Mercurial > mplayer.hg
annotate DOCS/formats.html @ 6168:741712dcfa0d
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3 <HEAD> |
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4 <STYLE> |
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5 .text |
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6 {font-family : Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; |
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7 font-size : 14px;} |
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8 </STYLE> |
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9 </HEAD> |
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2745 | 11 <BODY BGCOLOR=WHITE> |
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13 <FONT CLASS="text"> |
2745 | 14 |
15 <P><B><A NAME=2.1>2.1. Supported formats</A></B></P> | |
16 | |
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17 <P>It is important to clarify a common mistake. When people see a file with a |
5395 | 18 <B>.AVI</B> extension, they immediately conclude that it is not an MPEG file. |
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19 That is not true. At least not entirely. Contrary to popular belief such a file |
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20 <B>can</B> contain MPEG1 video.</P> |
2745 | 21 |
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22 <P>You see, a <B>codec</B> is not the same as a <B>file format</B>.<BR> |
5395 | 23 Examples of video <B>codecs</B> are: MPEG1, MPEG2, DivX, Indeo5, 3ivx.<BR> |
24 Examples of file <B>formats</B> are: MPG, AVI, ASF.<BR> | |
2745 | 25 </P> |
26 | |
5395 | 27 <P>In theory, you can put an OpenDivX video and MP3 audio |
28 into an <B>MPG</B> format file. However, most players will not play it, since | |
29 they expect MPEG1 video and MP2 audio (unlike <B>AVI</B>, <B>MPG</B> does not have the | |
30 necessary fields to describe its video and audio streams). | |
31 Or you might put MPEG1 video into an AVI file. <A HREF="http://ffmpeg.sourceforge.net">FFmpeg</A> | |
4177 | 32 and <A HREF="encoding.html">MEncoder</A> can create these files.</P> |
2745 | 33 |
34 | |
35 | |
36 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1>2.1.1. Video formats</A></B></P> | |
37 | |
38 | |
2865 | 39 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.1>2.1.1.1. MPEG files</A></B></P> |
2745 | 40 |
5395 | 41 <P>MPEG files come in different guises:</P> |
42 | |
43 <UL> | |
44 <LI>MPG: This is the most <B>basic</B> form of the MPEG file formats. It contains | |
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45 MPEG1 video, and MP2 (MPEG-1 layer 2) or rarely MP1 audio.</LI> |
5395 | 46 <LI>DAT: This is the very same format as MPG with a different extension. It is used |
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47 on <B>Video CD</B>s. Due to the way VCDs are created and Linux is designed, |
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48 the DAT files cannot be played nor copied from VCDs as regular files. You have |
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49 to use the <CODE>-vcd</CODE> option to play the Video CD.</LI> |
5395 | 50 <LI>VOB: This is the MPEG file format on <B>DVD</B>s. It is the same as MPG, plus the |
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51 capability to contain subtitles or non-MPEG (AC3) audio. It contains encoded MPEG2 |
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52 video and usually AC3 audio, but DTS, MP2 and uncompressed LPCM are allowed, too.<BR> |
2865 | 53 <B>Read the <A HREF="cd-dvd.html#4.2">DVD section</A> !</B></LI> |
5395 | 54 </UL> |
2745 | 55 |
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56 <P>Series of frames form independent groups in MPEG files. This means that you |
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57 can cut/join an MPEG file with standard file tools (like dd, cut), and it |
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58 remains completely functional.</P> |
2865 | 59 |
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60 <P>One important feature of MPGs is that they have a field to describe |
2761 | 61 the aspect ratio of the video stream within. For example SVCDs have |
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62 480x480 resolution video, and in the header that field is set to 4:3, so that |
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63 it is played at 640x480. AVI files do not have this field, so they have to be |
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64 rescaled during encoding or played with the <CODE>-aspect</CODE> option.</P> |
2761 | 65 |
2745 | 66 |
67 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.2>2.1.1.2. AVI files</A></B></P> | |
68 | |
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69 <P>Designed by Micro$oft, <B>AVI (Audio Video Interleaved)</B> is a |
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70 widespread multipurpose format currently used mostly for DivX and DivX4 |
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71 video. It has many known drawbacks and shortcomings (for example in streaming). |
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72 It supports one video stream and 0 to 99 audio streams and can be as big as |
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73 2GB. There exists an extension allowing bigger files called <B>OpenDMS</B>. |
