VLC Media Player is an all-in-one powerful media player for all occasions. You don't have to look for and install any codecs and plug-ins, as the program installs them automatically and therefore can play almost all known file formats: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, H.264, mp3, ogg, flac (lossless), regular DVDs, VCDs, etc. The program can also be used as a server for broadcasting a stream via IPv4 or IPv6 protocols, while media files, disks, URLs or a capture device can be selected as a source. In addition, VLC Media Player can record or play streaming ...

Any Video Converter is a great program to easily convert video files. It easily lets you transcode the most popular video formats to DVD, MP4, VCD or FLV. In this utility, it is possible to use ready-made profiles in the process of encoding video files, with pre-set parameters that are oriented to certain devices, for example, a household DVD player, mobile phone. It is also possible to choose your own settings for converting. Before you start encoding the video, you can view it in the built-in player...

ComboPlayer is a program with wide functionality that is used to play movies, music, radio and even Internet TV. Main function ComboPlayer - view TV channels on your computer. Free package includes two dozen channels, including Russia-1, First, Match TV, TNT and other federal channels. The program also provides access to the TV schedule for most of the available channels. ComboPlayer has about 130 paid channels in HD quality. The program also works with torrent videos. If the torrent file of the movie you are interested in is available on the Internet, you can watch it through the program online.

WinX Video Converter is a program that stands out for its exceptional simplicity and clarity. It allows you to convert various types of files into many video and audio formats. File conversion occurs with just three user clicks. The application is equipped with the function of extracting an audio track from certain films and then recording it in mp3 format. In order to convert any segment of the film, you need to go to the search bar for preview and enter data about the beginning and end of such a segment. It is also possible to change the settings of the parameters relating to audio and video (change...

Kantaris Media Player is a free player with a user-friendly interface and a wide range of options for playing various files. This player has almost the same interface as Windows Media Player is from Microsoft, so you don't have to learn it and you can start using the program right away. The main feature of the player is that it can play files without installing codecs into the system, which saves you from performing unnecessary operations. This player supports all popular formats, including audio CD. In addition, the program has all the standard features.

IPTV your smartphone =)

Yes, video player http flow, and UDP =)

UDP proxy MXplayer gave me an error saying " mpeg2video not supported"!

Then go to the section Decoders"

custom decoders

That's all the magic =)

VLC, he's omnivorous =)

Details Magnum 24.12.2017

Playback error "mpeg2video not supported"

I decided this week to play with IPTV! Try to run it on your smartphone =)

What's hard to say here? Yes, basically nothing the right software there is a program for working with playlists, a video player that supports this function is also present. One thing but, the video is not on http flow, and UDP =)

After a little googling how to raise it on the router, I decided to do it. Later, as it turned out, to raise UDP proxy I didn’t need it, but what was my surprise when the player I liked, this is MXplayer, gave me an error saying " mpeg2video not supported"!

Then go to the section Decoders"

We go down to the very bottom and in the section custom decoders specify let to the received file

That's all the magic =)

Of course, you can not bother and just put yourself a VLC player, it is omnivorous =)

But we are not looking for easy ways! So may the force be with you, young Jedi ;)

Can't play videos on your Android smartphone or tablet with MX Player Android video player? Is there a picture but no sound or subtitles are not displaying correctly? There is only one conclusion - your video player needs codecs that will provide stable work applications. If earlier versions of the player had built-in programs, now codecs for MX Player Android need to be installed separately. In this review, we will collect links to the most necessary codecs for MX Player and MX Player Pro Android.

You will learn about the purpose and functions of codecs for MX Player Android, and you will also be able to download codecs for Android 4.2 and other OS versions by clicking on the links at the end of the article. In the meantime, a few words about the MX Player app for Android itself.

Why Choose MX Player

Millions of users download MX Player Pro for Android because this video player:

• thanks to hardware decoding, it supports a large number of video formats;
• operates on the basis of multi-core decoding, which improves performance;
• can zoom in and out while watching a video when you swipe the display;
• has convenient subtitle management, text size adjustment and other parameters;
• while excluding random launches applications, etc. while browsing thanks to the "smart lock" function.

Codecs (including those for MX Player Pro Android) are special applications, whose main purpose is to compress and play multimedia files. These processes are also called encoding and decoding, respectively, which gave the program its name.

Why does MX Player Android need file encoding

Multimedia files are large, especially when it comes to video, for this reason it is inconvenient to transfer them over the network. Thanks to the use of codecs for MX Player Android, the file size is significantly reduced, but the encoding process does not affect the quality.

If you encounter system errors when trying to play a video on a mobile device, then the installed player needs a suitable codec. It should be remembered that a codec without a video player is not effective - by itself it does not have the function of playing multimedia files. The purpose of the codec is to help MX Player.

Types of codecs

In order for MX Player Pro for Android to perform its functions, the correct codec must be installed. All applications are available in Google Play, the main thing is to choose the appropriate option. The codecs differ depending on the CPU architecture of the device:

• ARMv7;
• ARMv7 Neon;
• Tegra 3;
• ARMv6 VFP;
• ARMv6;
• ARMv5;

All types of codecs for Android 4.2 and other versions have the same purpose - the correct playback of multimedia files: audio and video.

How to install codecs on MX Video Player

• Launch MX Video Player on Android.
• Click on the button with the image of three dots and open the application settings.
• Go to the decoder section, scroll down the menu and find the column with the main settings.
• Find below the line "Custom codec" the name of the codec that is suitable for your device - this is the application you need to download.
• Find the app on Google Play and install on your mobile device on Android.

