summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/DOCS/xml/en/codecs.xml
blob: aec9a933bd83a06078bfd80ce9fa2bc2b0ced5af (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<!-- $Revision$ -->
<sect1 id="codecs">
<title>Supported codecs</title>

<sect2 id="video-codecs">
<title>Video codecs</title>

<para>
See the <ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/homepage/codecs-status.html">codec status table</ulink>
for the complete, daily generated list. Quite a few codecs are available for
download from our homepage. Grab them from our
<ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/">codecs page</ulink>.
</para>

<para>
The most important ones above all:
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><simpara>
  <emphasis role="bold">MPEG1</emphasis> (<emphasis role="bold">VCD</emphasis>) and
  <emphasis role="bold">MPEG2</emphasis> (<emphasis role="bold">DVD</emphasis>) video
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  native decoders for <emphasis role="bold">DivX ;-), OpenDivX (DivX4),
  DivX 5.01, 3ivX, M$ MPEG4</emphasis> v1, v2 and other MPEG4 variants
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  native decoder for <emphasis role="bold">Windows Media Video 7/8</emphasis>
  (<emphasis role="bold">WMV1/WMV2</emphasis>), and Win32 DLL decoder
  for <emphasis role="bold">Windows Media Video 9</emphasis>
  (<emphasis role="bold">WMV3</emphasis>), both used in <filename>.wmv</filename>
  files
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  native <emphasis role="bold">Sorenson 1 (SVQ1)</emphasis> decoder
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  native <emphasis role="bold">Sorenson 3 (SVQ3)</emphasis> decoder
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  <emphasis role="bold">3ivx</emphasis> v1, v2 decoder
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Cinepak and <emphasis role="bold">Intel Indeo</emphasis> codecs (3.1,3.2,4.1,5.0)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  <emphasis role="bold">MJPEG</emphasis>, AVID, VCR2, ASV2 and other hardware
  formats
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  VIVO 1.0, 2.0, I263 and other <emphasis role="bold">h263(+)</emphasis> variants
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  FLI/FLC
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  <emphasis role="bold">RealVideo 1.0 &amp; 2.0</emphasis> from
  <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>, and
  <emphasis role="bold">RealVideo 3.0 &amp; 4.0</emphasis> codecs using RealPlayer
  libraries
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  native decoder for HuffYUV
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Various old simple RLE-like formats
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>
If you have a Win32 codec not listed here which is not supported yet,
please read the <link linkend="win32-codecs">codec importing HOWTO</link>
and help us add support for it.
</para>


<sect3 id="divx4-5">
<title>DivX4/DivX5</title>

<para>
This section contains information about the DivX4 and DivX5 codecs of
<ulink url="http://www.projectmayo.com">Project Mayo</ulink>.
Their first available alpha version was OpenDivX 4.0 alpha 47 and 48.
Support for this was included in <application>MPlayer</application> in the
past, and built by default. We also used its postprocessing code to
optionally enhance visual quality of MPEG1/2 movies. Now we use our own,
for all file types.
</para>

<para>
The new generation of this codec is called DivX4 and can even decode
movies made with the infamous DivX codec! In addition it is much faster
than the native Win32 DivX DLLs but slower than
<systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>.
Hence its usage as a decoder is
<emphasis role="bold">discouraged</emphasis>. However, it is useful for
encoding. One disadvantage of this codec is that it is not available under an
Open Source license.
</para>

<para>
DivX4 works in two modes:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term><option>-vc odivx</option></term>
<listitem><simpara>
  Uses the codec in OpenDivX fashion. In this case it produces YV12 images
  in its own buffer, and <application>MPlayer</application> does colorspace
  conversion via libvo. (<emphasis role="bold">Fast, recommended!</emphasis>)
  </simpara></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>-vc divx4</option></term>
<listitem><simpara>
  Uses the colorspace conversion of the codec.  In this mode you can use
  YUY2/UYVY, too. (<emphasis role="bold">SLOW</emphasis>)
  </simpara></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>

<para>
The <option>-vc odivx</option> method is usually faster, due to the fact
that it transfers image data in YV12 (planar YUV 4:2:0) format, thus
requiring much less bandwidth on the bus. For packed YUV modes (YUY2, UYVY)
use the <option>-vc divx4</option> method. For RGB modes the speed is the
same, differing at best according to your current color depth.
<note>
<para>
If your <option>-vo</option> driver supports direct rendering, then <option>-vc
divx4</option> may be faster, or even the fastest solution.
</para>

