Fully contained player/codec/video file

[4nic8r]

Question:
Is there a way to make the self contained decoder/players out there "smaller" and much more limited by making them a single use, single codec decoder? Only options required are play, pause, maybe seek/step functionality for one currently supported codec?

Ideal would be <2MB for somewhat convenient emailing.

Reasons:
I have found taking a screen capture video is much simpler, faster, clearer, etc. than taking a bunch of screenshots (>20). However the best codecs to use are not necessarily built into WindowsXP/media player, the predominant player of my materials viewers. I know MPlayer, VLC and probably some other players that can decode most of the codecs I would use without being "installed" however at 8mb (MPlayer) for the total windows package is a little excessive for a 1.5MB screen capture.
Yes I have software that makes screenshots (image only) very simple to make, however conveying those images/locations/etc. details is more clearly conveyed with a video.

Possibilities:
(Added as suggested)

[foxyshadis]

It's quite possible to create minimal mplayers, or ffplay. I don't know too much about doing it, but if you let me know which codecs you're looking at, I can give it a shot. Plus, MPlayer can also be UPX packed so that it only takes 40% of the space.

Another option is MPC, which already has a reasonably good UI and some of the common codecs build in. Only needs an MPEG4 decoder on the side. With UPX it's only 1.7M and could be stripped further (softsub support if a big chunk of it).

[LoRd_MuldeR]

@4nic8r:
MPlayer/GMPlayer is definitely what you need :D

MPlayer can be compressed to about 3.5 MB. That's a little bit bigger than what you want, but it can play almost EVERYTHING.

[foxyshadis]

Playing everything isn't the desired application here, though. Playing just one thing is all that matters, and mplayer can be stripped of almost everything else for size. (This dovetails with the earlier "self-contained video" thread.)