On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 2:31 PM, Stroller <strol...@stellar.eclipse.co.uk> wrote: > > On 1 May 2012, at 18:51, Michael Mol wrote: >>> … >>> I am certainly able to play back .wmv files here without win32codecs >>> installed. Admittedly, I'm using xbmc to do that, and haven't recently >>> tested using VLC or mplayer, but I would avoid installing that package >>> unless I was sure I needed it. >> >> … >> WMV, mp4, WAV, etc. are all names given to container formats. WMV >> might contain h264 internally, or it might contain one of the >> "Microsoft Video" codecs, … > > Actually, WMV appears not to be a container format - but a family of codecs. > > Apparently the .wmv files we see distributed on the net are most always WMV > codec video contained in a ASF container. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.wmv
Ah, right, my mistake. > > I don't believe I've ever encountered a .wmv file containing h264. One > probably wouldn't actually notice, in normal use, if one did receive such a > file, assuming it worked when one clicked on it. > > However I find it extremely unlikely to imagine anyone putting h264 in a .wmv > file (or an ASF container). We all commonly put h264 in .mp4 or .mkv > containers. You've never been deep into AMVs, I take it. If a codec can be shoved into a container, I've probably had a sample of it at one time or another. > >> Sometimes that's because of patent issues, sometimes that's because >> there aren't enough useful samples, and sometimes that's because >> nobody cares about a codec nobody's seriously used since 1997. > > I'm pretty sure we're able to play back WMV7, WMV9 / AC-1 videos without > these binary decoders. It's probably not very useful to talk about codecs > "nobody's seriously used since 1997." I *am* pretty sure that upstream > mplayer *do* generally say "don't bother with the win32codecs". Actually, a lot of upstream hacks on stuff for reasons ranging from completeness to plain and simple fun. Check out multimedia.cx, follow the blogs. > The goal here to to get Mark's video playing, and he's given no indication > it's some old file he found on a 1998 system. Sure. But when I give an explanation, I give background. Give a fire, teach to make a fire...Gentoo tends to be far more about teaching to make fires than simply providing them. Though sometimes it uses you for kindling. -- :wq