<para>
The DivX4/5 binary codec library can be downloaded from
<ulink url="http://avifile.sourceforge.net">avifile</ulink> or
<ulink url="http://www.divx.com">divx.com</ulink>
Unpack it, run <filename>./install.sh</filename> as root and do not forget adding
<filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib</filename> to your
<filename>/etc/ld.so.conf</filename> and running <command>ldconfig</command>.
</para>

<para>
Get the CVS version of the OLD OpenDivX core library like this:
</para>

<procedure>
<step><para>
<screen>cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.projectmayo.com:/cvsroot login</screen>
</para></step>
<step><para>
<screen>cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.projectmayo.com:/cvsroot co divxcore</screen>
</para></step>
<step><para>
This core library is split into a decore and encore library that have to be
compiled separately. For the decore Library, simply type
<screen>
cd divxcore/decore/build/linux
make
cp libdivxdecore.so /usr/local/lib
ln -s libdivxdecore.so /usr/local/lib/libdivxdecore.so.0
cp ../../src/decore.h /usr/local/include
</screen>
</para></step>
<step><para>
Alas, for the encore library there is no Linux Makefile available, and the
MMX optimized code only works on Windows. You can still compile it, though,
by using this
<ulink url="ftp://ftp.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/contrib/divx-mf/Makefile">Makefile</ulink>.
<screen>
cd ../../../encore/build
mkdir linux
cd linux
cp path/Makefile .
make
cp libdivxencore.so /usr/local/lib
ln -s libdivxencore.so /usr/local/lib/libdivxencore.so.0
cp ../../src/encore.h /usr/local/include
</screen>
</para></step>
</procedure>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> autodetects DivX4/DivX5 if it is
properly installed, just compile as usual. If it does not detect it, you
did not install or configure it correctly.
</para>

</note>
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="ffmpeg" xreflabel="FFmpeg/libavcodec">
<title>FFmpeg/libavcodec</title>

<para>
<ulink url="http://ffmpeg.sourceforge.net">FFmpeg</ulink> contains an
<emphasis role="bold">open source</emphasis> codec package, which is capable
of decoding streams with various audio and video codecs. It also offers an
impressing encoding facility and higher speed than the Win32 codecs or the
DivX.com DivX4/5 libraries!
</para>

<para>
It contains a lot of nice codecs, especially important are the MPEG4 variants:
DivX3, DivX4, DivX5, Windows Media Video 7/8 (WMV1/WMV2). Also a very interesting one
is the WMA decoder.
</para>

<para>
The most recent codec deserving credit is the <emphasis role="bold">Sorenson 3</emphasis>
(SVQ3) codec. This is the first, completely opensource implementation. It's even
faster than the original. Be sure to prefer this instead of the binary codec!
</para>

<para>
For a complete list of supported codecs please visit the FFmpeg homepage.
Supported <ulink url="http://www.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-doc.html#SEC19">video</ulink>
and <ulink url="http://www.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-doc.html#SEC20">audio</ulink> codecs.
</para>

<para>
If you use an <application>MPlayer</application> release you have
<systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>
right in the package, just build  as usual. If you use
<application>MPlayer</application> from CVS you have to extract
<systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem> from
the FFmpeg CVS tree as FFmpeg releases are very rare. The CVS is mostly stable
and offers the most features. In order to achieve this do:
</para>

<procedure>
<step><para>
  <screen>cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@mplayerhq.hu:/cvsroot/ffmpeg login</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  <screen>cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@mplayerhq.hu:/cvsroot/ffmpeg co ffmpeg</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  Move the <filename>libavcodec</filename> directory from the FFmpeg
  sources to the root of the <application>MPlayer</application> CVS tree.
  It should look like this:
  <filename class="directory">main/libavcodec</filename>
  </para><para>
  Symlinking is <emphasis role="bold">not</emphasis> enough, you have to
  copy/move it!
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  If you prefer having <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>
  updated at the same time you update
  <application>MPlayer</application> CVS, put the following line into the
  <filename>main/CVS/Entries</filename> file:
  <screen>D/libavcodec////</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  Compile. <filename>configure</filename> should detect problems before
  compilation.
  </para></step>
</procedure>

