help with video codec
 

:) hi everone out there i just wanted to see if theres any way of knowing what video codec was use to make the movie file befor download from limewire and is there any way of know what video codec was used on movies i have already on my computer now caues i think my dvd player only plays divx and xvid codec video caues some of the movies i tryed tp play have no sounds or the dvd player tells me the codec not supported and i keep on useing dvd discs to find out that some of the movies wont work right can someone help me thank you :confused:

my suggestion is: get online and download as many codecs as you can find. Thats what I did and now I dont have any problems burning DVD's or watching them.

The above suggestion isn't all that good since you might find yourself with a bunch of conflicting codecs, a situation which isn't all that good in.
I personally suggest using either VLC or Mplayer (click on the links) which are free players that need no additional codecs to play most of the audio/video formats out there.
If you insist on using Windows Media Player, then I suggest the CCCP: http://www.kickassanime.org/wiki/ind...?title=Compack
Quote from ShinL:

"The suggested procedure is:
1. check the FAQ before installing the pack on an OS that is not supported. The FAQ contains information on supported systems.
2. uninstall everything playback-related software you installed yourself (even CCCP if you encountered trouble with playback before reading these basic instructions). to check whether you are free of any of the more popular codec packs, use the new tool "CCCP Insurgent" (cccpi.exe)
3. reboot
4. install CCCP (check for updates every now and then)
5. reboot (you might get away without the reboot; see if the installer asks for it)
6. play file "

I've used the VLC player and it's pretty good.:)

Murasame. Am I to assume you're a Final Fantasy fan?;)

what i am trying to say is is there any way of knowing what kind of codec was used to make the movie that i am download useing limewire befor i download the movie so that i dont spend my time downloading a movie that is not going to play on my home dvd player becaues it does not support codec that was use to make the movie that i am download i am not saying that my computer dvd player wont play the movies they play good on my computer all of the movies i have download and tryed to play on my computer so far so i dont need a player that would play codec movies i am trying to play this movies on my home dvd player and i think it only plays movies that are codec divx/xvid so thats way i am trying to find out is there any way of knowing the codec of a movie befor downloading it and if theres any way to of knowing what codec a movie has that i have on my computer now :) thank you:D

Is it that obvious? ;)
mike60, if you want to make DVDs that are playable with your DVD player, you have to convert the video files. If you just use a burning program then you should be presented with the option of creating a video DVD (or VCD for that matter). Selecting this and then adding the video files in the list of files to burn should automatically convert said files to the format DVDs are in.
The problem is that some burning apps can't decode some of the more exotic formats like .mkv or .ogm (sometimes, they even have trouble with .avi), so you have to use an encoding program to convert these files.

As a side note, fiddling with video can be a lengthy process. Be ready to leave your computer alone for a day or so (depending on what you want to do and your CPU's power)

to murasame thanks for your reply i will try this :D

GSpot will tell you. There's also another. See CODECs list and alternate players for Movies

In most cases Nero or Roxio Easy CD/DVD will do the job. The best compatibility comes with the newest versions, eg: Nero 6 Burning Rom or specially 7 (same with Roxio.) Needing to convert before burning is a pita or was that pizza with lots of ... on top. :D

(BTW anime/animation is a different kettle of fish. Not all codecs are able to transform this type of media very well. You need the best for this. Depending on original format & settings, etc. I've seen some poor efforts from 3rd party mpeg 2 converters - they simply couldn't understand the vector graphics very well.)