[MPlayer-users] Best mac / windows format?

[Ivan Kowalenko]

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On Jul 26, 2006, at 07.52, Vadim Garber wrote:

> I'm trying to upload a standard video format on the web for mac and  
> windows users, so they can download and view without much hassle.  
> The mac users would have quicktime installed, and the windows users  
> would have windows media player installed. No divx, no xvid.

Well, that's the theory. But why not just simply require the user to  
download an MPEG-4 codec of some sort (XviD, DivX, 3viX)? It's not  
like these are uncommon codecs, so it's highly probable that Windows  
users already have them installed. My only other suggestion is the  
use of the much dreaded and somewhat detested (by some) FLV. However,  
this requires your users to have Flash installed.

> So I'm guessing I'll need some very standard (mpeg2?) format. My  
> issue is that I've tried mpeg2video / mp2 for video / audio, and  
> could only get it to play on one mac (via quicktime), but there was  
> no sound. In windows WMP could not locate codecs.

Ditch MPEG-2. It's very universal, practically as ubiquitous as  
MPEG-1, but it's like commercial (or non-Free-as-in-speech apps) have  
a cactus up their... shirt, when it comes to playing them back. Apple  
requires a $30 fee to play back MPEG-2 in QuickTime, and WMP is just  
an over all mess.

> My current line:
> mencoder -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg2video -oac lavc -lavcopts  
> acodec=mp2 in.mpg -o out.mpg is what I've tried.
>
> I know you can just download codecs and get any video working. But  
> it's VERY important to understand that I'm trying to find something  
> that would work without the hassle of installing divx or any 3rd  
> party thing.

Well, try MPEG-1. Lower quality, but players seem to be a LOT less  
stingy about it. Anyway, I'm shocked WMP doesn't have built-in MPEG-4  
capabilities yet.

> I know quicktime supports a lot of formats, as does WMP,

Actually, I find WMP supports fewer than you think. QuickTime is a  
little better, but not by a whole lot. QT just happens to support a  
few codecs with standards that Apple doesn't control (MPEG-4, H.264,  
AAC)

> so I'm sure there is something I could try. Also if have a  
> suggestion of another format to use, try to show an example of how  
> to use it - I'm still new to mencoder, so I don't know all the  
> little extra things that some format might need.

If it were me, personally, I'd require either an MPEG-4 installation  
(with links pointing to a suitable codec, such as XviD binaries for  
Windows users), or offer up videos in Theora, and point people to VLC  
(or a codec for their system). It's not like we're asking a whole ton  
of users by saying "please install MPEG-4 to view this video." It's  
not like we're asking them to install a 348 MB OS upgrade.
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