the like. The first DivX Plus products are expected to hit store shelves by the end of the year.

To round off a frenetic day at CES. Divx it also announced that the first DivX Certified flat-panel HD TV from Samsung will be available in March 2009. Phew.

DivX 7 is now available to download from DivX's website. Well, what are you waiting for? ®