Danny's Recommended Codec's! ~ Page 1 [Archive]

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Dannyboy007

30th June 2007, 20:56

Danny's Recommended Codec's! ~ Page 1

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All right guys, it's time to release my new version of Danny's Recommended Codec's! It's now made in three parts, due to I reached maximum letters. I've done a lot of updates, and corrected more faults as usual. I have even made a banner now:) Updated list of media players, and added more text.

This guide is only for Windows XP (32 bit - I don't know if all the programs I list will work with the 64 bit version). Not for Mac OS X or GNU/Linux.

I want to thank all Doom9 administrators, moderators and members for getting me interested in encoding :) So, here we go:

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INTRO - Part 0
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This "guide" is going to teach newcomers (newbies) in video-related stuff, about how the stuff works. What does a video contain? How can people shrink DVDs to 700 MB? Why can't I play some videos on my computer? What is a codec? What is HD-DVD or Blu-ray? And why the hell is this stuff so complicated!?

Learning everything about video, is pretty complicated. Learning the advanced things with video, takes years of experience. In this "guide" we're going to read about the history first, and then about what a video contains. The beginning might be boring, but as you understand, it gets really interesting. Are you ready?

Then first you need to know what the different MPEGs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG) are, how they were created. And then what a codec (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec) is, and what it can really do. And now the differences between H.263 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.263), MPEG-4 ASP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_2) and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264).

Now then let's see on different container formats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_format). A container is really just a container, which contains an encoded video with a codec, like XviD. Known containers are AVI, MKV, MP3 etc...

You're beginning to understand, I hope. I want you to see on some open source codecs and containers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_codecs_and_containers). I recommend you to use open source, it's free, great people make them and many of them are better than the commercials. If you have read the articles on Wikipedia now, you should now how a video works. I will myself write a list of what I personally use (and recommend). In the list I will write my favourite codecs, and favourite containers (except for FLV, that one is not my favourite):

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Codec's

XviD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XviD) - H.263/MPEG-4 ASP Codec - Produces hight quality, very good in DVD ripping. I recommend using this along with either Lame (MP3), or AC3 in an AVI-container. But you can use it in a MKV-container too, no problem at that, but MKV is bad supported on MPEG-4 Players. AVI however is supported on many MPEG-4 Players.

x264 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X264) - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Codec - This one requires more of your hardware, but produces better quality than XviD. Especially on low bitrates. Remember that the more bit rate your movie has, the better the quality are, but the more space it takes on you harddrive.

Containers

Matroska (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matroska) - .mkv & .mka files - Supports MPEG-4. It's an open format and open source too, which is very good. A minus is the lack of bad hardware support.

MP4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14) - Supports all MPEG formats! And has actually good hardware support (along with PS3 and AppleTV). So choose this container if you're going to burn out the movie and watch it on TV. Bond (http://forum.doom9.org/member.php?u=1626) has also made a thread about MP4 (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62723).

AVI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVI) - This one is the most used container, and has very good support of hardware. I don't know if it I can call it "not open source". You can encode AVC into this container, but you will not be able to use all the features that AVC supports then. You can also mux pretty much anything into a AVI container (including DTS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTS) and AAC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Audio_Coding)).

FLV (Flash Video) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLV) - Used a lot on internet. It's used on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) for example. It takes less space, but the quality of the container sucks. It uses H.263 or VP6 as video, but can use MP3 as audio format.
=======================================

Something you may think about now, is "what about DVD-Players?" Can they play MPEG-4 ASP or MPEG-4 AVC? But before we check that out, you first have to know what Blu-ray & HD DVD (http://www.videohelp.com/hd), DVD (http://www.videohelp.com/dvd), SVCD (http://www.videohelp.com/svcd) and VCD (http://www.videohelp.com/vcd) are. And if you still are curious about a word, check out the Glossary (http://www.videohelp.com/glossary).

And now for the DVD-Players. Well, I recommend you to check out (yes, another link) the Stand-alone MPEG-4 Players (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=98228) thread.

If you're still happy and want to read more about DVD, then check out this thread: DVD Basics (http://www.doom9.org/dvd-basics.htm).