Remember: for correct operation, you must first download MX Player Pro for Android and only then install the required codec. The system will take care of the rest of the steps.

Codecs and modern smartphones

Play video in standard definition with codecs correctly selected for a specific hardware, very ancient gadgets can also. If we talk about smartphones that have been released in the last two or three years, then the vast majority of them will not encounter problems playing video in HD (720p) resolution with the right codecs.

Modern Microsoft Windows operating systems use a flexible architecture for working with video - DirectShow (formerly ActiveMovie), which replaced Video for Windows. Any player program that uses the DirectShow interface will automatically be able to use other DirectShow components installed in the system: video decoders, audio decoders, splitters (demultiplexers) for extracting audio / video streams from different container file formats, filters for processing them ( for example, to overlay subtitles). This allows each user to design a subsystem for working with video from various "cubes" to his liking - the OS is responsible for their intended use and automatic connection in chains.
On the Internet, you can find a number of articles on setting up a computer to play videos. The vast majority of these articles are designed for a reader with some technical knowledge. On the program website in English and German, where the setting is detailed for ordinary users without much technical difficulty. An exhaustive description of computer setup in Russian, written in a simple and plain language I have not been able to meet. Computer Requirements

Video playback is a very resource intensive task. The main requirement for a computer: the power of the central processor. The requirements for other computer subsystems are only the most basic: it is desirable to have enough memory so that Windows does not use the paging file during video playback, even if it is played from a separate hard drive; the CD drive and hard disk are required to work in DMA mode (that is, they do not take over processor resources).
A video card - at first glance, it is she who is primarily involved in the process - almost any will do. Since 2000, all models support hardware-accelerated video display: the so-called overlay(overlay, in ATI drivers this function is called "Window"), hardware resizing of the frame, brightness, contrast, color and saturation. For comfortable video viewing, the overlay functionality must be enabled. If for some reason the system does not automatically enable it (for example, if the width of the video is not a multiple of 32), you can force the overlay to be enabled using the settings of the player or video decoder. In order to get around this problem, a special program has been created:.
Modern video cards allow you to perform part of the calculations when decoding and processing video using a graphics processor. This allows you to more than double the load on the CPU when decoding video. The technology that allows you to use the resources of the video card when playing videos is called DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA). To use it, you need special decoders ( , ATI DVD Decoder from ), and not all player programs support DXVA. Today there are DXVA decoders for MPEG-2 only (hence the name: DVD decoder), plus an add-on for DXVA-enabled decoding (WMV). However, DXVA technology involves the use of graphics processor resources of the video card for many tasks: decoding various formats video compression, decoded video processing, and conversion of video recordings from interlaced to progressive format (deinterlace). So, it can use GPU resources to perform post-processing. The lack of appropriate decoders and programs is a matter of time. In the next version of the drivers, DXVA support for decoding and .
With the processor, the conversation is special. For video decoding, the more processor is required, the larger the frame of the video recording and the more complex the compression algorithm (more precisely, “decompression”). Therefore, such a formulation as “a processor with a frequency of N MHz is enough to decode a video” is generally not correct: you can always find a video with an even larger frame size and advanced compression, for which the processor power is not enough to decode. For example, various demos and video clips in MPEG-4 used to have predominantly resolutions of 320 and 640 pixels wide (a computer of 300-400 MHz is enough), today we are increasingly seeing 720, 800 (you need a processor of 800-950 MHz), and sometimes 1024 pixels wide (1.5-1.7 GHz). Already starting to spread HD (high definition, video high definition , resolution from 1280x720 to 1920x1080 pixels) - you will need processors faster than 2 GHz (according to you you will need a processor 2.4GHz for 720p and 3.2GHz for 1080p). A new, more efficient version of the MPEG-4 compression standard is gaining popularity: - decoding such videos requires about twice as much resources as decoding traditional MPEG-4 ASP (DivX, XviD, etc.) If the corresponding decoders support DXVA technology and the video card contains a sufficiently modern graphics processor, then the processor load during video playback can be halved (see, for example,).Decoding various video formats

MPEG-4 video

To play the vast majority of modern video you need an MPEG-4 ASP decoder: DivX 5/ 6 , XviD or ffDShow. In theory, the newer the decoder, the better it is: more functional, supports more formats, and more bugs have been fixed in it. Each of these decoders is capable of playing video with MPEG-4 ASP compression:

Notes:

1. The MS MPEG-4 and DivX 3 compression formats are not fully compatible with the ISO MPEG-4 video compression standard, because some decoders (for example, hardware ones) are not able to correctly play recordings with such compression.
2. The DivX decoder is capable of playing those recordings compressed by the XviD encoder that comply with the ISO MPEG-4 ASP standard. Early versions of the XviD encoder compressed video in a way that was not compatible with the standard. Since version 1.0, XviD video is fully compliant with ISO MPEG-4 ASP.
3. DivX decoder version 5.2 and later is capable of playing back XviD recordings with multiple bidirectional frames in a row (multiple b-frames) and with global motion compensation with 3 anchor points (GMC with 3 warp points).
4. The DivX decoder plays MS MPEG-4 v.3 compression after changing the codec signature (FourCC) to DIV3.

If several decoders are installed in the system to play the same format, then only one of them will be used when playing video of a certain format. You can determine which decoder is used by looking at the list of filters used during DirectShow playback: it is also displayed (for any player used), as well as many players even without the help of DivXG400 or VobSub: , , , etc.

