comparison DOCS/xml/en/codecs.xml @ 19082:a2f20562aac3

Remove support for obsolete and non-free divx4/odivx libraries.

19081:273bdef43012

<para>
If you have a Win32 codec not listed here which is not supported yet,
please read the <link linkend="codec-importing">codec importing HOWTO</link>
and help us add support for it.
</para>


<sect2 id="divx4-5">
<title>DivX4/DivX5</title>

<para>
This section contains information about the DivX4 and DivX5 codecs of
<ulink url="http://www.projectmayo.com">Project Mayo</ulink>.
Their first available alpha version was OpenDivX 4.0 alpha 47 and 48.
Support for this was included in <application>MPlayer</application> in the
past, and built by default. We also used its postprocessing code to
optionally enhance visual quality of MPEG-1/2 movies. Now we use our own,
for all file types.
</para>

<para>
The new generation of this codec is called DivX4 and can even decode
movies made with the infamous DivX codec! In addition it is much faster
than the native Win32 DivX DLLs but slower than
<systemitem class="library">libavcodec</systemitem>.
Hence its usage as a decoder is
<emphasis role="bold">discouraged</emphasis>. However, it is useful for
encoding. One disadvantage of this codec is that it is not available under an
Open Source license.
</para>

<para>
DivX4 works in two modes:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term><option>-vc odivx</option></term>
<listitem><simpara>
  Uses the codec in OpenDivX fashion. In this case it produces YV12 images
  in its own buffer, and <application>MPlayer</application> does colorspace
  conversion via libvo. (<emphasis role="bold">Fast, recommended!</emphasis>)
  </simpara></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term><option>-vc divx4</option></term>
<listitem><simpara>
  Uses the colorspace conversion of the codec.  In this mode you can use
  YUY2/UYVY, too. (<emphasis role="bold">SLOW</emphasis>)
  </simpara></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>

<para>
The <option>-vc odivx</option> method is usually faster, due to the fact
that it transfers image data in YV12 (planar YUV 4:2:0) format, thus
requiring much less bandwidth on the bus. For packed YUV modes (YUY2, UYVY)
use the <option>-vc divx4</option> method. For RGB modes the speed is the
same, differing at best according to your current color depth.
If your video output driver supports direct rendering, then <option>-vc
divx4</option> may be faster, or even the fastest solution.
</para>

<para>
The DivX4/5 binary codec library can be downloaded from
<ulink url="http://avifile.sf.net">avifile</ulink> or
<ulink url="http://www.divx.com">divx.com</ulink>
Unpack it, run <filename>./install.sh</filename> as root and do not forget to add
<filename class="directory">/usr/local/lib</filename> to your
<filename>/etc/ld.so.conf</filename> and running <command>ldconfig</command>.
</para>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> autodetects DivX4/DivX5 if it is
properly installed, just compile as usual. If it does not detect it, you
did not install or configure it correctly.
</para>

</sect2>


<sect2 id="ffmpeg" xreflabel="FFmpeg/libavcodec">
<title>FFmpeg/libavcodec</title>

19082:a2f20562aac3

<para>
If you have a Win32 codec not listed here which is not supported yet,
please read the <link linkend="codec-importing">codec importing HOWTO</link>
and help us add support for it.
</para>


<sect2 id="ffmpeg" xreflabel="FFmpeg/libavcodec">
<title>FFmpeg/libavcodec</title>