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SOFTWARE/MEDIA PLAYERS - Part 0.5
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But before we start with converting, ripping DVDs and encoding, we have to have a software player that can play the movie on our computer. Before you pick, you have to ask yourself one thing first; Do I want a media player with integrated codecs? Or one without?

The advantage with integrated codecs is that you save time by not installing codecs, since they are integrated in the media player. You also save your ass in case your were going to install a codec-pack like K-Lite, because codec packs frequently destroys your system. The disadvantage isn't really anything I can come up with now, except for that you can't frameserve movies into some videoeditors, but this is mostly for those who edit movies a lot. Or are more advanced in videoediting.

The advantage with no integrated codecs is that you can frameserve (if you have AviSynth installed) movies into videoediting programs, even though the program doesn't support that movie. As long as you can play the movie, it can be frameserved. I will explain more about frameserving. The other advantage with no integrated codecs are that the performance is better if you use DirectShow filters to decode your movies. And if you use DirectShow Filters, it will help A LOT when converting movies!

Now, the choice is yours for what you choose. Here are my recommendations for media players:

With integrated codecs

MPlayer (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=129909) - The award-winning OpenSource media player available for Windows now!

SMPlayer (http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/) - SMPlayer intends to be a complete front-end for MPlayer, from basic features like playing videos, DVDs, and VCDs to more advanced features like support for MPlayer filters and more.

KMPlayer (http://www.download.com/The-KMPlayer/3000-2139_4-10659940.html) - The KMPlayer is all in one media player covering various formats such as VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg Theora, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, RealMedia, QuickTime etc. It has an extra feature to play Incomplete/Damaged AVI file, Locked Media Files while downloading or sharing, Compressed Audio Album (zip, rar) and so on. It handles a wide range of subtitles and allows you to capture audio, video, and screenshots in many ways. The player provides both internal and external filters with a fully controlled environment without grappling with DirectShow merit system (....)

VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) - VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.

Without integrated codecs

Zoom Player (http://www.inmatrix.com/files/zoomplayer_download.shtml) - Zoom Player is capable of playing all common media formats and quite a few of the not so common, including:
AVI, Matroska (MKV), QuickTime (MOV), Cellphone 3GPP (3GP), Flash (SWF), RealMedia (RA/RM/RMVB/RAM), Windows Media Format (ASF/WMV/WMA including DRM with WMV Professional version), OGG Movie (OGM), MPEG1 (MPG/VCD), MPEG2 (MPG/SVCD/VOB), MPEG4 (DIVX/XVID/ISO), VP3-VP6, MPEG Layer 3 (MP3), Vorbis Audio (OGG), Dolby Digital (AC3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MusePack Audio (MPC), FLAC Audio (FLAC), OptimFROG Audio, Monkey Audio (APE), Wave Audio (WAV), CD-Audio.

Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (http://tibrium.neuf.fr/) - Media Player Classic looks just like Windows Media Player 6.4, but has many additional features. It has a built in DVD player with real-time zoom, support for AVI subtitles, QuickTime and RealVideo support (requires QuickTime and/or Real Player); built-in MPEG2/SVCD/DVD codec.

Windows Media Player - Well, I guess some people like it. The most recent versions have the best media library support outside dedicated music players, for sure, and 11 isn't nearly as bad as 7-10, but that's about the only good thing I can think of. (Someone more objective can chime in.)

That was it =) I put "Media Player Classic - Home Cinema" under "without integrated codecs", because we can shut them off. To install MPC-HC, just start it, go to View -> Options -> Formats under Player -> click the Video button, and then click "Use", not OK. Then go to Output under Playback, and set it to VMR7 (renderless) **, so we can load subtitles in MPC-HC. OK.

You can also set KMPlayer to use your additional codecs too, instead of the integrated.

The media player I use i Zoom Player because it totally relies on additional codecs =) Which is a good thing for me, because I convert and edit movies a lot, so Avisynth is a must. I will later explain how to use Avisynt. And I use MPC-HC for playing DVDs.

