I'm dissilusioned with XviD

[pf100]

I've had nothing but problems with XviD. After many hours of trying to correct the problem I finally installed the k-lite codec pack and selected the option to let the divx 5.11 codec decode xvid. That solved all of my problems. No more jerkiness or stuttering or green or black screens. I signed up for this forum a few weeks ago just so I could post this. I read all through this forum and tried lots of things mentioned. I downloaded decoders and codec packs to no avail.
There is a serious problem with xvid decoding and I see little being done about it. Until these issues are resolved I'll stick with divx.
I'm not a troll, just someone trying to make my video encodes look the best they can regardless of codec used keeping in mind that someone might actually want to watch it without spending a whole day to get it to work. If I make a copy of my smashing pumpkins viewphoria dvd for my niece and convert it to xvid to fit on one cd, I don't want her to have to dig through forums and try this or that media viewer with this or that codec with this or that patch just to watch it.
Either disregard me as a moron or get busy fixing the problem. I'll try XviD again in the future if I hear that the decoding actually works.

[Twister]

We're sorry for your dissatisfaction with this product and we'll promptly refund your purchase price............you're disregarded

[KpeX]

Xvid decoding works fine. Codec packs are the problem.

[snorre]

In my experience, there's only ONE codec-pack out there that can hack it: the Gordian Knot Codec Pack. It has all the codecs needed to play back 99% of all videos out there, and all the codecs included are quality codecs.

I've been to plenty of LAN-parties where people come to me for advice (the downside to being a computer-tech) on how to play back this or that video-file. Once they "inject" GKCP, all is well (apart from thinking defragging is playing CS really badly ;) ).

[atreya2011]

Originally posted by pf100
I signed up for this forum a few weeks ago just so I could post this
You signed up just to bad mouth XviD. Shame on you.
All of my XviD rips works fine in Media Player Classic , Zoom Player (Please, for heaven's sake, don't use Windows Media Player 9).Overlay Mixer was supposed to cause Stuttery playback. VMR9 fixes that. And what kind of problems did you face exactly. Please state the nature of your problem.

EDIT: GKnot Codec Pack has the stable set of codecs and they are pretty old I think, It is better to download the latest version. And this is purely my opinion.

[Undead]

Probably everyone on this forum uses XviD and it works for them, so obviously the problem is not XviD. I have no other codecs for decoding than DivX & XviD, use BSPlayer and everything works fine. Do you experience these problems on another computer?
Maybe try different version of XviD.
If you want to get some help here, you should give some info on what you use - OS, player, hardware etc.

[avih]

welcome to the forum everyone ;)

[pf100]

I started with a clean install of xp with sp1. At that point I could watch xvid with media player or any other player. I'm used to encoding videos with divx so I installed divx 5.02. At that point I couldn't decode xvid anymore. So I uninstalled divx, rebooted, and still couldn't decode xvid. So I went to this forum and found some info and tried Koepi's XviD-04102002-1.exe. Didn't work. Uninstalled Koepi's, rebooted, and installed Nicks' xvid codec XviD-Dec.exe. Still no go. I tried different media players all the time I was trying different codecs. By the way, when I say "didn't work" I mean black, green, upside down, or otherwise unwatchable video.
If any more info is needed, that's what I'm here for.

Athlon XP 2000+
Two 80GB HD's, one 30GB
1.5GB Ram
ATI 9700 Pro
Soundblaster Live
MSI K7T Turbo 2 Motherboard

[Episode]

Originally posted by pf100
So I went to this forum and found some info and tried Koepi's XviD-04102002-1.exe.

How about trying it again with more recent build?-) Koepi released today new RC3 build which is much better than that acient build. There is also standalone decoder that also provides pretty good playback. You could also try ffdshow (http://athos.leffe.dnsalias.com/ffdshow-20040227.exe). I didn't notice any stuttering playback when using overlay mixer with these builds.

[albertgasset]

Originally posted by pf100
So I went to this forum and found some info and tried Koepi's XviD-04102002-1.exe. Didn't work.

I don't know the developement status of the codec in december 2002, but I suppose there have been huge improvements in 1.0 RCs since then. Why don't you try to install the last release (and after installing Divx)? I use Xvid to decode both xvid and divx videos and it works fine.

[crusty]

I started with a clean install of xp with sp1. At that point I could watch xvid with media player or any other player. I'm used to encoding videos with divx so I....<long story snipped>
LOL.
ROFLMAO!
Sorry, but are you even aware that there are RULES on this forum?

