XCF to DivX

How to Convert XCF to DivX Online

1. Upload Your XCF Files: Click "+ Add Files" or drag and drop one or more GIMP project (.xcf) files. Flatten layered projects in GIMP first (Image → Flatten Image, then re-save the .xcf) — a multi-layer XCF is read as a multi-page image and a single layer is rendered to the frame, not the merged canvas. Batch upload is supported.
2. Pick Merge Strategy and Duration: Under "Merge Strategy," choose "Merge images" to combine every XCF into a single slideshow video, or "Video per image" to output one DivX file per image. Set "Duration" to control how long each frame is held — defaults to 5 seconds per frame; pick from preset values (1/60s, 1/30s, 1/24s, 1/10s, 1/5s, 1/3s, 1/2s, 1–10 s). Under "Background Color" (default White), pick any of 24 preset palette colors (Black, Gray, Red, Blue, Green, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, etc.) to fill letterbox/pillarbox regions when an XCF's aspect ratio doesn't match the output resolution.
3. Tune File Compression and Resolution (Optional): Under "File Compression," pick "Quality Preset" (Highest, Very High, High, Medium, Low, Lowest), "Target file size (%)", "Specific file size" (bytes/KB/MB), "Constant Bitrate," "Variable Bitrate," "Constant Quality" (CRF), or "Constraint Quality" with min/max bitrate caps. For DivX-certified DVD-player playback, keep bitrate ≤ 9.7 Mbps to stay inside the Home Theater profile envelope. Under "Video Resolution," keep original, pick a Fixed Resolution (640×480, 720×480, 854×480, 1280×720, 1920×1080), enter Width × Height, or scale by percentage.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert." Files process on our servers with no watermark and no sign-up — download each .divx (AVI-container) file individually or grab them all as a ZIP.

Why Convert XCF to DivX?

XCF is GIMP's native project format (first released December 15, 1997) — it preserves layers, channels, paths, guides, and selections, but virtually nothing outside GIMP can read it. DivX is a constrained MPEG-4 Part 2 ASP profile codec from the early 2000s that became the de-facto standard for set-top DVD-player playback of "data DVDs" in the late 2000s. Converting XCF to DivX re-packages the rendered artwork as a video stream a DivX-certified DVD player can decode from a USB stick or burned data disc — flatten the project in GIMP before uploading and the frames match your canvas.

• Photo slideshows on legacy DivX-certified DVD players — A garage-sale Philips, Sony, or LG DVD player from 2005–2012 with the orange "DivX" logo will read AVI files containing DivX video off USB or CD-R/DVD-R. The Home Theater profile maxes out at 720×480 (NTSC) / 720×576 (PAL) at 30/25 fps and 9.7 Mbps — perfect for SD slideshow playback on tube and early flat-panel TVs.
• Family archives that need to outlive software upgrades — XCF tightly couples to GIMP's internal data structures; the GIMP team explicitly discourages XCF for interchange. A flattened DivX video sidecar guarantees the rendered composite remains viewable even if the XCF can't open in a future GIMP release.
• Kiosk and retail loop playback on hardware that predates HDMI sticks — Many in-store displays, hotel TVs, and museum kiosks from the late 2000s shipped with DivX-certified DVD decoders rather than modern media-player firmware. DivX/AVI off USB stays compatible.
• Compact slideshow files vs. raw image dumps — Encoding 200 flattened XCF stills as a 5-second-per-frame DivX clip at 2 Mbps yields a roughly 250 MB file, where the same 200 stills as 4K PNGs would balloon past several GB.
• DVD authoring source material — Some authoring tools (DVDStyler, ConvertXtoDVD, older Nero) accept DivX/AVI as a slideshow input track and re-mux without re-encoding when the resolution and bitrate already conform to DivX Home Theater limits.
• Output a "show-the-final-comp" deliverable — When you need to send a client a non-editable preview of a finished GIMP composite (flatten it in GIMP first), a DivX video plays on Windows Media Player (with codec installed), VLC, MPC-HC, and any DivX-certified hardware without GIMP itself.

For modern phones, smart TVs, and browsers, prefer XCF to MP4 (H.264) or XCF to MKV. Pick DivX only when the target hardware is a DivX-certified DVD/Blu-ray player or older media box.