Some "priority" settings for choosing a specific decoder can be changed using codec installation / configuration programs: for example, in XviD: decode DivX, or in DivX: Support generic MPEG-4. However, not all codecs provide such features. Windows system also does not offer a toolkit for setting the priorities for selecting various DirectShow filters, codecs and decoders. Therefore, it makes sense to install only one universal MPEG-4 video decoder in the system: this will avoid confusion (for example: you change the settings of one decoder, but in practice a completely different one is used to play video).

post-processing

MPEG-4 decoders contain a feature such as post-processing(post-processing): image processing in a special way, in which artifacts (distortions) of video compression are hidden. There are several standard post-processing algorithms, usually consisting of 6 stages. The more stages (levels) of post-processing are performed, the more computing resources are needed to play videos. Some decoders have the function of automatic regulation of the post-processing level: if the computing resources of your processor are not enough to play video with the selected quality level, then the decoder reduces the quality of post-processing - otherwise the decoder would have to skip frames of the video sequence.

MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)

The video compression format MPEG-4 AVC (advanced video coding, also called H.264) is becoming more and more popular, which allows encoders to provide a significantly higher level of quality at the same compression ratio than traditional MPEG-4 ASP, see for example. . Please note that this compression method requires about twice as much processing power during playback. Today there are a number of AVC video decoders: , Moonlight , MainConcept . Please note that AVC compressed videos are often stored in and used (for more details, see below in the relevant sections of the article).
MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) is one of the standard video compression formats of the HD-DVD standard (along with ).

DivX

The most common decoder is the decoder from . - 6.0 (with format support), - 5.2.1, currently being tested next version encoder optimized for multiprocessor/multi-core systems:. It has the functions of automatic control of the post-processing level and the addition of noise (film effect, film effect). The kit also contains the DivX Player plus the interface of all components is translated into 4 languages: English, German, French and Japanese; because the download size is quite large: 8 MB. (DivX Player supported on graphics cards ATI Radeon 9500 or better.)Optimal DivX decoder settings

Automatic post-processing - Partial or Full. The second option allows additional image processing when decoding video - such processing can slightly reduce the clarity of the video. Customize to taste. For slow computers, you can disable post-processing altogether: Disable Post-Processing.
Film effect - adds "film noise" when decoding, this should add "warmth" to the film in digital video(another myth from the "warm vinyl sound" series). On the other hand, the presence of noise in the picture allows you to hide the defects of excessive video compression. Customize the way you like.
Smooth playback - OFF, otherwise some recordings will twitch (eg compressed XviD).
YUV extended - ON Video decoding is faster, but in this case, it is not possible to correct brightness, contrast, and chrominance through the decoder. As a rule, it is more convenient to change these settings in the video adapter settings ().
Overlay extended - ON If this option is enabled, the hardware capabilities of the video card (overlay) will be used to display video. This is necessary, in particular, for playing video recordings when the player program window is not visible on the screen: if you have a TV-out, you can simultaneously work on the computer and watch videos on the TV screen. But if you simultaneously launch another video recording for playback, then its scaling will be done programmatically: this will almost certainly lead to jerks and out of sync audio and video.
Overlay extended - OFF If this option is disabled, hardware video acceleration will be automatically assigned by the operating system to the video that is visible on the screen on top of others. If you want to watch video through the TV-out of your video card, then as soon as the player window is minimized or covered by another window, the picture on the TV will “freeze”. Some video card drivers will help to bypass the problem: ATI - Overlay - Theater mode, or some players: LightAlloy - Video - Force overlay.
Double buffering - OFF, when enabled on some video cards, the video may twitch.
Disable Logo - to taste, turns off the display of the DivX logo in the first seconds of video playback. The appearance of the DivX logo on the screen makes it easy to identify if a DivX decoder is being used for playback.
Support Generic MPEG-4 - ON, support for non-DivX formats such as XviD. Notes

The latest, 6th version of the DivX codec was released quite recently: June 15, 2005. In the past, they have not released a single version of their codecs that would immediately work stably and without errors; there is every reason to believe that the same will happen with version 6.0. So, after optimizations and "", the new decoder in some modes for some reason requires twice as much processor power as the previous version of the 5.2.1 codec; and when decoding some files created by the DivX 3 encoder, it freezes completely (decoder version 5.2.1 easily plays these files). It is highly recommended to use - 5.2.1; let the 6th version be tested first, bugs caught, brought to mind ... Especially since the compression format is the same (DivX 5), and the new container format is backwards compatible with regular AVI.

Xvid

This codec is the result of the work of the OpenSource project. Its size is only about 640 KB. It is believed that this decoder implements the highest quality post-processing of the image. The post-processing level can only be adjusted manually, it is possible to add noise (film effect). - 1.03 (also testing version 1.1.0 beta)

In the XviD settings, the most important thing is post-processing. This decoder cannot automatically reduce the quality of post-processing in case of a full processor load. Therefore, if the video starts to "slow down" and twitch, frames are dropped - you need to reduce the level of post-processing: your processor's power is not enough to decode this video with the selected quality. To do this, in the Postprocessing section, disable the use of one or all image processing algorithms. In the FourCC Support section, you can enable support for video decoding, compressed DivX 4, DivX 5, and standard MPEG 4 video.