Have you even tried reading the FAQ?

First of all, the DivX version you used is 5.0.2
That's already more than 6 months old, if not far more.
Use the latest DivX, it's 5.1.1.

Second, you don't mention ANY details on the XviD file your trying to play. If it has more than one B-frame it's not bloody likely to be properly decoded, especially not with such an old DivX version.

Then, you state that with a clean install of XP with SP1 you could play XviD files, which is quite impossible, since XP has NO XviD codec installed.

Also, if you deinstalled DivX, you should be aware that DivX hijackes the playback of XviD. If you deinstall it it's very likely you get problems if you haven't installed another codec that can handle XviD files.

So I went to this forum and found some info and tried Koepi's XviD-04102002-1.exe.
Well you should bang your head against the wall for using such an old version. That's about 16 months old. It has NO support for B-frames, and many other newer stuff. If you would at least have read the FAQ you should have known what version is recommended right now.


Uninstalled Koepi's, rebooted, and installed Nicks' xvid codec XviD-Dec.exe.
Rebooting is good, at least you got that part right.
But Nic's decoder is also rather old already, and is no longer recommended.

By the way, when I say "didn't work" I mean black, green, upside down, or otherwise unwatchable video.
Black, green, and upside down videos have al been reported before and there are known workarounds.

I'm surprised you haven't gotten a strike yet, and you should have.

But to give you some positive feedback:
-Your mentioning of you system and the use of multiple decoders and players to troubleshoot is good.

-Please, use a program like DRFAnalyzer and or Gspot to give us some more details about the XviD file you're trying to play.

-critisicm is good, and you're welcome to it. Just do it in such a way that it actually HELPS people. What you did can be considered trolling just for it's inadequate and unprecise manner. Just saying 'XviD sucks' because you've got problems with it really doesn't help anyone, including yourself.

-Never use WMP9. It sucks ass bigtime.

-Don't use codec packs. They suck. K-lite is decent but can still cause plenty of troubles if the wrong codec is registered for the wrong file, and it's almost always obsolete by the time it comes out.

-DivX 5.1.1. works mighty good with XviD that doesn't use many of XviD's advanced features.
Have you by any chance used GMC, more than 1 B-frame, or interlacing in your XviD's?

-Use DivFix, Gspot and DRFAnalyzer on your files to ensure they're not corrupt. (yes they work on XviD too)

-Did I mention that codec packs suck?
If I make a copy of my smashing pumpkins viewphoria dvd for my niece and convert it to xvid to fit on one cd, I don't want her to have to dig through forums and try this or that media viewer with this or that codec with this or that patch just to watch it.
Obvious solution:
Put the programs and codecs necessary to play the file on the same CD-R.

OK, here are two things you really really should do next time:

1: READ THE FAQ!! (please see link below)
2: USE THE SEARCH!!

If, after those two you still have questions, you're more than welcome to ask them.

[pf100]

quote:
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I started with a clean install of xp with sp1. At that point I could watch xvid with media player or any other player. I'm used to encoding videos with divx so I....<long story snipped>
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LOL.
ROFLMAO!
Sorry, but are you even aware that there are RULES on this forum?

> I read the faq, I read the forum threads, I read the rules. Lots of people are having the same problem I am. How am I breaking rules by mentioning what an extreme pain in the ass it is to get xvid working?

Have you even tried reading the FAQ?

>Yes, I read the FAQ

First of all, the DivX version you used is 5.0.2
That's already more than 6 months old, if not far more.
Use the latest DivX, it's 5.1.1.

> I don't like divx 5.11. It's too "dumbed down". I like divx 5.02

Second, you don't mention ANY details on the XviD file your trying to play. If it has more than one B-frame it's not bloody likely to be properly decoded, especially not with such an old DivX version.

Then, you state that with a clean install of XP with SP1 you could play XviD files, which is quite impossible, since XP has NO XviD codec installed.

>I did watch it with a clean install. I can duplicate my results with a clean install. I did all the windows updates - including microsoft's codecs for media player 9. Then I installed quicktime and realplayer. One of those must have an installed an xvid codec.