XCF vs DivX — Format Comparison

DivX Certification Profiles — Quick Guide

Pick Home Theater dimensions (720×480 or 720×576) for any standalone DVD player older than ~2013. Most certified DVD decks reject DivX files above 864×640 even if the codec is technically the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my flattened XCF preserve transparency in DivX?

No. DivX (MPEG-4 Part 2) is a YUV 4:2:0 video codec with no alpha channel. Any transparent region in your XCF is composited against the "Background Color" you pick in step 3 before encoding — that's why the dropdown matters. If you need transparency, convert XCF to PNG instead and stay in still-image land.

Why is the default DivX resolution capped so low?

DivX's certified Home Theater profile — the one virtually every standalone DVD player implements — caps at 720×480 (NTSC) or 720×576 (PAL) at up to 9.7 Mbps. Burn a 1080p DivX file and a 2008 Philips DVP-series player will refuse to play it. If you only care about VLC or MPC-HC playback, 1080p works fine; for hardware compatibility, stick to SD.

Should I use DivX or Xvid for my DVD player?

They're nearly interchangeable on certified hardware — both are MPEG-4 Part 2 ASP implementations. DivX is the proprietary commercial branch (DivX, Inc. → DivX, LLC); Xvid is the open-source fork. Most DivX-certified players also play Xvid AVIs without issue. If you're targeting a specific player, check its sticker — pick whichever logo it bears. If yours is Xvid-only, use XCF to Xvid instead.

Are GIMP layers, paths, and guides preserved in the output?

No — and they are not merged into the frame for you, which is the part that surprises people. A multi-layer XCF is read as a multi-page image and a single layer is rendered to the video frame rather than the composite GIMP shows on canvas; paths, guides, and channels are discarded outright. The artwork on the other layers is simply missing, and the regions they covered arrive transparent, which in a codec with no alpha channel means they fall back to the Background Color from step 2. Do the merge in GIMP first (Image → Flatten Image, then re-save the .xcf) and the frame matches your canvas exactly; a single-layer XCF is already fine. Keep the layered .xcf if you need to re-edit later.

Can I make a slideshow from multiple XCF files in one DivX video?

Yes — that's what "Merge Strategy: Merge images" does in step 2. Drop in N XCF files, set "Duration" to e.g. 5 seconds, and the converter encodes a single DivX video that holds each rendered frame for the chosen interval. Order in the file list controls slide order. Pick "Video per image" instead to output one DivX per XCF.

What audio track does the DivX file get?

By default the slideshow is silent — there's no audio in an XCF, so nothing is muxed. If you need narration or background music, render the silent DivX here, then mux audio in a tool like ffmpeg or VirtualDub. DivX-certified DVD players expect MP3, MP2, or AC3 audio in the AVI; Home Theater profile allows up to eight audio tracks.

Why won't my DivX video play on my old DVD player even though it has the DivX logo?

Three common causes: (1) resolution above 720×576 — older Home Theater decoders reject anything bigger; (2) the codec uses Qpel or GMC features that pre-2008 decoders don't support; (3) the file is wrapped in .divx or .mkv instead of .avi. Re-encode at 720×480, keep bitrate ≤ 9.7 Mbps, and burn to a CD-R or DVD-R as plain .avi — that's the most compatible recipe.

Is DivX still supported in 2026?

Yes. DivX 11 was released for Windows and Mac in September 2024, with a 11.11.1 update in December 2024. The codec pack as a standalone install was retired with DivX 10.2; codecs now ship inside the main DivX Software bundle. That said, modern playback ecosystems (browsers, phones, smart TVs from the last decade) have moved to H.264 and H.265 — DivX is now mostly a legacy-compatibility format. For anything other than old DVD-player playback, DivX to MP4 is the saner long-term archive.

What's the difference between converting XCF directly here vs. exporting to JPG first then encoding?

One real difference: GIMP's own File → Export As composites your layer stack before it writes the JPG, and this converter does not — it renders a single layer of the .xcf straight into the encoder. On a flattened or single-layer project the two routes look identical, and going direct skips a manual round-trip through XCF to JPG and a separate video encoder while keeping the pipeline lossless until the DivX encode itself. On a layered project, export from GIMP (or flatten there first) so the merge actually happens. If you already have JPG/PNG frames exported, JPG to DivX is the direct route.