[Libav-user] Difference between AVCodecParserContext->parser->parser_parse() and avcodec_decode_video2()

[Tim van den Kerkhof]

Hello,

I'm trying to decode an H264 stream (via RTSP) using FFMPEG. I receive a 
frame (as unsigned char*) using the Live555 library (comparable to what 
Mplayer does). In the source code of Mplayer, the frame is decoded using:

AVCodecParserContext->parser->parser_parse(AVCodecParserContext*, 
AVCodecContext**, uint8_t*, int*, unsigned char*, int*);

In other programs (and on the internet), avcodec_decode_video2() is used 
to decode an H264 frame.
What is the difference between the two and which one should I use?

Regards,

Tim van den Kerkhof