ffDShow

Highest performance decoder: It has minimal CPU usage for video playback, although the gains have been modest since the latest version of DivX. Also, this decoder is the most versatile: it allows you to decode material compressed by DivX versions 3, 4 and 5, XviD, MPEG-1, Microsoft MPEG-4 (v. 1, 2, 3), AVC / H.264 , DV, MJPEG, HuffYUV, Cinepack, Indeo - you can't list them all. (By the way: ffDShow contains parameters that allow you to decode recordings with XviD compression in compatibility mode with older versions of the encoder.) The latest versions also come with their own audio decoder (mp2, mp3, AC3, DTS, AAC, WMA 1 and 2), the quality of which , however, leaves much to be desired (but we must give it its due: the mp3 decoder is faster than the standard Windows decoder). ffDShow contains a huge number of filters for image processing: deinterlace, brightness/contrast, adding or removing noise, blurring, sharpening, perspective correction, and so on. There is also built-in support for displaying subtitles. To describe all the possibilities of this wonderful decoder in all respects, you will need to write a separate large article. This decoder was the first to implement the technology automatic adjustment post-processing level. Also in the latest versions, part of the interface has been translated into several languages, including Russian.
ffDShow is based on the libavcodec audio and video encoding library. Like many open source projects, this library is constantly being developed and improved. ffDShow Development News Announced on and in . With some regularity, the project releases alpha versions: - October 12, 2004. These options are more thoroughly tested and more stable in operation, but still no one guarantees you high-quality work. If any version of the decoder does not work for you, try replacing it with another one. Practice shows that new versions of ffDShow are quite stable and can be used instead of other decoders, especially since ffDShow is much more flexible and versatile. You can also try to use, but the probability of failures in them is much higher: on you can find latest version ffDShow in which no errors were found.

MPEG-2 video

Today, there are many programs for playing MPEG-2 video, such as DVD video. Many of these programs also support video playback in the format of digital satellite and cable television: MPEG-2 Transport Stream.
The most famous players ( : 6, price : $40 for the Standard version and $70 for the Deluxe version, for owners previous versions discounts available, 30-day trial available) and (latest version: 7, : $50 for Gold version and $70 for Deluxe version, for owners of previous versions of the program are available, available). WinDVD has a number of functional limitations: for example, it is not possible to play a copy DVD disc from the hard drive of the computer, if the files are not written to the VIDEO_TS directory. Very often, DVD drives or other computer accessories are bundled with one of these players ( motherboards etc.)

Both programs support almost all video and audio compression formats known today, and also contain a huge number of additional features for processing playback video and audio, designed to make viewing more comfortable and enjoyable. Each of the programs has a version of the interface in Russian. Both programs allow you to use DXVA for hardware acceleration of MPEG-2 decoding (however, in this mode additional processing video is not working).

WinDVD contains a number of interesting functional innovations: (the player builds intermediate frames based on the 25 frames per second recorded on DVD by interpolation and displays the recording at 60 or 75 frames per second: this gives exceptional image smoothness, see also the FAQ from ) or (allows compress the video playback time, for example, you can watch a 2-hour movie in 1.5 hours or watch movies recorded in PAL with native 24 frames per second for cinema - ).
Less common, but much appreciated by connoisseurs, programs from two other manufacturers: (latest version: 1.0, price: $15), 3.0 (latest version: 3.0, price: $20, 21-day available trial version, you can separately Elecard MPEG2 Video Decoder) and (latest version: 1.5, price: $30 for and $50 for , available, for $15 you can buy separately).

Supports playback of DVD videos and their copies, although AC3 audio decoding and DVD content decryption (CSS, content scrambling system) are not supported. supports video playback in MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 SP/ASP and H.264/AVC formats in resolutions up to HD (1920x1080 pixels), allows you to use DXVA for hardware-accelerated MPEG-2 decoding, supports audio compression formats MPEG-1/2/2.5 (including mp3), LPCM and AAC.

Available in two versions: and (does not support Dolby AC3 multi-channel audio). The player allows you to play video in MPEG-1/2 format, it is possible to use DXVA for hardware-accelerated video decoding. Manufacturers claim that their decoder plays DVD and competitor video.

MPEG2 decoders from DVD programs players can use any other DirectShow players. Many players even allow you to use the additional functions of DVD video: menus, switching audio tracks and subtitles, navigation through the "chapters" (chapters) of the disc - , , ,.
There are also a number of decoders that are distributed without player programs: firstly, these are decoders with support for DXVA (hardware acceleration of MPEG-1/2 decoding) (test versions are now distributed free of charge: and) and ATI DVD Decoder from the kit (latest version: , free for owners of ATI Radeon 9000 and older graphics cards, also available for $13). There is a free and open source decoder ( : 0.1.2, size: only 160 kB): please note that it does not support DVD video content (CSS, content scrambling system) and DXVA decryption. These decoders can also be used in any other DirectShow compatible players.
Special mention deserves a free player containing decoders for MPEG-1/2: (more details -). This player is able to play DVD without any additional modules: all necessary components built into the program itself. The size of this program in the archive is only about 2 MB!

QuickTime and Real video

To view videos in RealVideo (*.rm, *.rv, *.ram) and QuickTime (*.mov, *.qt) formats, you can install the native program: or respectively. This will install the necessary codecs into the system.

However, it is better to watch such videos using a player that has more user-friendly interface: for example, . On the Web, you can find compact alternative decoders for these formats, which are called - / . After installing them, you will be able to play videos in these formats using any DirectShow-compatible player.

Windows Media Video

Microsoft has recently been promoting its own video compression format - Windows Media Video (WMV), to play such recordings you need to install either, or the player version 8 or later (included in standard installation Windows XP). Typically, entries in Windows format Media Video uses Microsoft's container format: .
The WMV (Windows Media Video, aka VC-1) format is one of the standard video compression formats for the HD-DVD standard (along with ).

Other formats

To play back videos compressed using any other format, you need an appropriate decoder, such as: / , etc. An MPEG-1 video decoder is included with any version of Microsoft Windows.