<note>
<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> from CVS does contain a
<filename>libavcodec</filename> subdirectory, but it does
<emphasis role="bold">not</emphasis> contain the source for
<systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>!
You must follow the steps above to obtain the source for this library.
</para>
</note>

<para>
With FFmpeg and my Matrox G400, I can view even the highest resolution DivX
movies without dropped frames on my K6-2 500.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="xanim">
<title>XAnim codecs</title>

<note>
<para>
Be advised that the XAnim binary codecs are packaged with a piece of text
claiming to be a legally binding software license which, besides other
restrictions, forbids the user to use the codecs in conjunction with any
program other than <application>XAnim</application>. However, the XAnim
author has yet to bring legal action against anyone for codec-related issues.
</para>
</note>

<formalpara>
<title>INSTALLATION AND USAGE</title>
<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> is capable of employing the XAnim codecs
for decoding. Follow the instructions to enable them:
</para>
</formalpara>

<procedure>
<step><para>
  Download the codecs you wish to use from the
  <ulink url="http://xanim.va.pubnix.com">XAnim site</ulink>.
  The <emphasis role="bold">3ivx</emphasis> codec is not there, but at the
  <ulink url="http://www.3ivx.com">3ivx site</ulink>.
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  <emphasis role="bold">OR</emphasis> download the codecs pack from our
  <ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/">codecs page</ulink>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  Use the <option>--with-xanimlibdir</option> option to tell
  <filename>configure</filename> where
  to find the XAnim codecs. By default, it looks for them at
  <filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib/codecs</filename>,
  <filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib/xanim/mods</filename>,
  <filename class="directory">/usr/lib/xanim/mods</filename> and
  <filename class="directory">/usr/lib/xanim</filename>.
  Alternatively you can set the environment variable
  <envar>XANIM_MOD_DIR</envar> to the directory of the XAnim codecs.
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  Rename/symlink the files, cutting out the architecture stuff, so they
  will have filenames like these: <filename>vid_cvid.xa</filename>,
  <filename>vid_h263.xa</filename>, <filename>vid_iv50.xa</filename>
  </para></step>
</procedure>

<para>
XAnim is video codec family <systemitem>xanim</systemitem>, so you may want
to use the <option>-vfm xanim</option> option to tell <application>MPlayer</application>
to use them if possible.
</para>

<para>
Tested codecs include: <emphasis role="bold">Indeo 3.2, 4.1, 5.0, CVID, 3ivX,
h263.</emphasis>
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="vivo-video">
<title>VIVO video</title>
<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> can play Vivo (1.0 and 2.0) videos. The
most suitable codec for 1.0 files is FFmpeg's H263 decoder, you can use it
with the <option>-vc ffh263</option> option. For 2.0 files, use the
Win32 DLL through the <option>-vc vivo</option> option. If you do not supply
command line options <application>MPlayer</application> selects the best codec
automatically.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="mpeg12">
<title>MPEG 1/2 video</title>
<para>
MPEG1 and MPEG2 are decoded by the multiplatform native <systemitem
class="library">libmpeg2</systemitem> library, whose source code is
included in <application>MPlayer</application>.  We handle buggy MPEG 1/2
video files by catching <systemitem>Signal 11</systemitem>
(<systemitem>segmentation fault</systemitem>), and quickly
reinitializing the codec, continuing exactly from where the failure
occurred.  This recovery technique has no measurable speed penalty.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="msvideo1">
<title>MS Video1</title>
<para>
This is a very old and very bad codec from Microsoft. In the past it was
decoded with the <filename>msvidc32.dll</filename> Win32 codec, now we have
our own open source implementation
(by <ulink url="mailto:melanson@pcisys.net">Mike Melanson</ulink>).
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="cinepak-cvid">
<title>Cinepak CVID</title>
<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> uses its own open source, multiplatform
Cinepak decoder (by <ulink url="mailto:timf@csse.monash.edu.au">Dr. Tim Ferguson</ulink>)
by default. It supports YUV outputs, so that hardware
scaling is possible if the video output driver permits it.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="realvideo">
<title>RealVideo</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> supports decoding all versions of
RealVideo:

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><simpara>
  RealVideo 1.0, 2.0 (fourcc RV10, RV20) - en/decoding supported by
  <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  RealVideo 3.0, 4.0 (fourcc RV30, RV40) - decoding supported by
  <emphasis role="bold">RealPlayer libraries</emphasis>
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>