If you picked a media player without integrated codecs, you will of course now have to install the codecs yourself. Here is a list of what I recommend to install (you'll be able to play of all formats, except for some veeery rare maybe):

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RECOMMENDED SPLITTERS, DECODERS & CODEC’S - Part 1
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To view a movie, you first need something that can split the movie, and then something that can decode it, and of course an application to watch it in. Here is what I personally recommend:

If you chose Zoom Player, then you don't need need to install these, since it will automatically do it for you. But you still need to install number 4, the Quicktime decoder, because it can't install because of some license by Apple, I think. So you have to install it yourself.

1. Haali Media Splitter (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Haali_Matroska_Splitter.htm) for MP4, OGM, MKV.
2. FFDShow (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm) for MP4, MKV with H264/X264. Check out VFW configuration - Decoder - Codecs.
3. Real Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm) for RM, RMVB, RAM.
4. QT Lite (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QT_Lite.htm) for MOV video.
5. AC3Filter (http://ac3filter.net/project/1/releases).

That was what you need, and here som other that you don't need, but might come good in handy. I will show you later in the guide what VirtualDubMod is.

6. Lame ACM (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Audio-CD-Rippers-Encoders/LAME-ACM-Codec.shtml) for VDMod. Used only to encode MP3 with LAME in VirtualDubMod
7. AC-3 ACM Decompressor (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/AC-3_ACM_Decompressor.htm) for VDMod. Used only to encode AC3 in VirtualDubMod
8. XviD Binary (http://www.divx-digest.com/software/xvid.html) (recommend MPEG4-ASP Codec). Used only to encode a movie with XviD.

If the media player you have don't have a function to show subtitle, then you can install VobSub (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/VobSub.htm). Just remember to rename the subtitle file to the exact same name as your movie. Like this:

Movie:
Naruto - Episode 060.avi (avi is the videoformat here, could be another format...)

Subtitle:
Naruto - Episode 060.srt (srt is the subtitle format here, could be another format...)

Vobsub can also edit subtitles. It comes with many different editors which do different things like changing the timesetting (if the subtitle has a slight or long delay), and change font etc...

NOTE: Instead of installing the codec's manually (one-by-one), you could just install Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP) (http://www.cccp-project.net/), but I prefer to install all these codec’s manually. It's also recommended to install such codec's manually. Codec packs may corrupt something, and give you different of errors. But CCCP is a very good codec pack, indeed.

Sincerely Danny Boy

Danny's Recommended Codec's! ~ Page 2 (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127592)

Special Thanks To:

SealTooGreat - For the first one to help me.
setarip_old - For the 2nd one to help me, and gave me a really nice and complementary answer. Your name is in blue because I think you like blue :)
check - For helping me with a nice answer.
burfadel - For the nice info about MPC and CoreAVC.
foxyshadis - For more nice info about MPC and CoreAVC, and for bringing up AutoGK. And big thanks to the media player list you gave me!
Wilbert - Thanks again for helping me. You gave me a lot to correct, which is very good.
Others - I have to thank other people too that helped me in my last thread (which is now deleted). I still remember the nick of some, and want to thank them for helping me there too.

SealTooGreat

1st July 2007, 00:13

You recommends players like Mplayer and VLC, along with additional splitters/decoders, but they already have those stuffs inside(internally integrated). You should change meaning, like install VLC and Mplayer, but also install splitters/codecs/decoders cause some of your video/audio apps will need it.

As decoders, FFDShow can decode both xvid and ac3.

10. Nero AAC (Best audio codec for MKV/MP4 with H.264 (x264)).
11. x264 (Best MPEG4-AVC Codec) for MP4/MKV.
lol... if you aiming at very low bitrate, x264/aac will win, otherwise (mid to high bitrate) other codecs(xvid, mp3, mpeg2 etc.) will perform same/better quality. From your post It sounds like MKV/MP4 can only accept h264/aac. Please, change meaning! ...and read rule 12 about "best" as I already refute a "best" theory.