Decoder packages

Today, decoder kits (codec packs, codec packs) are very popular, which some "hackers" put together. As planned, the user installs such a package once for himself, after which he will play videos with any video and audio compression format. Practice shows that such kits often lead to computer failures: "hackers" do not take into account the intricacies of the interaction of many codecs under different conditions (one of the common problems is that sound or video is played twice as fast as necessary). Due to the fact that new versions of encoders are constantly being released, it is also necessary to update versions of decoders: the idea of ​​“installing codecs once and for all” turned out to be unfeasible.
The only advantage of a codec pack is the ability to install several decoders at the same time. I do not recommend installing all the codecs that are included in the package: install only the minimum required set. To be able to play the vast majority of videos, you need to install only a few decoders: they are all mentioned in this article. Using such a package does not guarantee the absence of problems when playing videos: some codecs conflict with each other on some computers. In case of any problems, it is better to carefully understand the problem and install, remove or configure one necessary codec; rather than mindlessly installing a set of 20 codecs "for all occasions": this is fraught with a number of problems in the future.
The most popular decoder package is the one that exists in several versions of various sizes: Basic (1.4 M, the minimum required set, fits on one floppy disk), Standard (4.5 M, a set of decoders for playing various formats, contains), Full ( 12 M, a set of codecs for playback and encoding, contains K-Lite Standard) and (23 M, includes K-Lite Full, plus , and ). New versions of the package are released very often, following the update of one of the codecs included in the package. - 2.50. How to determine the video format

Users often encounter a problem: for some reason, the video is not playing. In the vast majority of cases, this problem is caused by the lack of a required video or audio decoder in the system. Finding the right decoder and installing it into the system is not at all difficult, it is difficult to determine which decoder is needed to play this or that video.
There are three options for solving this problem. The first is to use a player that, in the absence of a particular decoder, will automatically offer to download it from the Internet. , , , have such capabilities. This method, however, does not always work: the player may simply "not know" about the existence of any compression format.
The second way is to use a player that can display extended information about video files; for example or . Instead of the player, you can use a simple video editor (or its modification): open the video file and open the File Information window. Typically, programs display a so-called "four-character code" (FourCC), which serves as a kind of video encoder signature (for example: DIV3 - DivX 3, DIVX - DivX 4, DX50 - DivX 5/6, XVID - XviD). The audio format code is usually represented as a 4-digit hexadecimal number (eg 0x0055 - mp3, 0x2000 - AC3). Also, these programs indicate the file format: the type of container used (see). For popular formats, the program can also specify not only the code, but also the full name. In addition to this, it displays Additional Information, such as: recording duration, frame rate, number of channels and data flow in the audio track, etc. After you find out what recording format is used, you can find the necessary decoder on the Internet, for example, on special sites like.
And finally the third way: use special programs, which are designed to determine the format of video recordings.
AVIcodec allows you to determine the format of not only one, but also several files at once, checks for decoding support for each format in your system and offers to download the missing decoders from the Internet. The program has an interface in Russian. - 1.1.0.4, distributed free of charge.
gspot analyzes the contents of a video file, detects all compatible decoders in the system, performs basic diagnostics, and even gives advice on how to fix common video playback problems. The user has access to many parameters of various decoders, there is the possibility of test playback. You can also add a special item to the context menu for video files: Send to GSpot. - 2.21, version 2.52 passes, the program is distributed free of charge. In the new version, it will be possible to change the priorities for using different decoders to play certain compression formats.
abcAVI Tag Editor- this program is intended for editing text descriptors (tags, tags) of video recordings. Determining the recording format is one of its many possibilities. Video format information can also be displayed as a tooltip in Windows Explorer. The program allows you to create directories of video recordings, rename many files with video recordings, and much more. The program has an interface in Russian. - 1.8.1, distributed free of charge. Audio-video containers

A video recording consists of a video sequence, an audio track (or several), subtitles (possibly several), text comments to it, etc. The file in which the video is saved has a special format. In addition to the actual video sequence and audio track, it must contain service information: what format is used to compress video and audio, the so-called index (index, a data block that contains the addresses of the location of specific sections of the recording - it is used during rewind), text descriptors (tags, tags - post title, author, copyright information, etc.). The format of such a file is called container (container).
The traditional container for video recordings is AVI (Audio and Video Interleaved). Any version of Windows contains a special library (splitter or demultiplexer) that provides playback of files of this format. If the video is recorded in another container - not avi - then you will need the appropriate splitter program, after installing which you can play the corresponding recording with any DirectShow-compatible player. So, for the OGM (Ogg Media, file extension: ogm) container, the splitter can be found here: For the Matryoshka format (mkv, mka, mks extensions) - here: For . Some players - in particular - contain built-in splitters for some formats. Also popular is the one that supports Matryoshka and MP4 containers.
Microsoft is promoting a proprietary video container format: Windows Media. Such recordings usually use the compression method windows video Media Video (WMV) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) for audio compression. Usually such files have the extension asf, wmv or wm. To play such recordings, you need to install either a special set of decoders, or a player of version 8 or later (included in the standard installation of Windows XP).
The MPEG-4 standard has a description of its container: MP4 ( it is also used for HD-DVD). This container is not inferior in flexibility to the MPEG-2 container: it supports interactive elements (menus), multiple audio tracks, multiple subtitle options. So far, its popularity is small, but today it is used more and more often. Some programs - such as Moonlight , and - provide support for this container; they also install a DirectShow splitter for this container into the system, which allows such recordings to be played in any DirectShow-compatible player. Also popular is the one that supports Matryoshka and MP4 containers.
In the 6th version of DivX, its own container format was introduced - , which allows you to integrate menus, several audio tracks, several subtitle options into video files. This format is a modified AVI, and backward compatibility saved: video.divx can be played by any player using a standard AVI splitter (included with any version of Windows) and - of course, without additional features (menus, subtitles); the player should also be able to switch audio tracks (for example, it will play all audio tracks at the same time, and even correctly display the language of audio tracks). To correctly and fully play files in DivX Media format, you need to install the . Today, only players and (in : many players do not yet support this format) provide correct playback of such recordings. Image Adjustment

