Codecs are used to encode audio and video files into standard formats or to decode them for playback or conversion. A multimedia codec library is used to support various different media formats.

Codecs to use

Type	Formats	Open Source Codecs	Proprietary Codes
Video	H.264	x264, OpenH264, FFmpeg	MainConcept, Nero Digital, QuickTime H.264, Sorenson AVC Pro Codec
Video	H.265	x265, FFmpeg	MulticoreWare UHDcode (decoder only)
Video	WMV	FFmpeg	Windows Media Video
Video	Theora	libtheora, FFmpeg
Video	VP8	libvpx, FFmpeg
Video	VP9	libvpx, FFmpeg
Video	AV1	libaom
Audio	MP3	LAME, FFmpeg	Fraunhofer L3enc, Fraunhofer MP3enc
Audio	Vorbis	libvorbis, FFmpeg
Audio	Opus	libopus, FFmpeg
## Codec Packs

K-Lite Mega Codec Pack (We mainly need the LAV Filters from it)
Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP)
libavcodec from FFmpeg
XviD
DivX (Proprietary)

Projects

FFmpeg - A multimedia toolbox (includes several codecs including CCTV and arcane codecs)
Libav (merged with FFmpeg)
GStreamer - It's a multimedia framework larger than FFmpeg, used for complex pipelines
- It internally uses libavcodec from its "gst-libav" (name changed during the libav fork)
AviSynth - It is a filter based tool for transferring video frames from one application to another without using temporary files, also known as a frameserver. It is used in video post-production workflows for Non-Linear Editing of videos.
Apple Quicktime (Proprietary)

DirectShow Filters

Both below are basically 3rd party DirectShow filters based on FFmpeg

ffdshow, a codec library based on FFmpeg providing DirectShow filters and Video For Windows codecs
- Discontinued in favour of LAV Filters
LAV Filters (formerly LAVFSplitter; based on libavcodec and libavformat of FFmpeg)
- Contains Splitters and Decoders
- Splitters
  - LAVFSplitter
  - Haali Media Splitter

Splitters

Backlinks

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