Really I don't have the strength for further correcting you :)

Dannyboy007

1st July 2007, 01:14

Actually, my meaning with the software applications were exactly ment to be as you described. I may have miss-written it a bit :) It's now updated, and I took away VLC aswell. But when you install MPlayer (full package), you can choose Binary Codec Package. Isn't that all the intergrated codec's? So if you don't choose it, MPlayer will run on your additional codec's, right? Because that was what I was trying to tell, and now it should be pretty obvious as the text is updated.

And with the Nero AAC and x264, it may be it looks like it can only accept h264/aac, but in Part 2 I do recommend using MKV or MP4 with XviD and Lame too. So I'll just leave it as it for now.

I've also changed from "best" to "recommend".

EDIT: Sorry man. I uninstalled all of my additional codec's now, and and then installed MPlayer without the Binary Codec Package. It seemed that even though I had no codec installed on my PC, it could play all kinds of video containers and codec's. So my fault here, I thought wrong here. My bad :P I removed MPlayer from the list now. Instead I added Media Player Classic now, since that one does not have intergrated codec's :)

setarip_old

1st July 2007, 01:59

@Dannyboy007

(Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are blowin')

I gently ask you to read through all, and let me know if there's any faultsSince you've asked:

Although it's apparent that you've put a lot of effort into your initial post to this thread, I'm sorry to say that, if it's intended to be a "how to" for even the greenest of newbies, it is rife with errors and obvious lack of knowledge as to possibly make it problem causing, rather than problem solving for the aforementioned newbies.Here are just a few errors:But all container formats doesn't support every codec, so that's why it get's kind of hard to convert a container format to another container format. When you convert you frequently looses quality, depends on what you do. Direct stream copy is an option you can choose in the encoder application VurtualDubMod, and it means a direct copy, so you will not loose any quality.If you want to convert from one format (e.g. MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) to another (e.g. .AVI), you cannot select "Direct Stream Copy" in VirtualDubMOD, as "Direct Stream Copy" (under the "Video" dropdown menu) means "No change whatsoever (including format) to the video".

Although the VirtualDub family of programs ("standard" VirtualDub, VirtualDubMOD, VirtualDubMPEG, NanDub) are capable of encoding some formats to .AVI, I'd suggest to you that their primary function, when used DIRECTLY, is editing of existing videos while retaining the same formats (video and/or audio) - and editing is when "Direct Stream Copy" is useful.I need someone to help me here I haven't heard much about MPEG3 either.That's because there is no "MPEG3". Rather, there is "MPEG1 Layer 3", which is an audio-only format that is most commonly referred to as ".MP3".AVI - Most well-known, but has many restrictions. Supports only MP3 and AC3 for audio.This is incorrect, as an .AVI file can properly include .WAV-format audio and (perhaps, improperly) .MP2-format audio.

Without going into detail, I'll simply state that many of your "recommendations" appear to be simply your personal preferences - or perhaps only those items with which you are familiar.

Also, included in your "recommendations" are a couple of "Alternatives" which may be of question either legally or morally.And this time you don't have to be nice to me either, I can handle most of what you say now, hehe.I've tried to be as nice as I can while expressing my opinion and providing factual correction, but the end result is still the same:

Again, although I'm sure you're well-intentioned, I personally believe that such a posting might serve you better by, if you have one, appearing at your own website...

check

1st July 2007, 02:29

There is a lot of wrong information in here. Too much to make this guide useable in my opinion, but here we go anyway:
'
Too many of these where they don't belong.
Good audiocodecs are Lame, AC3, Vorbis and Nero AAC. It's the same here. Lame, AC3 and Vorbis are all three ASP, and Nero AAC is an AVC audiocodec.
Eh? You're mixing encoders and standards, and then dividing those items into two groups based on video codec names? The sense is unmaking...
Music_ONE.mp3 <- MP3 container format, with maybe Lame as audiocodec.
I see what you're trying to say, but you're wrong. The audio format is MP3 (aka MPEG-1 Layer 3), and the 'container' is .mp3. In this case though, .mp3 is not a container, it's just the raw bitstream.
1. Media Player Classic - It does not have intergrated codec's, and that's good because we are going to use our additional codec's.
Oh yes it does. Look under 'internal filters' in the options menu.