Report of DRFanalyzer of the xvid video in question:
DivX DRF Analyzer v0.9.5 Report!
File Name: D:\Documents and Settings\GT\Desktop\stuff\XViD-test.avi
FourCC: XVID
Codec: XviD0020
Resolution: [ Width: 528 Height: 288 ]
Frame Rate: 25.000 frames per second
The Video has 145473 frames [ 01:36:58 ]

Average Frame quality is MEDIUM [Average DRF/quantizer is 4.71]
Standard Deviation: Quality is LOW [Std. Deviation is 2.01]
Image Resolution is MEDIUM

There are NO frame drops ( NO drops is better )
This video may have some frames with VERY POOR Quality!

Recomended Resolution: [400x208] (Target DRF/quantizer=2.8)
The filesize should be larger!

Performance Caracteristics:
Macroblocks per frame: 594
The Width is not multiple of 32. May degrade performance in some systems.

Kilobits per Second: 847.54
Kilobits per Frame: 33.89
Kilobits per Macroblock: 0.057
Bits per Pixel: 0.23

Frame Type Statistics :
I Frames: 1.08%
P Frames: 44.60%
B Frames: 54.32%
S Frames: 0.00%
N Frames: 0.00%
(More Advanced Codecs use B and S frames)
Frame Quality Statistics :

DRF=1&2: 21218 14.7%
DRF=3: 42841 29.8%
DRF=4: 1863 1.3%
DRF=5: 10849 7.5%
DRF=6: 19870 13.8%
DRF=7: 45119 31.4%
DRF=8: 1880 1.3%
DRF=9: 251 0.2%
DRF>9: 14 0.0%
KeyF/DeltaF: 1.09%
KeyDRF<4: 1568
KeyDRF=4: 0
KeyDRF>4: 0

AverageKeyDRF: 2.01
MAXDRF: 13
AverageDRF: 4.71
Deviation: 2.01

http://www.geocities.com/analyzerDR

Also, if you deinstalled DivX, you should be aware that DivX hijackes the playback of XviD. If you deinstall it it's very likely you get problems if you haven't installed another codec that can handle XviD files.

> Yes, I realize that divx hijacked xvid. After reading the forums I could find nothing that would "un-hijack" xvid.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I went to this forum and found some info and tried Koepi's XviD-04102002-1.exe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Well you should bang your head against the wall for using such an old version. That's about 16 months old. It has NO support for B-frames, and many other newer stuff. If you would at least have read the FAQ you should have known what version is recommended right now.

> So, I have to make sure that the very latest xvid codec is installed? A 16 month old codec doesn't work any more with a video encoded with an old xvid codec?


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uninstalled Koepi's, rebooted, and installed Nicks' xvid codec XviD-Dec.exe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rebooting is good, at least you got that part right.
But Nic's decoder is also rather old already, and is no longer recommended.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the way, when I say "didn't work" I mean black, green, upside down, or otherwise unwatchable video.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Black, green, and upside down videos have al been reported before and there are known workarounds.

> I shouldn't have to find a workaround. you're missing the point. It should just work. But I guess it's my fault because I didn't read 3,000 pages of info, peruse through the source code, and recompile the codec after rewriting it in assembler language.

I'm surprised you haven't gotten a strike yet, and you should have.

> Maybe you're right. And maybe I should also be stoned to death for taking 3 hours to set up CUPS with linux so I could print to a windows network. CUPS works great if you spend 2 days dissecting it to find out how it works. How about if I just want the goddamn thing to print without fucking with it for an unreasonable amount of time?

But to give you some positive feedback:
-Your mentioning of you system and the use of multiple decoders and players to troubleshoot is good.

-Please, use a program like DRFAnalyzer and or Gspot to give us some more details about the XviD file you're trying to play.

-critisicm is good, and you're welcome to it. Just do it in such a way that it actually HELPS people. What you did can be considered trolling just for it's inadequate and unprecise manner. Just saying 'XviD sucks' because you've got problems with it really doesn't help anyone, including yourself.

> I honestly believe it would help people if they didn't have to read every thread on a forum just to get an xvid video to play.

-Never use WMP9. It sucks ass bigtime.

> Yes it does. But it's not so bad if you don't allow it to download codecs on the fly. That's the big problem with it. After fixing the auto codec download problem, - in my experience - it plays any video that any other player can play, including virtualdub.

-Don't use codec packs. They suck. K-lite is decent but can still cause plenty of troubles if the wrong codec is registered for the wrong file, and it's almost always obsolete by the time it comes out.

>After tring the xvid codecs I mentioned earlier and they didn't work, I didn't see that I had much choice. And like I said before, the k-lite codec pack fixed the problem.

-DivX 5.1.1. works mighty good with XviD that doesn't use many of XviD's advanced features.
Have you by any chance used GMC, more than 1 B-frame, or interlacing in your XviD's?

