Adding al limited amount of directshow filters to Mediaportal, your thoughts please (1 Viewer)

[idioteque]

A few month back I joint a IRC chat and posed the question about a kind of codecpack for MP. This grew out of watching some of the posts on the forum and the dificulty a lot of people have installing codecs and directshow filters.

In the past few year I have been involed with buiding my own codecpack, this out of frustration with the current codec hell a few years ago. Friends of mine kept asking why they could not play this or that file.

I have a fair amount of knowledge of the direct filters there merits and the knowedge of not to mess alot with merrrits and other related stuff. One wrong move in the windows codecs filter arena can mean a Complete WIndows re-install.

There are sereval reasons for adding a limited amount of codecs to MP to view 95-98% of all the multimedia stuff available on the internet. Leaving the audio ot of the picture due to the BASS audio player.

GOAL:
1: make MP more user friendly by suppling the codecs needed for 95 % of the multi-media stuff (more idiot proof) WAF factor
2: better intergation of codec and MP, VOBsub ( better subtitle handeling, FFDshow, gamma, brightness etc.. from within MP
3: make more use of the features of FFDshow,
4: better quality control. Look what suppling the MPV and MPA did for MPEG. If MP supplies the codecs all users have the same codecs

MEANS:

add 6 codecs to MP:

FFDshow ( plays
AC3 filter
HAALI splitter
VOBSUB
FLV
CORE AAC

with these 6 codecs, 95% of all the stuff can be played.

Should we use a codecpack, I dont thik so. just these 5 codecs and manualy registering these should do the trick.

##### DirectShow Filters #####

Description: ffdshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax

Description: ffdshow raw video filter
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax

Description: ffdshow Audio Decoder
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax

Description: FLV Splitter
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\flvsplitter.ax

Description: Haali Media Splitter
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\haali\splitter.ax

Description: CoreAAC Audio Decoder
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\coreaac.ax

Description: Haali Video Renderer
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\haali\dxr.dll

Description: FLV Video Decoder
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\flvsplitter.ax

Description: Haali Simple Media Splitter
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\haali\splitter.ax

Description: DirectVobSub
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\vsfilter.dll

Description: DirectVobSub (auto-loading version)
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\vsfilter.dll

Description: Haali Matroska Muxer
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\haali\splitter.ax

Description: AC3Filter
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\ac3filter.ax

Description: ffdshow Audio Processor
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax

Description: FLV Source
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\flvsplitter.ax

Description: Haali Video Sink
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\haali\splitter.ax

Description: AC3File
File name: c:\program files\team mediaportal\mediaportal codecpack\filters\ac3file.ax


adding these will add quicktime HD an x264 support:

Description: CoreAVC Video Decoder
File name: c:\program files\quicktime alternative\directshow\coreavcdecoder.ax

Description: Nero QuickTime(tm) Video Decoder
File name: c:\program files\quicktime alternative\directshow\neqtdec.ax

Description: Nero ES Video Reader
File name: c:\program files\quicktime alternative\directshow\ndparser.ax

Description: Nero QuickTime(tm) Audio Decoder
File name: c:\program files\quicktime alternative\directshow\neqtdec.ax

Description: Nero Digital Parser
File name: c:\program files\quicktime alternative\directshow\ndparser.ax


I would like to start this thread to discuss the posibility of adding a LIMITED amount of codecs to MP

 

[mPod]

The MP project can't supply commercial codecs. This drastically limits your choice when building a codec pack for distribution.

 

[idioteque]

FFDshow http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/
AC3 filter http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter/
VOBSUB http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/
FLV http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=183318

are all Open Source so they could be supplied

Haali is freeware http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/codecs_and_filters/haalimediasplitter.cfm

the only 2 comercial are CORE and NERO

 

[mPod]

FFDshow http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/
AC3 filter http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter/
VOBSUB http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/
FLV http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=183318

are all Open Source so they could be supplied

Never doubted that.

Haali is freeware http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/codecs_and_filters/haalimediasplitter.cfm

Would need a license or a written permission for distribution. Freeware doesn't necessarily mean: Free to distribute. (Although I bet Haali won't be a problem)

the only 2 comercial are CORE and NERO

Which renders them as sorted out.

 

[idioteque]

did some more research

Core AAC is Opensource aswell

it is based on FAAD2 http://www.rarewares.org/files/aac/COREaacDS.zip

so 5 of the codecs are OPen Source

1 is freeware, try to sort out the licence of Haali

SO if these codecs could be included MP could play 95% of all the common formats, forgetting Quicktime for a minute

 

[McChots]

Isn't QuicktimeAlternative freeware?
I'm sure it would be allowed to be distributed.

 

[activ]

Sounds great, especially the part of having better ffdshow intergration. I would love to be able to control the magic of ffdshow with my remote.
If we could just get ffdshow, haali,vobsub and ac3filter integrated it would be great.

 

[and-81]

There is a plugin for MCE that controls FFDShow, it looks really good from what I've seen of it.

I think we could have something similar without too much trouble.

It's been on my list of things to do for a long time now, but unfortunately my list of things to do is bigger than my time to do them in... Maybe after we agree to include ffdshow in the distro we could look at making a plugin or even a built in feature of it.

Cheers,

 

[THDBASED]

This would be a good idea and would help a lot of people with installing. And you can have better support because there would be fewer different installs...

I say go for it! And that plugin to have better integration of the codecs also sounds very good!

 

[tangmonster]

This is a MUST!!!!

I have said MANY nasty words trying to get my subtitles to work.

WHY OH WHY did i install klite codec pack!!!!?

Yes!!
I was stupid!!