Recommended codecs
Codecs (short for compressor-decompressor) are additional libraries installed on your PC to handle various media formats. mediate is able to use any codec which adheres properly to the Microsoft DirectShow standard and thus play virtually any audio or video media format.
Windows has a number of codecs installed by default for handling some of the common media formats (e.g. WAV, MP3, AVI) but there are some omissions too. mediate is not supplied with any additional codecs, as many have licensing or patent royalty implications we would prefer to avoid.
The list below contains descriptions of the most common media formats and links to download suitable codecs. We recommend you only download and install codecs for media formats you require, and certainly avoid using any "codec packs" which contain many codecs you may not use and may cause compatibility issues.
Video formats
AVI files
AVI files are containers which may include video files compressed with a number of different codecs. However, AVI files are most commonly associated with MPEG-4 codecs such as DivX or Xvid.
If you find that a particular AVI file does not play within mediate (you receive an "unsupported format" error) then an additional codec is probably required. We recommend installing the FFDShow package as this contains support for a wide range of codecs commonly found in AVI files.
Download FFDShow video decoder
MPG / MPEG files
MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group) files generally contain video content encoded in MPEG-2 format. This is a very common format used to compress DVD titles and other video files.
A suitable codec is required for playing video files encoded in this format, as one is not supplied with Windows. These are often included with DVD players, or supplied with your DVD-ROM drive. Alternatively we recommend installing the DScaler MPEG Filter - this works well with mediate and provides additional functionality for improving low-resolution video quality.
VOB files
VOB files contain MPEG-2 encoded content and are most commonly found on DVD titles. A DVD filesystem contains a number of VOB files which are combined to form a DVD title. VOB files are also commonly used for DVD "rips", where DVD audio and video is converted into a more convenient format for storage on other media.
Since VOB files are a special case MPEG-2 file, a suitable MPEG codec will be required to play these files within mediate. We recommend installing the DScaler MPEG Filter which supports VOB format files. mediate is not currently able to play encrypted VOB files as found on a commercial DVD title, although this functionality will be introduced in the next release.
Note that mediate must be configured to show this video file format - this can be done by manually editing the mediate preferences file. Additional functionality will be introduced in the next release of mediate to simplify this process.
Quicktime Video (MOV)
The Quicktime format pioneered by Apple provides support for both audio and video compression. Quicktime video files tend to have a .MOV extension, although there are a number of different Quicktime formats that share this.
The Quicktime format is proprietary to Apple, so other than Apple's own Quicktime player, any other Windows applications must rely on unofficial implementations. To play Quicktime files within mediate, we recommend installing the Quicktime Alternative codec - note that this may not support all Quicktime files.
Download Quicktime Alternative Filter
Windows Media Video (WMV)
This is a popular file format which has a suitable codec installed by default within Windows. WMV files may include digital rights management (DRM) restrictions - particularly if they have been downloaded from an online store.
mediate currently does not support WMV files that include DRM, although we plan to add support for this in a future release.
Ogg Theora Video
This is an open source, patent-free video format that offers excellent compression and video quality.
We recommend installing the Illiminable codec for use with Ogg audio and video formats. This codec provides support for Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Theora, Ogg Speex and Ogg FLAC encoded files.
Audio formats
MP3 files
Windows includes a codec to support MP3 files but this can cause problems with some files that contain embedded album art (or any other large amount of tag information) - the most common symptom being that the codec freezes when opening a particular file.
If you experience this symptom whilst using mediate, we recommend using an alternate MP3 codec such as the DS-MP3 Source Filter.
Download alternate MP3 codec (DS-MP3 Source Filter)
iPod / iTunes files (M4A)
This is an audio format developed by Apple for use with the iPod, and is the default format used for ripping audio CD's using iTunes. Music downloaded from the iTunes website uses proprietary digital rights management (DRM) technology from Apple and so can only be played using their products.
M4A files without DRM restrictions may be used within mediate by installing the 3ivx codec.
Download M4A codec (3ivx decoder)
WAV files
These are uncompressed audio files. DirectShow supports WAV audio format natively and so no additional codecs are required.
MID / MIDI files
These contain synthesised music and are usually very small files (however they do sound like polyphonic phone ring tones). DirectShow supports this audio format natively and so no additional codecs are required.
CD Audio format (CDA)
This is the file format used to store individual tracks on audio CD's. DirectShow supports this audio format natively and so no additional codecs are required.
Windows Media Audio (WMA)
This is a popular file format which has a suitable codec installed by default within Windows. WMA files may include digital rights management (DRM) restrictions - particularly if they have been downloaded from an online music store.
mediate currently does not support WMA files that include DRM, although we plan to add support for this in a future release.
Ogg Vorbis Audio
This is an open source, patent-free audio format that offers excellent compression and audio quality.
We recommend installing the Illiminable codec for use with Ogg audio and video formats. This codec provides support for Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Theora, Ogg Speex and Ogg FLAC encoded files.
Download Illiminable Ogg Filter
Ogg FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)
This is an open source, patent-free audio format that performs lossless compression. File sizes for FLAC encoded audio will be larger than some other lossy audio formats, but FLAC files are absolutely faithful to the original audio source and offer the best possible sound quality.
We recommend installing the Illiminable codec for use with Ogg audio and video formats. This codec provides support for Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Theora, Ogg Speex and Ogg FLAC encoded files.
Other resources
A great resource for downloading additional codecs, tools or for obtaining codec related help is www.free-codecs.com. The following items on their site may be of interest:
- How to determine which codecs are required for a given media file
- How to check which codecs are installed on your PC
- How to rip and encode your audio CD's into MP3 files
Note: all codecs and related resources are hosted externally at www.free-codecs.com. Many thanks to them for providing such a valuable resource.
