What is DiVA?
DiVA is a video re-encoder for Mac OS X 10.2 or later designed for converting between MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video sources into MPEG-4 video. It utilizes special features in the 3ivx video codec to allow for high speed and high quality.

Can I use DiVA to encode to something other than 3ivx?
Why would you want to? :)
Yes, because DiVA utilizes the QuickTime architecture, any QuickTime video codec installed on the system should be usable. However, special features like Rectangular Pixel Encoding and 2-Pass encoding can only be used with 3ivx. Also, DiVA can only use codecs, not exporters like the MPEG-2 Exporter.

What about Mac OS 9 or older versions of OS X?
You should really consider upgrading. MacMPEG2Decoder is alternative, but it is relatively slow, and if your Mac can't run OS X, that's probably a good sign that video encoding will be painful for you.

What is the relevance of an all-YUV pipeline?
Quick review: YUV is the system of color used in all video. RGB is the color system used almost universally in computing.
Since MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 all store video in YUV format, there is absolutely no point in converting to RGB when converting between these formats. Yet, many very expensive video encoding programs still perform this conversion! The result is that video encoding can be slowed down considerably, and quality can suffer because YUV/RGB conversion is inherently imperfect.
DiVA does not perform any RGB conversion, thus maintaining the exact video color as the are in the source material.

When I finish encoding, I have a .MOV file. I thought MPEG-4 was .MP4?
Since DiVA supports some codecs other than 3ivx and QuickTime's built-in MPEG-4 support is extremely limited, DiVA saves it's movies in the more flexible QuickTime file format. In reality, ".MP4" (the MPEG-4 file format) is really a subset of the QuickTime format. Nevertheless, converting between the two formats is simple. Open your encoded file in QuickTime Pro, then Export it as MPEG-4. In the MPEG-4 Export options window, set video to Pass-through. Your MPEG-4 video will be maintained perfectly, as will timing information.

What about audio?
DiVA only encodes video. Great audio encoding programs include iTunes and mAC3dec. Remember, if you use MPEG-4 AAC audio, you can then use QuickTime Pro to combine the audio and video, save in MPEG-4 or 3GPP format, and even make the file streamable.

Why doesn't DiVA display the (correct) frame rate for my video?
Video frame rates in MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats can vary over the length of the file. Thus, many MPEG streams do not have a constant frame rate. DiVA is only able to make a good guess when you first open the file. Don't worry; the encoded file will maintain the frame rate exactly as it was in the original video stream, variations and all.

I encoded an NTSC video and the resulting file has a strange frame rate. It plays fine in QuickTime, but why can't Final Cut Pro open it?
Final Cut Pro seems to be unable to deal with variable frame rate video. Turn on Force Constant Frame Rate under the Video menu. This will force DiVA to drop extra frames to keep the frame rate constant. This function turns itself off after quiting, because it really should be used rarely and can have adverse effects on video quality.

Why am I having trouble with DiVA's deinterlacer?
DiVA 1.0 has a high quality decoder, scaler, encoder, and cropping window. Its deinterlacing function, however, is perhaps not quite as robust as the rest of the program. It especially has problems with poorly encoded video, especially with "hard" telecined NTSC video (24 FPS film upsampled to 30 FPS interlaced video, then encoded). The deinterlacer is fine for a lot of work, but you may experience some problems, especially with animated material. The situation is being worked on.

I need a manual!!!
Frequently Asked Questions only, please.

Where is the manual?!!!
Ah, now I understand. Under the Help menu in DiVA.