There are many ways to adjust the brightness, contrast, and color of a video. You can change the monitor settings, which is inconvenient: after watching the movie, you will want to work at the computer again and the settings will need to be returned to their original values. The tricks of modern monitor construction (MagicBright mode in Samsung MB or Presentation mode in Sony) simplify the task of changing the settings, however, the user still has to manually change the monitor settings twice: before and after watching the movie.
You can adjust the video settings in the player software. Firstly, not every player supports this (they support, say, and), and secondly, this task requires additional significant processor resources.
It is possible to control the brightness during decoding, if the decoder has this capability. The decoder allows you to adjust only the brightness. The decoder allows you to adjust the brightness, contrast and color (when YUV extended mode is disabled). allows you to adjust all video parameters. Whichever decoder is used, this operation will also consume processor resources (however, in this case, the losses can be very small). It is also inconvenient that the playback parameters are different for different decoders - it would be much more convenient to adjust the settings for all videos.
The best option is to use the Overlay control settings, which contain drivers for all modern video cards. Changing the image will be done in hardware at the expense of the resources of the video card - this is the time. Two - no need to change monitor settings every time to watch movies. Three: The settings will be the same for all video recordings, no matter how the recording is encoded. The Overlay settings will only be used for video display: this allows you to increase the brightness of the video, for example; while maintaining a low monitor brightness for normal work.

The mp3 audio compression format decoder is standard in the system starting from Windows 2000. If the system does not have an mp3 decoder, install the Windows Media decoding package.
If you need a DivX Audio decoder, install a codec for yourself (required 3.11!). This codec contains the necessary decoders in the kit. DivX 3.11 video codecs can be removed after installation - now they are completely unnecessary. For this you can use this batch file (Windows 98/ME version).
AC3 audio is best decoded with - this decoder is an order of magnitude better than its competitors: it has a number of settings that control the volume and dynamic range of the soundtrack (you can even adjust the volume separately for the low-frequency effects (LFE) channel, rear channels (Surround) and center channel (Voice) - it is usually used in movies to record dialogue). DVD soundtracks are very quiet by computer standards and have a fairly large dynamic range (i.e. some loud sounds they sound very loud, and quiet sounds are very quiet; on average, the volume level is quite low). There is a whole section in the manual for this filter devoted to adjusting the playback volume. Personally, I am annoyed by all sorts of automatic manipulations with the volume and dynamic range of the sound during playback, so I turn off the automation (Auto gain control) and unscrew the Master Gain engine almost to the maximum: practice shows that in the vast majority of movies, overflow (Clipping) does not occur (note: Dolby Labs standard downmixes audio to a maximum level of -10dB). This effect is accompanied by an audible pop or click: in this case, you need to reduce the Master Gain level. In the Speakers column, select your acoustic system configuration: I have 4-channel acoustics, 2 front and 2 rear channels. My system does not have a separate subwoofer channel, so the corresponding sounds are mixed to the front channels: Bass redirection.

To display subtitles in videos, it's best to install DivXG400 or VobSub - to taste - and not use subtitle support in the players. Both of these programs are in any DirectShow compatible player. Support for subtitles by player programs is usually less flexible and functional than in any of the programs mentioned (exception: , which includes all the functionality of VobSub and has a number of additional benefits, more details - ).

DivXG400

The filter has support for almost all subtitle formats known today, which is why it is so popular. There is additional opportunity display the current playback time and the current system time (this is very convenient when watching videos on a TV). Other service features include automatic resizing of the frame for widescreen video (cropping the edges), changing the aspect ratio of the frame (video stretching), playing video with a frame rate of exactly 25 (this is important when watching video on a TV: so that the image does not twitch). - 2.83, distributed free of charge.

VSFilter (formerly DirectVobSub)

The DirectShow filter for displaying subtitles is one of the few that correctly displays styles in subtitles: font size, color, location on the screen, etc. (Personally, I prefer to see subtitles always the way I specified in the DivXG400 or ffDShow settings, and not what the author of the subtitles wanted to see them.) - 2.36. The program is distributed free of charge.

Morgan Stream Switcher

This filter is designed to add to the ability to select one of the audio tracks for playback (if the video contains several). We must pay tribute - the filter performs its task, even adds a menu for choosing an audio track. But it works more than unsatisfactorily: it stutters when switching audio tracks, loads the system very much (much more than any other player with the ability to switch audio tracks), incorrectly plays records with VBR sound (sound and video are played back twice as fast). Also, this filter deprives other players of the ability to switch audio tracks on their own: they see only one audio track. Only some players can “fight” with Morgan Stream Switcher: , , , : they simply turn it off.
Often this filter quietly installs one of the decoder packages into the system, which further complicates the analysis of the situation “where did the problem with video playback come from?” The best thing to do with this filter is to remove it from your system. To do this, either use standard procedure(Start - Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs), or run this file under Windows 2000/XP/2003 (Windows 98/ME version).

