[MPlayer-users] newbie question about libavcodec

[Stefan Lange]

Pierric Descamps wrote:
> [Automatic answer: RTFM (read DOCS, FAQ), also read DOCS/bugreports.html]
> Hello,
> 
> As far as I have understood, libavcodec encoding has better quality and speed.
> I'll assume this is true as the doc states it quite clearly :-)
> 
> But there's something I don't get: when you encode with libavcodec, what codec
> are you actually encoding with?

It depends on what you specify ;-)

from mplayer's manpage:

vcodec=<value>      use  the specified codec (there is no de-
                                      fault, you must specify it):
                                         mjpeg: Motion JPEG
                                         h263: H263
                                         h263p: H263 Plus
                                         mpeg4: DivX 4/5
                                         msmpeg4: DivX 3
                                         rv10: an old RealVideo codec
                                         mpeg1video: MPEG1 video :)

You should use mpeg4 in almost any case, unless you really need one of 
the other formats.


> I mean: if you gave the resulting movie to
> some lambda windows user (ie. my father...), what codec would he have to
> install in order to watch the movie properly? I'm sorry if this is a silly
> question, but I'm always worrying about the compatibility of my movies...

He will need a matching codec for the one you've selected during 
encoding. Your best bet in terms of speed and quality is the ffdshow 
direct-show filter which should playback all of these (it's based on 
lavc as well). You can also playback lavc's mpeg4-videos with Divx4/5 if 
you prefer that

> 
> Thanks in advance for your explanations,
> Pierric.
> 

regards
Stefan