<para>
It is recommended to download and install <application>RealPlayer8</application>
or <application>RealONE</application>, because <application>MPlayer</application>
can use their libraries to decode files with RealVideo 2.0 - 4.0 video. The
<application>MPlayer</application> <filename>configure</filename> script should
detect the <application>RealPlayer</application> libraries in the standard
locations of a full installation. If it does not, tell <filename>configure</filename>
where to look with the <option>--with-reallibdir</option> option.
</para>

<para>
As a second chance you can download the codecs from
<ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/">http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/</ulink>.
After downloading the Real codecs package, extract it to the
<filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib/codecs</filename> directory, or you can
specify a unique path with the <option>--with-reallibdir</option> option.
</para>

<note><para>
<application>RealPlayer</application> libraries currently
<emphasis role="bold">only work with Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD and Cygwin on the x86,
Alpha and PowerPC (Linux/Alpha and Linux/PowerPC have been tested) platforms</emphasis>.
</para></note>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="xvid">
<title>XviD</title>

<para>
<ulink url="http://www.xvid.org">XviD</ulink> is a forked development of the
OpenDivX codec. It happened when ProjectMayo changed OpenDivX to closed source
DivX4 (now DivX5), and the non-ProjectMayo people working on OpenDivX got angry,
then started XviD. So both projects have the same origin.

<itemizedlist>
<title>ADVANTAGES</title>
<listitem><simpara>
  open source
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  its API is compatible with DivX4 so adding support for it is easy
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  2-pass encoding support
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  nice encoding quality, higher speed than DivX4 (you can optimize it for
  your box while compiling)
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<itemizedlist>
<title>DISADVANTAGES</title>
<listitem><simpara>
  currently it does not properly <emphasis role="bold">decode</emphasis> all
  DivX/DivX4 files (no problem as
  <link linkend="ffmpeg"><systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem></link>
  can play them)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  under development
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>

<procedure>
<title>INSTALLING XVID CVS</title>
<para>
  It is currently available only from CVS. Here are download and installation
  instructions (you need at least autoconf 2.50, automake and libtool):
</para>
<step><para>
  <screen>cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.xvid.org:/xvid login</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  <screen>cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.xvid.org:/xvid co xvidcore</screen>
</para></step>
<step><para>
  <screen>cd xvidcore/build/generic</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  <screen>./bootstrap.sh</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  <screen>./configure</screen>
  You may have to add some options (examine the output of
  <screen>./configure --help</screen>).
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  <screen>make &amp;&amp; make install</screen>
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  If you specified <option>--enable-divxcompat</option>,
  copy <filename>../../src/divx4.h</filename> to
  <filename class="directory">/usr/local/include/</filename>.
  </para></step>
<step><para>
  Recompile <application>MPlayer</application> with
  <option>--with-xvidcore=<replaceable>/path/to/</replaceable>libxvidcore.a</option>.
  </para></step>
</procedure>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="sorenson">
<title>Sorenson</title>

<para>
Sorenson is a video codec developed by Sorenson Media and licensed to Apple who
distribute it with their <application>QuickTime Player</application>. We are
currently able to decode all version of Sorenson video files with the following
decoders:
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><simpara>
  Sorenson Video v1 (fourcc <emphasis>SVQ1</emphasis>) - decoding supported
  by <emphasis role="bold">native codec</emphasis>
  (<link linkend="ffmpeg"><systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem></link>)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Sorenson Video v3 (fourcc <emphasis>SVQ3</emphasis>) - decoding supported by
  <emphasis role="bold">native codec</emphasis>
  (<link linkend="ffmpeg"><systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem></link>)
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<procedure>
<title>COMPILING MPLAYER WITH QUICKTIME LIBRARIES SUPPORT</title>
<note><para>currently only 32bit Intel platforms are supported.</para></note>
<step><para>download <application>MPlayer</application> CVS</para></step>
<step><para>download QuickTime DLL pack from
<ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/"/>
</para></step>
<step><para>extract QuickTime DLL pack to your Win32 codecs directory
(default: <filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib/codecs/</filename>)
</para></step>
<step><para>compile <application>MPlayer</application></para></step>
</procedure>

