Video Files Guide

This is the video files guide page. If you have questions about non video file types you want this guide. For downloading questions check the BitTorrent FAQ or the getting started guide if you are new to all this.

If you want the quick all in one fix, try a codec pack. But be warned... most of these may overwrite codecs that were previously working. Be careful, look at reviews, make backups. If you feel lucky, just install it and see if it fixes things if you want - just know it may not be easy to go back. There are two main ones out there (you only need one of them). I've had pretty good luck with the K-Lite codec pack so far. The other main one is by Nimo, but it looks like he is no longer going to be making new versions.

Assuming don't want to use a codec pack to install codecs you may not need, here's a list of the main players and codecs discussed on the rest of this page.

• Winamp for MP3 audio codec used by some video formats.
  
• AC3 audio filter for audio used by some video formats.
  
• DivX codec package for playing DivX video files.
  
• Koepi's codec or Nic's codec for playing XviD video files (you only need one of these).
  
• WinDVD for playing DVD related materials.
  

So, you have a video file, but you can't figure out how to play it correctly? This probably sounds elementary, but it is crucial: To play the file you need to know exactly what kind of file it is. Once you have this, you should be able to easily find the correct codecs and/or players fairly easily. So many people complain about not being able to view a file but don't really know what kind of file they are dealing with.

To do this first check the file extension. That is explained here if you don't know how. You should also check the file types listed on that page as well to see if they match yours. Sometimes a VCD or SVCD may be distributed in an image or compressed format (rar, tar, iso, bin, etc). If that is the case you need to deal with those file types first.

Assuming you have a video file the extensions are likely one of the following: mpg, mpeg, avi, rm, or mov. Unfortunately some of these, most notably avi, can have many codecs all associated with the same extension.

If you can look around a bit to find out what you are dealing with exactly. Open up any txt, nfo, and diz files you may have with a text editor to see if there are instructions or anything describing what codecs or other things the files use. Also look at the file name - CraZy.Name.GrouP48.xvid.zip is going to have xvid file(s) in it. Look at where you got it from, and/or the torrent names as well.

It used to be if you couldn't find the codec in that manner, there is now an easy way to figure out what it is. A program called AVIcodec will take any avi, asf, wmv, rm, ogg, ogm, mpeg, vob, (S)VCD or DVD file and tell you what audio and video codecs it needs. This helps you avoid randomly installing codecs you do not need, as doing that can screw up other ones that previously worked.

An alternative to this program is gspot, and the one I use if I need to check on something. It supports most of the same formats, and tells you the codecs needed as well. It also has a few other things, like it actually tells you if the codecs are currently installed, and claims to be able to register and unregister them on your machine.

Now that you know what you are dealing with check out one of these sections to find out how to play it.

• MPEG-1
  
• MPEG-2
  
• VCD
  
• SVCD
  
• XviD
  
• DivX
  
• Quick Time
  
• Real Media
  
• Converting between formats

These files will have a mpg or mpeg extension, and can be played by most players, including Windows Media Player. If it isn't working try updating or re-installing windows media player

These files also have a mpg or mpeg extension, but these need DVD player or a mpeg-2 codec to be installed. After one of these is installed you should be able to play these files in many different programs.

The main thing VCDs (Video CDs) have going for them is they usually play in a stand-alone DVD player so you can watch it on your TV. You may want to check your DVD player's specs before burning a VCD to check if it will play there, as some players do not support them, and some only work with CD-Rs or CD-RWs.

If you have a VCD that you want to play on your computer for whatever reason there are a couple things you can do. To see any menus and stuff like that, use your DVD playing software like WinDVD. If you don't have a DVD player there are a few freeware VCD players around - one called X-VCD can be found here.

If you don't care about menus or any of that you can find the files avseqXX.dat in the MPEGAV folder (where XX is a number). Usually these files are just slightly altered mpeg-1 files, so try opening that dat file in windows media player. If that doesn't work for whatever reason, you may want to try using VCDGear to convert the avseqXX.dat file to a true mpeg file. This program also has bin to mpg and similar options if you have a image of a VCD but do not want to burn it to a disk.

If you have mpg files and wish to create your own VCDs its pretty simple if you have the right file to start with. All you need are mpeg-1 files with the proper aspect ratio and a burning program like Nero. In North America and Japan the standard is NTSC, which means that the resolution is 352x240 (1.4667:1) and the speed is 29.97 fps (frames per second). In Europe the standard is PAL, and which translates to a resolution is 352x288 (1.222:1) and the speed is 25 fps. So if your mpeg-1 file has that same ratio for your area you should be able to burn it directly without any converting.

In Nero, simply tell it to create a Video CD (VCD), and drag and drop the files. If the aspect ratios are wrong Nero (and likely others too) will give you a warning or error message about it before it starts.

SVCDs (Super Video CDs) are pretty much the same as VCDs, except they use MPEG-2 files and a higher resolution. In this case NTSC (America and Europe) the resolution is 480x480 at 29.97 fps (frames per second), and PAL (Europe) is 480x576 at 25 fps.

They should also be able to be played in most stand-alone players, or on your computer with your DVD software. Again, you can create your own with the correct file type and resolution using Nero or other burning software by selecting the SVCD option.

This begins the fun stuff. If you have an avi file its probably XviD or DivX, but it may be others. Assuming you checked it and it is a XviD file, you need both the audio and video codecs. The official site releases binaries occasionally, but for most people that just want to play or encode files, you want either Koepi's codec or Nic's codec. Either of these will easily allow you to install the video codec. However, this is just the video codec - you may still not have audio.

Again, this is not the same for everyone, because different people use different audio with XviD. Examples of this are mp3, ogg, ac3, and DivX audio. For this the chances are you can already play mp3 and maybe ogg if you have a recent mp3 player on your machine. If not go get Winamp - its free if all you want to do is play things.

For DivX audio you need go to their site here and download it. If you don't want the whole DivX package download link #6 in the box (DivX Audio Compressor). If your file uses AC3 (which is commonly why you may not have sound) you need the AC3 filter. Get it here.

If you are still having issues with XviD look over this site. And FYI - if you didn't notice XviD is DivX spelled backwards.

For avi files DivX is the other major format in use besides XviD. The good news is for the most part all you need to do is install the DivX player and play your files. If you have problems look around on their site for info, or use gspot to make sure the file is DivX and that the proper codecs are installed.

Usually if you are having problems with it thats because you need a different version of DivX. If someone encoded a file using a newer version of DivX and you try to play it in a slightly older version it may not play correctly.

Not many people use quick time for large files, but some people do for shorter clips and things where quality may not be an issue so they can reduce the file size. Go get the Quick Time player from Apple. Its free if all you want to do is play files.

Probably less people encode with this than quick time, but here's some info anyway. Its files are usually ending in a rm extension. Simply play it with real player. For their free version go here and click the free real player link in the upper right. You can also purchase their full version easily from their home page.

So, you have a divx/xvid/VCD/SVCD/DVD/mpg/whatever file you want to turn into a divx/xvid/VCD/SVCD/DVD/mpg/whatever file for whatever reason. By far the best place for tutorials on encoding or re-encoding is videohelp.com. (formerly VCDhelp.com, DVDRhelp.com, etc.)