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74 M$ currently strongly discourages its use and encourages ASF/WMV. Not that |
2745 | 75 anybody cares.<BR> |
5444 | 76 |
6168 | 77 <P><B>NOTE:</B> DV cameras can create two types of AVI formats. One is common and |
2745 | 78 playable, the other is neither.</P> |
79 | |
5395 | 80 <P>There are two kinds of AVI files:</P> |
2865 | 81 <UL> |
5395 | 82 <LI><B>Interleaved:</B> Audio and video content is interleaved. This is the |
2865 | 83 standard usage. Recommended and mostly used. Some tools create interleaved |
84 AVIs with bad sync. <B>MPlayer</B> detects these as interleaved, and this | |
85 climaxes in loss of A/V sync, probably at seeking. These files should be | |
86 played as non-interleaved (with the <CODE>-ni</CODE> option).</LI> | |
5395 | 87 <LI><B>Non-interleaved:</B> First comes the whole video stream, then the whole |
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88 audio stream. It thus needs a lot of seeking, making playing from network or |
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89 CD-Rom difficult.</LI> |
2865 | 90 </UL> |
91 | |
5395 | 92 <P><B>MPlayer</B> supports two kinds of timings for AVI files:</P> |
2865 | 93 <UL> |
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94 <LI><B>bps-based</B>: It is based on the bitrate/samplerate of the video/audio stream. This |
5395 | 95 method is used by most players, including <A HREF="http://avifile.sourceforge.net">avifile</A> |
96 and windows media player. | |
2865 | 97 Files with broken headers, and files created with VBR audio but not |
98 VBR-compliant encoder will result in A/V desync with this method (mostly at | |
99 seeking).</LI> | |
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100 <LI><B>interleaving-based</B>: It does not use the bitrate value of the header, instead |
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101 it uses the relative position of interleaved audio and video chunks, making |
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102 badly encoded files with VBR audio playable.</LI> |
2865 | 103 </UL> |
104 | |
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105 <P>Any audio and video codec is allowed, but note that VBR audio is not well |
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106 supported by most players. The file format makes it possible to use VBR |
2865 | 107 audio, but most players expect CBR audio, thus they fail with VBR. VBR is |
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108 uncommon and Microsoft's AVI specs only describe CBR audio. I also noticed that |
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109 most AVI encoders/multiplexers create bad files when using VBR audio. There are only |
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110 two exceptions (known to me): NaNDub and <A HREF="encoding.html">MEncoder</A>.</P> |
2865 | 111 |
2745 | 112 |
113 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.3>2.1.1.3. ASF/WMV files</A></B></P> | |
114 | |
2865 | 115 <P>ASF (active streaming format) comes from Microsoft. They developed two |
116 variants of ASF, v1.0 and v2.0. v1.0 is used by their media tools (windows | |
117 media player and windows media encoder) and is very secret. v2.0 is published | |
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118 and patented :). Of course they differ, there is no compatibility at all (it is |
2865 | 119 just another legal game). <B>MPlayer</B> supports only v1.0, as nobody has ever seen |
5395 | 120 v2.0 files :). Note that ASF files nowadays come with the extension .WMA or |
2865 | 121 .WMV.</P> |
2745 | 122 |
123 | |
2865 | 124 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.4>2.1.1.4. QuickTime/MOV files</A></B></P> |
125 | |
5395 | 126 <P>These formats were designed by Apple. They usually have a .QT or .MOV extension. Note |
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127 that since the MPEG4 group chose QuickTime as the recommended file format |
5395 | 128 for MPEG4, their MOV files come with a .MPG or .MP4 extension (Interestingly |
129 the video and audio streams in these files are real MPG and AAC files. With the | |
130 <CODE>-dumpvideo</CODE> and <CODE>-dumpaudio</CODE> options you can even extract them!).</P> | |
2745 | 131 |
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132 <P><B>Codecs</B>: Any codec is allowed, both CBR and VBR. Note: most new QuickTime files use |
5395 | 133 <B>Sorensen</B> video and QDesign Music audio. These formats have not been |
134 disclosed and will probably remain so in the future, making Apple's QuickTime | |
135 player the only player able to play these files (on Windows/Mac OS only).</P> | |
2865 | 136 |
2745 | 137 |
6168 | 138 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.5>2.1.1.5. VIVO files</A></B></P> |
2745 | 139 |
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140 <P><B>MPlayer</B> happily demuxes VIVO file formats. The biggest disadvantage of |
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141 the format is that it has no index block, nor a fixed packet size or sync bytes |
2865 | 142 and most files lack even keyframes, so forget seeking!</P> |
143 | |
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144 <P>The video codec of VIVO/1.0 files is standard <B>h.263</B>. The video codec |
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145 of VIVO/2.0 files is a modified, nonstandard <B>h.263v2</B>. The audio is the same, |
