What is a codec

Codec is a portmanteau of coder and decoder. This is analogous to endec in electronic systems which is a portmanteau of encoder and decoder.

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

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