</sect3>
</sect2>

<!-- ********** -->

<sect2 id="audio-codecs">
<title>Audio codecs</title>

<itemizedlist>
<title>The most important audio codecs above all:</title>
<listitem><simpara>
  MPEG layer 1/2/3 (MP1/2/3) audio (<emphasis role="bold">native</emphasis>
  code, with MMX/SSE/3DNow! optimization)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Windows Media Audio 7 and 8 (aka WMAv1 and WMAv2) (<emphasis role="bold">native</emphasis> code, with
  <link linkend="ffmpeg"><systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem></link>)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Windows Media Audio 9 (WMAv3) (using DMO DLL)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  AC3 Dolby audio (<emphasis role="bold">native</emphasis> code, with
  MMX/SSE/3DNow! optimization)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  AC3 passing through soundcard hardware
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  AAC
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Ogg Vorbis audio codec (<emphasis role="bold">native</emphasis> library)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  RealAudio: DNET (low bitrate AC3), Cook, Sipro and ATRAC3
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  QuickTime: Qualcomm and QDesign audio codecs
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  VIVO audio (g723, Vivo Siren)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  Voxware audio (using DirectShow DLL)
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  alaw and ulaw, various gsm, adpcm and pcm formats and other simple old
  audio codecs
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>


<sect3 id="swac3">
<title>Software AC3 decoding</title>

<para>
This is the default decoder used for files with AC3 audio.
</para>

<para>
The AC3 decoder can create audio output mixes for 2, 4, or 6 speakers.
When configured for 6 speakers, this decoder provides separate output of
all the AC3 channels to the sound driver, allowing for full "surround
sound" experience without the external AC3 decoder required to use the
hwac3 codec.
</para>

<para>
Use the <option>-channels</option> option to select the number of output
channels.  Use <option>-channels 2</option> for a stereo downmix.  For a 4
channel downmix (Left Front, Right Front, Left Surround and Right Surround
outputs), use <option>-channels 4</option>.  In this case, any center
channel will be mixed equally to the front channels.  <option>-channels
6</option> will output all the AC3 channels as they are encoded - in the
order Left, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, Center and LFE.
</para>

<para>
The default number of output channels is 2.
</para>

<para>
To use more than 2 output channels, you will need to use OSS, and have a
sound card that supports the appropriate number of output channels via the
SNDCTL_DSP_CHANNELS ioctl.  An example of a suitable driver is emu10k1
(used by Soundblaster Live! cards) from August 2001 or newer (ALSA CVS is
also supposed to work).
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="hwac3">
<title>Hardware AC3 decoding</title>
<para>
You need an AC3 capable sound card, with digital out (SP/DIF). The card's
driver must properly support the AFMT_AC3 format (C-Media does).  Connect
your AC3 decoder to the SP/DIF output, and use the <option>-ac
hwac3</option> option. It is experimental but known to work with C-Media
cards and Soundblaster Live! + ALSA (but not OSS) drivers and DXR3/Hollywood+
MPEG decoder cards.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="libmad">
<title>libmad support</title>

<para>
<ulink url="http://mad.sourceforge.net">libmad</ulink> is a multiplatform,
integer (internally 24bit PCM) only
MPEG audio decoding library. It does not handle broken files well, and it
sometimes has problems with seeking, but it may perform better on FPU-less
(such as <link linkend="arm">ARM</link>) platform than mp3lib.
</para>

<para>
To enable support, compile with the <option>--enable-mad</option> configure
option.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="vivo-audio">
<title>VIVO audio</title>
<para>
The audio codec used in VIVO files depends on whether it is a VIVO/1.0 or
VIVO/2.0 file. VIVO/1.0 files have <emphasis role="bold">g.723</emphasis> audio,
and VIVO/2.0 files have <emphasis role="bold">Vivo Siren</emphasis> audio. Both are
supported.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="realaudio">
<title>RealAudio</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> supports decoding nearly all versions of
RealAudio:
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><simpara>
  RealAudio DNET - decoding supported by
  <systemitem class="library">liba52</systemitem>
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  RealAudio Cook/Sipro/ATRAC3 - decoding supported by
  <emphasis role="bold">RealPlayer libraries</emphasis>
  </simpara></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>
On how to install RealPlayer libraries, see the
<link linkend="realmedia">RealMedia file format</link> section.
</para>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="qdesign">
<title>QDesign codecs</title>
<para>
QDesign audio streams (fourcc:&l