-Use DivFix, Gspot and DRFAnalyzer on your files to ensure they're not corrupt. (yes they work on XviD too)

-Did I mention that codec packs suck?

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I make a copy of my smashing pumpkins viewphoria dvd for my niece and convert it to xvid to fit on one cd, I don't want her to have to dig through forums and try this or that media viewer with this or that codec with this or that patch just to watch it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Obvious solution:
Put the programs and codecs necessary to play the file on the same CD-R.

>If I could find a program and codec that would work, I would be more than happy to do that.

OK, here are two things you really really should do next time:

1: READ THE FAQ!! (please see link below)
2: USE THE SEARCH!!

>My whole point here, is that I should be able to install an agreed on xvid codec and be able to watch xvid videos. If I have to spend an entire day digging through forums and trying 10 different things that don't work - like I did - then what's the point? The faq should say "install this codec and you will be able to watch xvid videos."
I'm not trying to be an asshole, but when I can't get something to work - and I've only had this problem with xvid - and I have to spend an entire day to make it work, it loses its appeal. If I were a programmer I'd write an xvid codec installer that makes sure at least that the xvid codec I'm installing can actually decode xvid.

If, after those two you still have questions, you're more than welcome to ask them.

>The search is how I found out about the k-lite codec pack. I had never heard of it before. All I'm trying to say here, is that I shouldn't have to spend an unreasonable amount of time to decode a video when I know what it was encoded with. I'm not a programmer, I don't know the answers, but I would have to become one to understand why I install an xvid codec and I can't watch an xvid video. Sorry if I pissed you off, but I'm pissed off and I don't see any easy solution to this problem. Do you? If so, and it's somewhere in this forum or in the faq, I will exclaim to the world that I'm an idiot. Until then, I feel that xvid has far too many decoding problems.

[communist]

Originally posted by pf100
>If I could find a program and codec that would work, I would be more than happy to do that.

Try ffdshow decoder and MediaPlayerClassic.
http://www.ligh.de/software/mirrors.phtml
You can also install the latest XviD codec that has some fixes with the decoder http://koepi.roeder.goe.net/xvid.shtml
And last but not least use a good media player like MPC:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/guliverkli/mpc2kxp6478.zip?download

[Koepi]

Please download and install XviD-1.0-RC3 from my homepage (the www button on the bottom of my post).

I'm more than confident it'll work.

If it doesn't - well, there's nothing more to say than you messed up your system. To prevent that, _don't install _any_ codec packs_ - ever!

If this is the case, I suggest a clean install again:
Install divx, then xvid. If you need more codecs, use ffdshow (most recent build from athos [ http://athos.leffe.dnsalias.com/ ] would be good).
Instead of quicktime and realplayer you should use "quicktime alternative" and "realtime alternative", they don't mess up your system usually.

I wonder how it's possible to get a system into such an unusable state - I never saw something like this on the few hundreds computers of my network users around here, and they already do things where everyone with some common sense would put them into psychatry for ;) But well, this might be the side effect of installing several games, demos and other things which do harm to your system.

I think you should always set restore points in your XP installation before installing something new. That way you can track down the guilty program which disables your system to playback xvid. And even better, you can just hit a few buttons and go back to the point where everything worked nice.

So, you're definatly ranting about the lack of a proper system management - which is your job, and not ours!

Sorry to rant back in 2 or 3 sentences, but I want this point to be very clear.

I hope you find some points in this post which help you solving your problem. I never had one, and most people I know only had problems because of _other_ software they installed, it was always possible to track that down to a simple user error.

Best regards
Koepi

[piscator]

Originally posted by crusty
LOL.
ROFLMAO!
Sorry, but are you even aware that there are RULES on this forum?

Have you even tried reading the FAQ?

<snip long story>

Well you should bang your head against the wall for using such an old version. That's about 16 months old. It has NO support for B-frames,

<snip long story>

I'm surprised you haven't gotten a strike yet, and you should have.

But to give you some positive feedback:
-Your mentioning of you system and the use of multiple decoders and players to troubleshoot is good.

<snip another long story>


Come on guys! Be a bit more gentle and less insulting to new people on the forum. He has a very simple problem (just trying to playback an encoded movie) but the solution apparently is not so simple. So I think he doesn't deserve a strike or needs to bang his head on a wall :)

He also didn't sign up to badmouth XViD or to troll on something that's free. btw, DivX is free too, if you can stand the GAIN garbage ;)

I can imagine it's quite confusing: all those codec packs around and all those different builds.