It's nice to see people trying, but I fear you have bitten off more than you can chew. :)

Dannyboy007

1st July 2007, 16:14

Thanks people. This was just the answers I was looking for. I see that most of the faults is at the Intro, so I have rewritten it all now. It's now shorter with links, instead of my own personal words.

And this time you don't have to be nice to me either, I can handle most of what you say now, hehe.
I've tried to be as nice as I can while expressing my opinion and providing factual correction, but the end result is still the same:

Again, although I'm sure you're well-intentioned, I personally believe that such a posting might serve you better by, if you have one, appearing at your own website...
You have been very nice to me, indeed. It was more ment like a joke this time, since I've more experienced on the Doom9 forum now :) And yeah, setarip_old, your kind of right, my recommendations are frequently my own personal preferences. But I try to stay at good codec choices, as XviD and x264, along with open source.

1. Media Player Classic - It does not have intergrated codec's, and that's good because we are going to use our additional codec's.
Oh yes it does. Look under 'internal filters' in the options menu.

It's nice to see people trying, but I fear you have bitten off more than you can chew. :)

Shoot, another mistake :) . Thanks for that info. Under the Software Player topic now, there is none except for WMP. I need help here to find a media player that do no has integrated codec's :) But as you said with 'internal filters', you can shut all of them off. So that was good. But there is one thing annoying me with media Player Classic. It's just one .EXE file which I have to open everytime I want to play a file. Isn't there a MPC version that you can install and make it associated with all my videofiles?

And one more thing. I can't seem to find a download page for CoreAVC. I was on their webite, trying to download their Stanard Edition, but couldn'y find any link.

As I've said, thanks for helping a novice :)

burfadel

1st July 2007, 16:52

But there is one thing annoying me with media Player Classic. It's just one .EXE file which I have to open everytime I want to play a file. Isn't there a MPC version that you can install and make it associated with all my videofiles?

And one more thing. I can't seem to find a download page for CoreAVC. I was on their webite, trying to download their Stanard Edition, but couldn'y find any link.

Media Player Classic can have it associate automatically with video files! go to view --> options and on the left hand side under player you will see 'formats' click on this, and the file types show on the right hand side. Click on video and you're set!

There are many versions of Media Player Classic, they are indistinguishable from each other. Best idea is to use the Homecinema mod by Casimir (its also a topic on the forum), available here:
http://tibrium.neuf.fr/

It has some nice extra options, such as playback from where you left the file, and new rendering modes.

CoreAVC is not a free programme, and no free versions exist. Very old versions are part of 'Quicktime Alternative', but due to its age many performance improvements etc aren't included, and ffdshow probably ends up being better than it!

The benefits of CoreAVC only show in the more recent releases, which are definately not free!

foxyshadis

1st July 2007, 17:43

I don't know if you could call avi "not open source", and the restrictions really aren't real; people have managed to hack almost every single codec into it (the only one I don't know of is an ACM AAC codec). The main issue is editing and future-proofing; you can get them in now, but will you be able to decode them on your next system, or the one after that? And editing most delivery codecs in avi is just several ways screwed up. Also, since it's an open spec, with many open source implementations, I don't think "not open source" is a valid criticism.

It should be explicitly pointed out that MP4 supports all MPEG formats and nothing else, and its support is mostly portable devices (along with PS3 and AppleTV). AVI is still the format king for set top players.

Gordian Knot is simply a terrible choice in anything made for newbies. The components are terribly dated, and the workflow is needlessly frustrating, even the creator acknowledges this. AGK is better for the purpose, and still updated off and on, but handbrake is even simpler still.

CoreAVC may well be gone for good. Their purchase page has been empty for months now, and several promises that it would come back within days have come and gone since.

