path: root/DOCS/xml/en/codecs.xml

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<chapter id="codecs">
<title>Codecs</title>

<sect1 id="video-codecs">
<title>Video codecs</title>

<para>
See the <ulink url="../../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">MPEG-1</emphasis> (<emphasis role="bold">VCD</emphasis>) and
  <emphasis role="bold">MPEG-2</emphasis> (<emphasis role="bold">DVD</emphasis>) video
  </simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>
  native decoders for <emphasis role="bold">DivX ;-), OpenDivX (DivX4),
  DivX 5 (Pro), 3ivX, M$ MPEG-4</emphasis> v1, v2 and other MPEG-4 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">H.263(+)</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="codec-importing">codec importing HOWTO</link>
and help us add support for it.
</para>


<sect2 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 MPEG-1/2 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.sf.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>
</sect2>


<sect2 id="ffmpeg" xreflabel="FFmpeg/libavcodec">
<title>FFmpeg/libavcodec</title>

<para>
<ulink url="http://ffmpeg.org">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 MPEG-4 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 is 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://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-doc.html#SEC19">video</ulink>
and <ulink url="http://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-doc.html#SEC20">audio</ulink> codecs.
</para>

<para>
Both <application>MPlayer</application> releases and
<application>MPlayer</application> from Subversion contain
<systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem> so you don't have
to care about making a separate <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem> checkout.
Just run <filename>configure</filename> and compile.

<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>
</sect2>


<sect2 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,
H.263.</emphasis>
</para>
</sect2>


<sect2 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 H.263 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>
</sect2>


<sect2 id="mpeg12">
<title>MPEG-1/2 video</title>
<para>
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 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>
</sect2>


<sect2 id="avicodecs">
<title>MS Video1, Cinepak CVID, and other older codecs</title>
<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> is able to play most of the older codecs
used in AVI and MOV files.
In the past they were decoded with binary Win32 codecs, but now we have
<emphasis role="bold">native codecs</emphasis> for most of them using
<link linkend="ffmpeg"><systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem></link>.
</para>
</sect2>


<sect2 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>
Download Real codecs from
<ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/">http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/</ulink>
and extract them to the
<filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib/codecs</filename> directory.
If you want to store them in a different location, pass the
<option>--with-reallibdir</option> option to <command>configure</command>.
</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 and with Mac OS X</emphasis>.
</para></note>
</sect2>


<sect2 id="xvid">
<title>XviD</title>

<para>
<ulink url="http://www.xvid.org">XviD</ulink> is a free software MPEG-4 ASP
compliant video codec, which features two pass encoding and full MPEG-4 ASP
support, making it a lot more efficient than the well-known DivX codec.
It yields very good video quality and good performance due to CPU
optimizations for most modern processors.
</para>
<para>
It began as a forked development of the OpenDivX codec.
This 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.
</para>

<procedure>
<title>Installing <systemitem class="library">XviD</systemitem></title>
<para>
  Like most open source software, it is available in two flavors:
  <ulink url="http://www.xvid.org/downloads.html">official releases</ulink>
  and the CVS version.
  The CVS version is usually stable enough to use, as most of the time it
  features fixes for bugs that exist in releases.
  Here is what to do to make <systemitem class="library">XviD</systemitem>
  CVS work with <application>MEncoder</application> (you need at least
  <application>autoconf</application> 2.50,
  <application>automake</application> and <application>libtool</application>):
</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
  <command>./configure --help</command>).
  </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-xvidlibdir=<replaceable>/path/to/</replaceable>libxvidcore.a</option>
  <option>--with-xvidincdir=<replaceable>/path/to/</replaceable>xvid.h</option>
  </para></step>
</procedure>
</sect2>


<sect2 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 32-bit Intel platforms are supported.</para></note>
<step><para>download <application>MPlayer</application> Subversion</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>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="codec-x264">
<title>x264</title>

<sect3 id="codec-x264-whatis">
<title>What is x264?</title>
<para>
  <systemitem class="library">x264</systemitem> is a library for
  creating H.264 video streams.
  It is not 100% complete, but currently it has at least some kind
  of support for most of the H.264 features which impact quality.
  There are also many advanced features in the H.264 specification
  which have nothing to do with video quality per se; many of these
  are not yet implemented in
  <systemitem class="library">x264</systemitem>.
</para>

<itemizedlist>
<title>Encoder features</title>
  <listitem><para>CAVLC/CABAC</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Multi-references</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Intra: all macroblock types (16x16, 8x8, and 4x4 with
    all predictions)</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Inter P: all partitions (from 16x16 down to
    4x4)</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Inter B: partitions from 16x16 down to 8x8
    (including SKIP/DIRECT)</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Ratecontrol: constant quantizer, constant bitrate,
    single or multipass ABR, optional VBV</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Scene cut detection</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Adaptive B-frame placement</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>B-frames as references / arbitrary frame
    order</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>8x8 and 4x4 adaptive spatial transform</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Lossless mode</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Custom quantization matrices</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Parallel encoding of multiple slices</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</sect3>

<sect3 id="codec-h264-whatis">
<title>What is H.264?</title>
<para>
  H.264 is one name for a new digital video codec jointly developed
  by the ITU and MPEG.
  It can also be correctly referred to by the cumbersome names of
  "ISO/IEC 14496-10" or "MPEG-4 Part 10".
  More frequently, it is referred to as "MPEG-4 AVC" or just "AVC".
</para>
<para>
  Whatever you call it, H.264 may be worth trying because it can
  typically match the quality of MPEG-4 ASP with 5%-30% less
  bitrate.
  Actual results will depend on both the source material and the
  encoder.
  The gains from using H.264 do not come for free: Decoding H.264
  streams seems to have steep CPU and memory requirements.
  For instance, on a 1733 MHz Athlon, a DVD-resolution 1500kbps H.264
  video requires around 35% CPU to decode.
  By comparison, decoding a DVD-resolution 1500kbps MPEG-4 ASP stream
  requires around 10% CPU.
  This means that decoding high-definition streams is almost out of
  the question for most users.
  It also means that even a decent DVD rip may sometimes stutter on
  processors slower than 2.0 GHz or so.
</para>
<para>
  At least with <systemitem class="library">x264</systemitem>,
  encoding requirements are not much worse than what you are used to
  with MPEG-4 ASP.
  For instance, on a 1733 MHz Athlon a typical DVD encode would run
  at 5-15fps.
</para>
<para>
  This document is not intended to explain the details of H.264,
  but if you are interested in a brief overview, you may want to read
  <ulink url="http://www.cdt.luth.se/~peppar/kurs/smd151/spie04-h264OverviewPaper.pdf">The H.264/AVC Advanced Video Coding Standard: Overview and Introduction to the Fidelity Range Extensions</ulink>.
</para>
</sect3>

<sect3 id="codec-x264-playback">
<title>How can I play H.264 videos with <application>MPlayer</application>?</title>
<para>
  <application>MPlayer</application> uses
  <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>'s H.264
  decoder.
  <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem> has had at
  least minimally usable H.264 decoding since around July 2004,
  however major changes and improvements have been implemented since
  that time, both in terms of more functionalities supported and in
  terms of improved CPU usage.
  Just to be certain, it is always a good idea to use a recent Subversion
  checkout.
</para>
<para>
  If you want a quick and easy way to know whether there have been
  recent changes to <systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>'s
  H.264 decoding, you might keep an eye on 
  <ulink url="http://svn.mplayerhq.hu/ffmpeg/trunk/libavcodec/h26