@pf100, Welcome to the Forum. If you look for something reliable to play your video, try ffdshow (as Episode suggested). It plays back well any XViD and any DivX content. Also the codecpack provided with Gordian Knot (as suggested before) works reliable, but I would stick with just ffdshow.

It also works well with Windows Media Player 9. And it should, because that's about the default player which everybody has in common on there windows system. Though many people don't overly like it, and I'm one of them :D You can always try to use the old media player which is also around but a bit hidden (not in Start Menu). You can find it in: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe. With this player, you can at least inspect which filters you are using during playback.

greetz,
Piscator

[stax76]

what possibly could mess up the system? I think the DirectShow filter chain can be fixed with resvr32 and Zoom Player or Radlight which have config capabilities I believe. The only other things I can think of is the DirectX version and the grafics card driver. Additionally to restore points I suggest to disable system recovery on drives with important data or in other words to enable it only on C and don't save anything important on C, I don't know exactly how system recovery works, I had some trouble with the system recovery default config, it reverted some of my work

[pf100]

Thank you for responding. I'm trying to understand how I mismanaged my system other than installing quicktime and realplayer. I checked under windows xp "video codec properties" after installing your codec and the xvid codec was installed but didn't work. I would like to emphasize that in all cases the xvid codec was the last codec installed. Is there not any way when your codec is installed to make sure that xvid is handled by the xvid codec? Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but it seems there should be a way to check for an installed codec that conflicts with xvid. That's all I'm saying.
At this time I have no xvid codec installed, I'm letting divx decode xvid and that's how I got xvid working.
I admit I haven't tried your newest codec, only the one I mentioned - the 16 month old one.
I didn't try using restore points but next time I'll do that and I'll make sure I have your latest codec.
My concern is how much time is too much time to try to get something working? If xvid simply worked it would overtake divx. So far in my experience, I can install the divx codec and watch divx videos with little or no problems as long as I'm not trying to watch divx 2 videos or something really old.
And I'd really like to know why it is that divx can decode xvid, but the versions of xvid that I tried can't.
Yes, maybe it's just me and my computer having this problem. But if so, why are there so many posts in this forum from people having problems with green and black and upside down screens?
I am not the enemy. I want xvid to succeed. I like how anything about the encoder can be adjusted to suit my needs.

[malkion]

Thanks Koepi, the link to the recent builds of ffdshow is a god send.

>>If this is the case, I suggest a clean install again:
Install divx, then xvid. If you need more codecs, use ffdshow (most recent build from athos [ http://athos.leffe.dnsalias.com/ ] would be good).
Instead of quicktime and realplayer you should use "quicktime alternative" and "realtime alternative", they don't mess up your system usually.

For the longest time I could start with a clean installation of XP, install my apps, then install divx, reboot, install xvid, reboot, and i would be done. Everything watchable after that. If I have an old xvid video divx couldn't decode, I learned to hit start menu, divx configuration utility, quality settings tab, and uncheck support for generic mpeg-4's. Plus I vouch I've installed quicktime for some movie previews afterwards and all videos still play just fine. Then finally would install ffdshow on top of that for instant post processing, maybe throw in a d-scaler, and still, all's well afterwards. :cool:

Forget to mention I've never tried Real Player, cant imagine what I'd use it for.

Good luck with your settings pf100.

[communist]

XviD DivX are both MPEG4 codecs. They can decode eachother (depending on the set of features you used in them). To make sure DivX doesnt take over, open up DivX Decoder Configuration (StartMenu -> DivX) -> Quality Settings -> uncheck Support Generic MPEG4.

Also for most of us XviD just works after installing :)
If you really want to make sure that XviD is used install latest ffdshow and XviD, open ffdshow configuration (startmenu->....) and under codecs select XviD4 for XviD.

[murattttt]

pf100, you don't have to install any codec if you just want to view them correctly. There are players around that can decode Mpeg4 without hassle. One of them is at www.videolan.org It can decode multiple audio and subtitle formats as well and uses very little CPU time (at my system ridiculously 5-7%). And I'm sure there are many others. The beauty of such MPEG4 players is you do not have to update the player every time there is a codec update. (Well, I suggest to update anything at least twice a year).