* Zoomplayer is a well-respected player with nothing built-in at all, pretty skins, a good installer, and a very complex configuration.
* MPC is very popular, often the first recommended for windows, because it requires no splitters and few codecs, so people who install codec packs at random can bypass them and enjoy things. Also built-in DVD playback, and a middling configuration & interface. I thought that it asked you which formats to associate on first open, but that might be another player.
* SMplayer has everything it needs built-in and is simpler & more reliable than VLC, which has everything and the kitchen sink.
* GOM Player is similar to SMplayer, with everything built-in, but has the option of using externals, and also has one of the nicest interfaces and configurations of any media player I've used. That's a big plus to many people. Updates are a bit slow. This, Smplayer, and VLC all have mediocre subtitle rendering compared to MPC/VSfilter though, for people who care about that.
* WMP, well, I guess some people like it. The most recent versions have the best media library support outside dedicated music players, for sure, and 11 isn't nearly as bad as 7-10, but that's about the only good thing I can think of. (Someone more objective can chime in.)

I would see built-in codecs as a plus, not a minus.

LoRd_MuldeR

1st July 2007, 18:11

Dannyboy007

1st July 2007, 18:38

Thanks burfadel, for the nice info. I removed CoreAVC now too, because of what has been said. I thought it was free too.

And to you foxyshadis, I see. Thanks for the great list of different media players. I have also updated the MP4 text, and AVI text. But what you say about GKnot, I ripped my first DVD with it, and didn't found it too difficult. And I followed a tutorial of course. But I've added AutoGK as you said since that is easier for beginners.

I added a note text too now under Great Rip- and Encoder Applications. It says that it is only my personal preference. And I am not so experienced, so I haven't tried so many programs yet. I will surely bump into other great applications, and add them to my list :) So if you have some other recommendations for me, I will gladly test them. And if I like them, I'll add them to the list.

But before I add those media players to my text, I have one question first. I think I remember I read it somewhere.

If you cannot play the movie, you cannot burn it out either and watch it on TV. So if you play the movie fine in MPlayer, but not in Zoomplayer, because it has no built-in codec' at all, you cannot burn it out. You have to have the properly additional codec's to play the movie before you burn them out. Is that correct? Because that is why I want a media player with no intergrated codec's.

foxyshadis

1st July 2007, 22:39

If you have an mpeg-4/avi player, it makes no difference, the file is the same file on CD whether you can play it on PC or not.

If you're talking about making a DVD, that depends on the software used: Some have bundle their own decoders (free ones, and the $30 convertXtoDVD things you find all over the web usually use ffmpeg) to handle it, while others may use directshow. You have to find the FAQ for your app, or choose one that uses built-ins.

Wilbert

1st July 2007, 23:26

XviD - H.263/MPEG-4 ASP Codec
MPEG-4 ASP is not the same as H.263:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.263

Accordingly to wikipedia MPEG-4 SP is similar to H.263. The main features in ASP which are not in SP are listed in the first wikipedia link.

and an AVI container does not support AVC codec's. You can encode an AVI file with an an AVC codec, but you may run into lot's of trouble then.
This is not true. When encoding to AVI you can't make use of all the features that AVC supports. If you don't select those features it's possible to encode AVC in AVI without any problems. There is a thread somewhere in the MPEG-4 AVC forum which lists those features. b-pyramid is one of them, but i forgot about the others.

The MKV and MP4 containers supports a lot, incl. AVC codecs. However MKV has bad hardware support, but MP4 has better hardware support, so if you're going to rip a DVD to 700MB, and then burn it out on a CD, you should choose MP4, since it has a good DVD Player support (hardware support).
(1) A DVD player in itself doesn't support MP4.
(2) Many MPEG-4 players have good MP4 support.

But not everyone want to play their stuff on a DVD/MPEG-4 player.

Btw, a container doesn't support a codec, but it supports a format (or a subset of it).

And for the sound in this container, if you encode with x264, then I recommend using Nero AAC as the sound codec since it is also an AVC codec.
Like check said, an AVC codec is only a video codec.

If you're encoding with XviD, then you should consider either a MP3, AC3 or an Ogg codec.
No. This depends mainly on the container, not on the video (being ASP or AVC):

- You can mux pretty much anything into a AVI container (including DTS and AAC).
- For MP4, your choice for the audio format is very limited: AAC.