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146 it may be <B>g.723</B> (standard), or <B>Vivo Siren</B>.</P> |
2865 | 147 |
5395 | 148 <P>See the <A HREF="codecs.html#2.2.1.4">VIVO video codec</A> |
149 and <A HREF="codecs.html#2.2.2.4">VIVO audio codec</A> sections for installation | |
2855 | 150 instructions.</P> |
2745 | 151 |
152 | |
3806 | 153 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.6>2.1.1.6. FLI files</A></B></P> |
154 | |
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155 <P><B>FLI</B> is a very old file format used by Autodesk Animator, but it is |
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156 a common file format for short animations on the net. <B>MPlayer</B> demuxes |
3806 | 157 and decodes FLI movies and is even able to seek within them (useful when |
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158 looping with the <CODE>-loop</CODE> option). FLI files do not have keyframes, so the picture |
3806 | 159 will be messy for a short time after seeking.</P> |
160 | |
161 | |
162 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.7>2.1.1.7. RealMedia (RM) files</A></B></P> | |
163 | |
5094 | 164 <P>Yes, <B>MPlayer</B> can read (demux) RealMedia (.rm) files. Seeking works |
165 (the format supports keyframes). Here are the lists of the supported | |
166 <A HREF="codecs.html#2.2.1.8">RealVideo</A> | |
3806 | 167 and <A HREF="codecs.html#2.2.2.5">RealAudio</A> codecs. |
168 | |
169 | |
3816 | 170 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.8>2.1.1.8. NuppelVideo files</A></B></P> |
171 | |
172 <P><A HREF="http://mars.tuwien.ac.at/~roman/nuppelvideo">NuppelVideo</A> | |
5395 | 173 is a TV grabber tool (AFAIK:). <B>MPlayer</B> can read its .NUV |
3816 | 174 files (only NuppelVideo 5.0). Those files can contain uncompressed YV12, |
175 YV12+RTJpeg compressed, YV12 RTJpeg+lzo compressed, and YV12+lzo compressed | |
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176 frames. <B>MPlayer</B> decodes (and also <B>encodes</B> them with MEncoder to |
5958 | 177 DivX/etc!) them all. Seeking works.</P> |
3816 | 178 |
179 | |
3818 | 180 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.9>2.1.1.9. yuv4mpeg files</A></B></P> |
181 | |
182 <P><A HREF="http://mjpeg.sourceforge.net">yuv4mpeg / yuv4mpeg2</A> is | |
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183 a file format used by the <A HREF="http://mjpeg.sf.net">mjpegtools programs</A>. |
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184 You can grab, produce, filter or encode video in this format using these. |
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185 The file format is really a sequence of uncompressed YUV 4:2:0 images. |
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186 </P> |
3818 | 187 |
188 | |
4339 | 189 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.10>2.1.1.10. FILM files</A></B></P> |
190 | |
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191 <P>This format is used on old Sega Saturn CD-Rom games.</P> |
4339 | 192 |
193 | |
4503 | 194 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.11>2.1.1.11. RoQ files</A></B></P> |
195 | |
4584 | 196 <P>RoQ files are multimedia files used in some ID games such as Quake III and |
197 Return to Castle Wolfenstein.</P> | |
4503 | 198 |
199 | |
5860 | 200 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.1.12>2.1.1.12. OGG files</A></B></P> |
201 | |
202 <P>This is a new fileformat from Xiphophorus, developed to contain Vorbis | |
203 audio. You'll need <CODE>libogg</CODE> and <CODE>libvorbis</CODE> installed | |
5959 | 204 before compiling <B>MPlayer</B> to be able to play it.</P> |
5860 | 205 |
206 | |
2745 | 207 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.2>2.1.2. Audio formats</A></B></P> |
208 | |
5378 | 209 <P><B>MPlayer</B> is a <B>Movie</B> and not a <B>Media</B> player, although |
210 it can play some audio file formats (they are listed in the sections below). | |
211 This is not a recommended usage of <B>MPlayer</B>, you better use | |
212 <A HREF="http://www.xmms.org">xmms</A>.</P> | |
213 | |
214 | |
215 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.2.1>2.1.2.1. MP3 files</A></B></P> | |
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216 |
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217 <P>You may have problems playing certain MP3 files that <B>MPlayer</B> will |
5378 | 218 misdetect as MPEGs and play incorrectly or not at all. This cannot be fixed |
219 without dropping support for certain broken MPEG files and thus will remain | |
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220 like this for the foreseeable future. The <CODE>-demuxer</CODE> flag described |
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221 in the manpage may help you in these cases.</P> |
2745 | 222 |
5378 | 223 |
224 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.2.2>2.1.2.2. WAV files</A></B></P> | |
225 | |
226 | |
227 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.2.3>2.1.2.3. OGG files (Vorbis)</A></B></P> | |
228 | |
5860 | 229 <P>Requires properly installed <CODE>libogg</CODE> and |
230 <CODE>libvorbis</CODE>.</P> | |
5378 | 231 |
232 | |
233 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.2.4>2.1.2.4. WMA/ASF files</A></B></P> | |
234 | |
235 | |
236 <P><B><A NAME=2.1.2.5>2.1.2.5. MP4 files</A></B></P> | |
237 | |
2745 | 238 </BODY> |
239 </HTML> |