[crusty]

Well maybe I overreacted a bit, sorry for that..I don't like divx 5.11. It's too "dumbed down". I like divx 5.02
Well it's OK for encoding but not anymore for playback. There were things altered after 5.02 (don't ask me what) that can files made with 5.1.1 not playback properly on 5.02. So you should upgrade if you want full DivX playback compatability.
Then I installed quicktime and realplayer. One of those must have an installed an xvid codec.
Ah..Quicktime comes with an Mpeg-4 codec. It's very likely that that's the one that is used to play XviD. Mind you, that's not considered a clean system.

From your DRFAnalyzer result I'd say it's probably the more-than-one B-frames that's the culprit...54% definitely means more than one.
AFAIK DivX 5.1.1 is reported to decode that, but I don't know of such reports with 5.02.So, I have to make sure that the very latest xvid codec is installed? A 16 month old codec doesn't work any more with a video encoded with an old xvid codec?
Please reread what I said... that 16 month old build cannot handle B-frames..at all!
The fact that your file contains B-frames should already have made that clear to you.
I shouldn't have to find a workaround. you're missing the point. It should just work.
Well I agree with you on that part, mostly but not completely.
The whole XviD project is not only an open source project, it's volunteer-based, AND it's 'for educational purposes only'.
I could get way deep into the technicalities of these terms, but basically if you used a version from, say , 8 months ago, that was considered an alpha version, that could very well mean that some features were either not fully matured yet, experimental, untested, or possibly completely broken.
So while I agree with you that normally things should just work the way they're supposed to, XviD simply has been in alpha state for most of the time so it's not only highly improbable that it's fully matured, it's actually very likely that along the way some stuff breaks from time to time.
That's why there are workarounds. And believe me, the developers are working hard to automate those or facilitate their use, while purely from a developers standpoint they don't necessarily have to. I honestly believe it would help people if they didn't have to read every thread on a forum just to get an xvid video to play.
Well I agree with you. In fact I agree so much on that, that I spend a good part of last month typing in this XviD FAQ thingy. :D :D
If I could find a program and codec that would work, I would be more than happy to do that.
Well, obviously, you could use the codec you used to encode it in the first place. That's bound to decode it properly. :) The faq should say "install this codec and you will be able to watch xvid videos."
http://www.vslcatena.nl/~ronald/docs/xvidfaq.html#B1
To properly play XviD video you need at least a small program called a decoder installed on
your computer (Note: These are part of a more general genre of programs called filters in techie-talk).
For windows, the current decoder of choice is:
The 1.0-RC2 package from koepi's site at http://koepi.roeder.goe.net/
(get the whole package and not the RC1 decoder, it's not recent)
(OK so I haven't updated it yet to say RC3... :) He! I've been busy :D :D )All I'm trying to say here, is that I shouldn't have to spend an unreasonable amount of time to decode a video when I know what it was encoded with. ............ Until then, I feel that xvid has far too many decoding problems.
Well, the thing is, just because it says 'XviD'-file doesn't mean there's one XviD-solution. Sure the devs are working hard to make that a reality, but the very essence of XviD (being much more advanced than most other MPEG-4 codecs) makes it more difficult to handle. And like I said, it been in alpha state for a long time.

[pf100]

I'm going to study this entire thread and try everything suggested the next time I get a few days free and I don't know when that'll be. I'll document everything that happens and give you a report. I'm sure you'll all be hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for this. You can be assured that it will be a brutally honest and unbiased report.

Okay, that's not entirely true. I'll be biased in the sense that I understand that encoding video takes a lot of time, studying, and effort to get optimal results. I have no problems with digging through forums and googled web pages for days, weeks, and even months in that situation.

Installing a decoder, on the other hand, should be a no-brainer that my grandmother could handle (click the decoder setup, it asks if you want to install, click ok, codec installed, watch video).

With that said, I do appreciate the work you guys are putting into XviD.

[crusty]

Installing a decoder, on the other hand, should be a no-brainer that my grandmother could handle (click the decoder setup, it asks if you want to install, click ok, codec installed, watch video).
I agree completely...it actually works like that most of the time...
Perhaps the XviD team could give the decoder a higher priority by standard, so that DivX won't hijack it (it's a registry setting, not well known outside the techie scene).

EDIT:
But as you might know, most grannies aren't the best when it comes to computers, some might even try to start it by lighting a fire under it.:D

[lmcvity]

had similar problems, and fixed them all w/ a simple uninstall of ffdshow.

give this a shot, as ffdshow can play heck w/ a lot of systems in regards to playback of files, at least in my small amount of experience!

later on,