ReClock

This filter allows you to synchronize the playback of video recordings on a computer (and a TV connected to a computer) with a frame rate - this ensures smooth playback of video and sound. It also allows you to change the video playback speed, for example, for high-quality video playback on a TV: PAL video equipment works with a frame rate of 25 frames / sec, many videos have a frame rate of 23.976 or 29.98 frames / sec. The filter allows you to change both the frame rate of the video during playback and the playback speed of the audio (including multi-channel audio formats are supported). Additionally, the filter contains settings for narrowing the dynamic range of the video audio (DRC, dynamic range compression). Distributed freely. - 1.5 beta8. Player programs

Due to the architecture of DirectShow, it is not very difficult to write a video player program for Windows. In this case, the author of the program can digress from the support of different formats - system components will be automatically involved using DirectShow - and focus on their "proprietary" service capabilities for video playback.
For this reason, not all players are described below, but only the most common ones. When describing the players, the emphasis will be placed on the specific capabilities of the programs - support for various compression formats is provided by the decoders installed in the system.

DivX Player

Player designed by . It is contained in the DivX codec installation package, supports only the most basic capabilities for video playback. Support for changing the type of interface (skins). The only program that supports

Windows Media Player 7 or later

Used as a standard video playback program in Windows 2000 and older, Windows XP contains version 8, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP contains version 9, you can download version 10 for free from the Microsoft website. Versions 7, 8 and 9 of the program have a rather inconvenient interface (intricately shaped main window, non-standard hotkeys, etc.) and only support basic video playback capabilities. So, if there are multiple audio tracks in a file, WMP will play them all at the same time.

Windows Media Player has advanced capabilities for playing sound and video over a network (including via the Internet), also contains a fairly flexible audio and video file cataloger, the ability to copy audio CDs to a computer, a built-in sound equalizer and image adjustment.
In the 10th version of Windows Media Player, the interface is brought to a more familiar rectangular shape:

and even added a compact interface mode, which is very similar to other video playback programs:

Other innovations in the new version are focused on the convenience of using the catalog of recordings; tools for buying music and video on the Internet are integrated into the program interface. Support has also been added for many portable devices (mp3 players, etc.) - you can load recordings into them directly from Windows Media Player.
Microsoft recently released an add-on that allows Windows Media Player 10 to use DXVA to decode Windows Media Video format video: hardware accelerated using the resources of the video card's GPU.

Windows Media Player 6.4

The latest version of the previous generation of the player from Microsoft - has a spartan interface, supports SAMI subtitles. Also plays all the audio tracks of a video at the same time. This version is kept in all new Windows versions and can be launched with the mplayer2 command.

Media Player Classic

The player has an interface very similar to Windows Media Player 6.4. However, do not confuse: this is the most powerful player that has support for all existing subtitle formats (including SSA and ASS with correct display of text styles), built-in decoders for various audio and video compression formats, audio track selection, audio channel redirection for multichannel systems, support for playing formats QuickTime and Real Media (if you have the appropriate packages installed), built-in splitters for Ogg and Matryoshka. The program has an advanced interface and many service options, such as frame capture and setting the audio delay relative to the video sequence. There is support for the WinLIRC interface for remotes remote control.
Of the unique features of the program, it is worth mentioning the ability to play DVD videos without any additional programs: this makes Media Player Classic the only free DVD player for Windows. The player also has the ability to play video from any video input: be it a TV receiver, a video capture card or a digital video camera connected via a digital interface. This is very convenient for viewing recordings on a camcorder when a TV is not at hand. The program also uses an unusual technology for displaying subtitles using the functions of modern video cards: the quality of text display is significantly higher than with the traditional method.
The author of the program is Gabest, - 6.4.8.4, is (), the program is distributed free of charge. There are two versions of this player: for Windows 98/ME and for Windows 2000/XP - choose the right file carefully.

Light Alloy

This player supports changing the language and interface type (skins), displaying subtitles, synchronous playback of an audio track from another file. The program has a developed interface and many service options. Unique Feature: separate volume control for different audio tracks, which allows you not only to switch the audio track, but to listen to several tracks at the same time - at the user's choice. There is support for the WinLIRC interface for remote controls. - 3.3. The latest version adds DVD video playback and a unique feature: . For Russian-speaking users the program is free, although it requires registration.

A very old player has a very unusual "translucent" interface. In addition to supporting SAMI subtitles and several audio streams, Sasami contains a large number of filters for image and audio processing. The program has a flexible interface. Unfortunately, the author (Whi-Yong Choi) stopped the development of this program in 2001, the latest version is 757, distributed free of charge.

Zoom Player

Perhaps the most functionally rich video player for today: because of this, the program is quite difficult to set up. Supports changing the language (including ) and interface type (skins). There is support for the WinLIRC interface for remote controls. Among the unusual features, we can mention the support of informational messages on the screen that accompany various events (stop / pause, turn off the sound, etc.) - this is very convenient when watching videos on a TV and controlling the player using the remote control. The program is developed by Inmatrix.com

A very famous video player that contains many convenient functions: change the interface language (including Russian), change appearance programs (skins), support for subtitles, messages on the screen over video, support for the WinLIRC interface for remote controls. It contains a number of unique features, for example, creating a list of bookmarks for a video recording, which then allows you to jump to a specific part of the recording using a table of contents (chapter, chapter - by analogy with a DVD video). Also, this program has a unique Overlay mixer module, which in some cases can provide a higher quality video display than in the case of using system components. The program is developed by WebTeh , the latest version is 1.31 .

Crystal Player

A universal video player with many functions: changing the interface language (there is Russian and Ukrainian), changing the type of program (skin), subtitle support, extended information about video files, support for many video and audio compression formats. The pro version also contains additional filters for video and audio post-processing (including an alternative MPEG video post-processing filter), and the function automatic download necessary codecs from the Internet. The program is being developed, - 1.96. The only player today that provides smoother video playback by increasing the number of frames for any video (Multisampling technology, similarity).regular version distributed free of charge, professional version costs 26€.

