what's the best codec?

[vesuvius]

I am quite new to all this forum buisness as i normally phone my friend for quikness but i think maybe he get's pretty p***ed off now and again.
I am using 3ivx as my codec,
Firstly is this all i need and secondly,Whats the best codec to have.
Do i need to maybe have ace mega codecs pack?
Thanx

[Atamido]

I'm not sure if this is a rule 9 or a rule 12 violation, or both?

[vesuvius]

ooops sorry.Iam new,no excuses though.

[Sirber]

Codec X is better than Y if you use Z options

@Modo, please close this thread

[Neo Neko]

Well I am a kind hearted guy. This stuff does happen every so often so no big deal. We just don't want a habbit of it.

To answer the question 3ivx should handle most every clip you will run across. And it does a darn good job decoding wise. If all you are going to do is watch 3ivx will provide very pleasing results with a simple download. If you like a bit more configurability then you might check ffdshow. But there is no rush if 3ivx is working for you.

When it comes to encoding this is where things get really sticky. There is a tiny bit of debate over the best decoder to use. But there have been outright wars over what one should encode with. The best answer is to find the answer for yourself. It is all about what you are looking for in an encode and how much time you want to spend on it.

To get you started here is a list of popular MPEG4 codecs you can google for and try.

Divx 5
Xvid
3ivx (which you have)
ffvfw/ffmpeg (I am really impressed by this one myself)
Quicktime MPEG4 (Arguably the least developed MPEG4 codec for public consumption)
Real Magic MPEG4 (A codec originally based on early Xvid code which sigmadesigns stole and breached the license to create.)

I am sure there may be a few others. But those are the major players. For decoding you are set. For encoding you need to decide what you want and how much you are willing to work for it. But 3ivx is an all round easy and very viable solution.

[KpeX]

Originally posted by vesuvius

Do i need to maybe have ace mega codecs pack?

Do _not_ install any codec packs, a quick search will show you some of the frustrating problems these can cause. You might also want to take a look at Doom9's codec comparisons.

[vesuvius]

if i install other codecs do i have to uninstall before using others will they interfere with each other...

Thanx for your time

[JohnV]

Originally posted by Neo Neko
To answer the question 3ivx should handle most every clip you will run across. And it does a darn good job decoding wise. If all you are going to do is watch 3ivx will provide very pleasing results with a simple download. If you like a bit more configurability then you might check ffdshow. But there is no rush if 3ivx is working for you.

Well.. don't know about 3ivx 4.5 decoder handling all the clips. Just few days ago I gave Shitowax few example xvid clips which caused problems with even 1 consequtive b-frame (Koepi 2406).

Edit. though I believe it will be fixed soon.

[Hiro2k]

Originally posted by vesuvius
if i install other codecs do i have to install before using others will they interfere with each other...

Thanks for your time

None of the codecs will interfere with each other, they are all separate. The only ones that will are DivX 4 and DivX 5, but no one uses DivX 4 anymore, so don't even worry about it.

Also please try to use the search function before you post. All of your questions have been answered in older threads.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by JohnV
Well.. don't know about 3ivx 4.5 decoder handling all the clips. Just few days ago I gave Shitowax few example xvid clips which caused problems with even 1 consequtive b-frame (Koepi 2406).

Edit. though I believe it will be fixed soon.

Well no decoder currently handles all clips. They all have their shortcommings. But 3ivx holds its own in terms of MPEG4 with the likes of ffdshow and ffmpeg. Plus so far it is the only one on the windows side to provide a usefull MP4 implementation for the masses. So for most files and most people 3ivx should be fine.

BTW long time no see JohnV. How goes things over at HA? Been several months since I was last there.