Matroska - .mkv & .mka files - This container supports a lot incl. AVC codecs, which is very good. It's open source too. A minus is the lack of bad hardware support.
Matroska is an open format :)

MP4 - This one supports all MPEG formats!
It supports only MPEG-4, and not MPEG-1/MPEG-2. Audio support is very limited.

AVI - This one is the most used container, and has very good support of hardware. I don't know if it I can call it "not open source". It has many restrictions, and does only support MP3, AC3, WAV and (perhaps, improperly) MP2-format in audio.
See above. It also supports DTS/AAC/MP2 (properly). I think ffmpeg can mux ogg into it in a correct way.

But peple can hack in different codec's to it, but it results frequently in many problems.
Wrong, see above. Well, only b-frames support is a hack.

FLV (Flash Video) - Used a lot on internet. It's used on YouTube for example. It takes less space, and has ok quality.
Imo, the quality sucks :)

It has it's own videocodec
No. Video can be h.263 or VP6.

And now it think you've learned a lot.
I hope you learned a bit too now ...

The rest is acceptable.

Dannyboy007

2nd July 2007, 00:49

I see foxyshadis. Thanks for your answer. I've added the media player list now. And when Part 1 is finished with "zero" faults in it, I will add a thanks to for those who have helped me at the bottom :)

And thanks to you again Wilbert for helping me. I have corrected most of the faults now. It should be correct now, unless I have missunderstood again, as I did last time ;) Hehe.

FLV (Flash Video) - Used a lot on internet. It's used on YouTube for example. It takes less space, and has ok quality.Imo, the quality sucks :)
Well, as you mention it, the quality do actually suck, so I added it to my text aswell :)

And now it think you've learned a lot.I hope you learned a bit too now ...
Hehe. Yes once again I learned a bit too :) My "guide" is actually starting to look very nice now. I have a feeling that much cannot be wrong now, or? If someone could take a last check on it, and confirm the last faults (if there is any). And then I will release Part 2! I think it's going to be far less faults in Part 2, or I'll hope so :) Because Part 2, is the best part.

check

2nd July 2007, 03:58

Imo, the quality sucks
The quality of a container sucks? :)

foxyshadis

2nd July 2007, 04:35

It supports only MPEG-4, and not MPEG-1/MPEG-2. Audio support is very limited.
No? I thought 1 & 2 video were supported as well. Well, you'd know.

Wrong, see above. Well, only b-frames support is a hack.
Yeah, I didn't mean to imply everything was an ugly hack, I meant it's usually undocumented, or there's 3 different ways, and other messy problems like that. All typically editing or future-proofing issues, not immediate playback.

Someone managed to get aac in avi? That's awesome, I'll have to see if ffmpeg or avidemux can do that. (Too bad there's no ACM, I have many wavs I'd love to hit with it.)

SealTooGreat

2nd July 2007, 06:55

Someone managed to get aac in avi?
AVIMux_GUI (http://www.alexander-noe.com/video/amg/)

This works beginning with AVI-Mux GUI 1.15.5 (1.15.4 had a bug with 5.1 AAC files). Those files play fine with Microsofts's AVI splitter as well as with Gabest's AVI splitter, neither of which has any special support for this. The used technique to store VBR in AVI is the same as with MP3. There are a lot of MP4 trolls, saying things like "you should not put AAC into AVI, it is a bad idea, MP4 is better for this, MP4 is more modern blah blah". Forget this nonsense, AAC in AVI is compliant to the AVI file specification.
..frome here (http://www.alexander-noe.com/video/amg/en_myths.html)

Dannyboy007

2nd July 2007, 13:02

All right people. It seems that it is not any major faults now :) So I have released Part 2. You can find it here! (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127592)

And once again I want to thank you for helping me :) On Part 1 now, at the bottom, I have added a special thanks to those who have helped me.

Wilbert

2nd July 2007, 17:27

The quality of a container sucks?
:) I should have been more precise. The quality of most flash video content on the internet is bad. I always thought that there was a maximal resolution for flash video, but upon reading a bit i guess that's not the case?

No? I thought 1 & 2 video were supported as well. Well, you'd know.
The MP4 faq says you are correct.