Another very flexible player that is only gaining popularity. It contains many functions: changing the type of program (skin), support for subtitles, support for some video and audio compression formats. The installation package contains splitters for the Matryoshka and Ogg Media formats, a decoder for the Ogg Vorbis format. The interface of the program is similar to the popular WinAmp player, the program contains several post-processing filters for both video and audio. The development is carried out by The CoreCodec Development Team, the current version is 4.02. The regular version is free, but you can become a registered user for $10 and get the Premium version with DVD playback.

Rad Light

Another fairly popular player with rich functionality. - 3.03, version 4 is being tested. The standard version is free, the Pro version costs $25; or it can be installed free of charge with SAVE! (the so-called ad-supported program). The fourth version is still in beta testing and is distributed free of charge.

VideoLAN (VLC)

This is also not quite an ordinary player: (VideoLAN Client). There are variants of this player for most common operating systems. The player supports all popular video and audio compression formats and container files; display subtitles and much more. The proprietary feature of this program is the organization of video broadcasting over the network (network broadcasting). - 0.8.2, the program is distributed free of charge with source codes.

Unix player

The most popular player on the Unix platform is mplayer, based on the libavcodec library. This player has a command line interface, plus there are several graphical add-ons for it. There is also a Windows variant of this player: it is often used by system administrators who are used to working in command line unix, and rare fans. mplayer does not use DirectShow and contains a lot of decoders and splitters in the kit: this is quite inconvenient, because after the release of a new version of a codec, you need to download new version mplayer, not a new decoder. You can often hear that this player is faster than other players under Windows: this is not true. Of course, it will be much more convenient to use a decoder built on the basis of the same libavcodec library, which will allow you to use any DirectShow-compatible player under Windows with a convenient GUI.

Other players

It is impossible to list all existing players: there are too many such programs. Only the most popular, convenient and functional ones are mentioned above.
There are also a number of players that are primarily focused on playback sound files, but also contain the ability to play videos, such as the popular .

Video playback on slow computers

Quite often the question arises: how to set up a relatively slow computer to play video? The recommendations are quite simple: turn off video post-processing completely, preferably use a fast decoder ( or ), install the latest DirectX version(Microsoft is constantly working to optimize this subsystem). Disable any programs that might be using the CPU during playback, such as antivirus. You can also try using one of the players optimized for minimal consumption of computing resources: or .

Note. If the movie was recorded at a low frame rate (approximately 15 frames per second or lower), judder will still occur when playing back the movie.

Note. Not all formats are available on Mac platforms OS and Windows. See the relevant Help topic links above for more details on which platforms are supported for each format.

Some video file formats - including AVI and MOV - are containers . Data inside container files is encoded according to the specified codec . Codecs are algorithms for compressing audio and video data. There are many different codecs.

For example, an AVI file can be encoded using the following kinds of codecs, among others:

• DV codec (this codec is used in camcorders that record clips on miniDV tape)
• Commercial codecs (such as DivX)
• Motion JPEG codec (this codec is used in some cameras that record video)

Sometimes Adobe Premiere Pro cannot decode video files that were encoded using a low-quality codec or a codec that is not installed on your computer.

Knowing the format and, if necessary, the codec for the files you are working with will help when using the solutions below. To obtain this information, do one or more of the following:

• Open the file in Apple QuickTime Player and choose Window > Show Movie Inspector.
• If the file is from a camcorder, camera, or other video recording device, see the device's documentation or refer to the device's specifications on the manufacturer's website.
• Open the file in a third party media analysis application such as MediaInfo or GSpot 2.70

Codecs can be downloaded from third party websites.

Attention! Only download codecs from trusted, trusted software developers. Avoid downloading software with a codec pack. Installing a new one may cause some video or audio files to not play. Before you start, create backup all files.

Since MPEG-2 files can be encoded with a wide variety of settings, not all imported MPEG-2 files can be played without problems in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. Transcode the problematic MPEG-2 files (see ) and then import them.

VOB files

VOB (video object) files used on DVDs are a type of MPEG-2 files. Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 (with all updates applied, select Help > Updates) and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and above later versions support the import of DVD-compatible VOB files. If you're having trouble importing the original VOB file, there may have been problems creating it. (For example, your DVD ripping software might be having problems.) You may need to transcode the problematic VOB files (see ) and then import them.

If you are working with videos recorded on a camera, see its documentation. Or, contact the manufacturer of the camera for details about the video files that can be recorded to the camera.

If you cannot import or play files from your camera, you may need to install a codec (see ). Most digital cameras encode video files using the Motion JPEG (MJPEG) codec. Motion JPEG (MJPEG) codecs are provided by several developers.

Note. The Motion JPEG codec uses relatively low level compression. Therefore, when working with large Motion JPEG video files in Adobe Premiere Pro, performance issues or low memory error messages may appear. To resolve these issues, re-encode the Motion JPEG files (see Solution 4). For example, some Flip Video camcorders encode videos using the 3ivx codec. If your camcorder does not use a dedicated codec, transcode the files using the software that was included with your camcorder (if available). Or use another software(See ) to re-encode the video. Then import the transcoded files.

If you are able to import files from a compact digital video camera, work in sequence with the appropriate frame size, frame rate, and field settings. (See .) If you are using files from a digital video camera that records high-definition (720p) video, work in progressive sequence (no margins). If you are using files from a digital video camera that records interlaced video, the files may have a field order that processes the top fields first.