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Dealing w/ Codec Hell Under Multiple OSes?
Dixie_Flatline asks: "I just downloaded some videos from here and there, and I found myself floundering in codec hell. I've got AVIs and MPGs, and none of them play. I've got DivX and 3ivX installed, and I even tried using DivX Doctor on some of the AVIs. The other AVIs refused to be processed, and even the MPGs won't play! When I put them onto a Win2000 box, I found that only SOME of the AVIs played, most of them didn't and the MPGs were STILL broken. Is there a codec pack out there that has everything I need all packaged up neatly? How do I get myself out of this? I just want to watch my media files!" While there probably isn't a be-all-end-all codec pack for your specific OS, what web resources are useful for people who need to find a codec (even an obscure one) before they can play their media files?
There are programs out there specifically designed to identify the codec. Not to make a plug but I use a program called G Spot. It tells you what codec is need and where on your system is the codec supposed to be. YMMV if you're a on non windows system. Try to not mod me down for using windows.
Put as many windows codec's under /usr/win32 and let mplayer have a shot at them. I've not seen one AVI that it couldnt play correctly.
Xine, on the other hand....
If you are using windows,
try using ffdshow, media player classic,
and oggDS filter.
you can find ffdshow and media player classic
at sourceforge, and get oggDS here:
http://tobias.everwicked.com/oggds.htm
I can't guarantee this combination will play
all AVIs and MPGs, but it works for me.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Should play most everything!
While there probably isn't a be-all-end-all codec pack for your specific OS
Actually, there is -- for Windows at least. But I've tried it before, and installing every possibly codec, most of which you never use, only makes things worse, not better. I find it better to ignore the all-in-one packages and just get the codecs from the proper sources. So grab xvid and divx and ac3filter--that'll cover most of it--and then grab other ones as you need them.
what web resources are useful for people who need to find a codec (even an obscure one) before they can play their media files?
Which is where AVIcodec comes in. What it does is show you what audio and video codecs are used by your media files. So when you find a file that doesn't work properly, it'll let you know what to look for. Google is normally enough after that, but RareWares is a good place to find some of the more obscure codecs.
For those that don't know, there is a mplayer for debian apt source available.
I second the recommendation, but it's really a multimedia debian apt source, with lots of players and codecs, rippers and encoders, etc., not just mplayer. Basically, it's got all of the media stuff that Debian won't carry because of patent and DMCA concerns.
The xine packages on marillat are really nice, too.
Just add one of the three lines below to your sources.list, depending on which version of Debian you run (stable, testing, unstable):
Great stuff. Or so I'm told. Given that I live in the US, I obviously wouldn't use any of this potentially illegal and undoubtedly subversive software.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
There is a site devoted to video/audio codecs.
As a sidenote, I'd strongly suggest you try the latest MPlayer builds for Windows. Powerful stuff. Shameless plug.
Having played a lot with video encoding in my spare time (which isn't hard to do when you've been unemployed for seven months), I will bestow on you some tips on the world of encoded video, so that you won't have to go through as much teeth gnashing, hair pulling, and head slapping that I have. :) (Note: I work primarily on a Win32 machine, so if you want to do this on another platform, just kindly ignore all the words below. :P)
The most likely problem you are facing is that you don't have the right codecs installed to play the files you want. As someone mentioned before, Nimo is your best friend in this case, as it's a file pack that contains a multitude of codecs and filters to play almost everything under the sun.
But say you install Nimo, and things still don't work. What then? Well, assuming you still don't have the right codec, then it's time to meet your other new best friend, AVIcodec. Don't let the name fool you. This little program will identify the codec you need for AVI's, MPEG's, WMV's, ASF's, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. I also hear good things about GSPot, but AVIcodec works too well for me to change. :)
Now, say you run into a file that uses MPEG2 for video or has an AC3 audio stream. Well, you won't find any codecs for those on the web, because the Motion Picture Experts Group likes to rake in those licensing fees. (Well, you MAY find a codec or two out there, but keep in mind if you download them and don't have to pay a fee, it's almost certainly illegal.) What you then need to do is to install a software DVD player like PowerDVD or WinDVD, and that'll straighten things out for you.
Now let's say you're SURE you have the right codecs installed, and the video STILL won't play. Well, that just blows, because your file is probably damaged, or in the case of an AVI, it's incomplete. If you've got an AVI, run over and grab AVIPreview, which is a nice program that'll let you preview incomplete AVI's (see? "AVIPreview"? :P). If it plays in there, and you don't feel like downloading a complete version of the file (which you sometimes can't find when you're using P2P services), AVIPreview will let you save the file with a complete container so most media players won't complain.
Now... (*takes a breath*), if it isn't an AVI, then the likelyhood you'll be able to fix the problem goes down considerably. Free ASF and WMV editing programs are few and far between (and we all know who owns those file formats), and almost all MPEG issues will continue to niggle you unless you do a full-blown re-encode of the file. You can definitely try downloading VCDGear and checking the "Fix MPEG Errors" checkbox, but this almost NEVER works (i.e., times it worked for me: none).
And keep in mind these are the EASY solutions. If you're actually interested in using video editing/encoding programs, then take a visit to Doom9 or DVDRhelp.com. The forums and guides on these sites are a boon to the video encoding enthusiast, and the forum regulars tend to be pretty friendly, too. :)
Best of luck and well wishes...
"Each time you smile, it'll only last awhile. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary."
Nobody here has mentioned it yet, so I'll remark that VirtualDub is the best at opening and reconstructing broken AVI files.
It was edited out that I'm using a G5 with OS X. Thanks to all of you that have answered, even with non-OS X information. I've managed to glean enough from here and there that I've so-far managed to solve most of my problems, except for WMA encoded AVIs, which even DivX Doctor has no solution for on OS X systems.