Codec - Help!

[ahmunmun]

I was trying to play a DVD and I got the message from Windows Media Player that Codec is required. I tried reading the information on the page it referred me to but I don't understand any of it. My computer knowledge is very limited. Can someone please tell me what Codec is and where I can get it? All I want is to play my DVD's, nothing complicated.

Thank you.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

I was trying to play a DVD and I got the message from Windows Media Player that Codec is required.

WMP is really quite useless. Try installing VLC and use this to play your media. WMP has a very poor selection of codecs by default.

Ah, and a codec is a bit of software which as it says co(des) and dec(odes) the particular media file.

 

[ahmunmun]

EphesiaNZ,
Thank you. If I install VLC does it mean I don't have to worry about trying to find codecs separately?

And is VLC easy to install? I'm kind of scared because I am practically computer illiterate. Thanks.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

VLC should install whatever codec you need to play your DVD. Just download from the link in my prior post and run install, should be as simple as that.

BTW, Windows Media Player can play DVD's but you have to flex your credit card at Microsoft for the "Enhanced" capabilities - quite funny really...

 

[Qyöt27]

BTW, Windows Media Player can play DVD's but you have to flex your credit card at Microsoft for the "Enhanced" capabilities - quite funny really...

To be fair, that's probably not Microsoft's fault - it's braindead U.S. patent law that's to blame. Fluendo gets into the same mess because of it. That's the only way they can legally protect themselves from the MPEG-LA (which isn't associated with MPEG at all*, they're a group of predatory lawyers that aren't above trying to go after free and open formats either). It may also have partially to do with the anti-trust case.

FOSS doesn't have this concern since source code is considered 'speech' under the First Amendment and runs into a different set of legal technicalities, and the binaries (which are what pose problems in this area) are usually distributed by entities based outside the U.S. (France is a big one). There's a reason I called it braindead.

*considering MPEG research on the actual guts of compression formats is often done in conjunction with the ITU in Europe, particularly at the Fraunhofer Institute.



The technical explanation in VLC's case is that it doesn't rely on external codecs - the decoding core is libavcodec, which is a single, monolithic library with tons of different formats supported inside of it, and it also relies on libavformat for container stuffs and uses the relevant decryption libraries for DVD to handle that part (if relevant; not all DVDs are encrypted). The same things hold true for mplayer and mpv.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

To be fair, that's probably not Microsoft's fault - it's braindead U.S. patent law that's to blame.

So as you stated about FOSS, MS should make the source available instead of asking users to fork out $10 or $99 (for pro upgrade) in order to make all DVD's playable.

I bet MS do not give users in other countries the option to install the codec - I can answer this and it is no. Let's be honest, it's just another revenue stream. MS could afford to soak the extra $10 per copy of Windows if they so desired.

Microsoft have no worries about setting up tax havens around the world to negate paying billions of dollars worth of taxes where they operate so why can't it set up a small office in France to distribute a suitable codec a la VLC and help it's users?

As you say though, it's a braindead law...

 

[ahmunmun]

Thank you EphesiaNZ! You've given me a simple solution to my problem and I have followed it! I downloaded VLC and am enjoying my DVD's right now. Hehe... Thank you! Hope VLC can do more for me in the future too. Is there a way to set that as my default so that when I pop in a DVD it doesn't just give the "play in Windows Media Player" option but instead would give me the "play with VLC" option?

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Is there a way to set that as my default so that when I pop in a DVD it doesn't just give the "play in Windows Media Player" option but instead would give me the "play with VLC" option?

Installing VLC should make this action default but if not, try the "Default Programs" option which is listed on the start menu on the right side near bottom. From the window that appears, go to "Change Autoplay Settings". For DVD options just drop down the options and choose VLC, save choices and you should be good to go.

 

[Qyöt27]

So as you stated about FOSS, MS should make the source available instead of asking users to fork out $10 or $99 (for pro upgrade) in order to make all DVD's playable.

I bet MS do not give users in other countries the option to install the codec - I can answer this and it is no. Let's be honest, it's just another revenue stream. MS could afford to soak the extra $10 per copy of Windows if they so desired.

Microsoft have no worries about setting up tax havens around the world to negate paying billions of dollars worth of taxes where they operate so why can't it set up a small office in France to distribute a suitable codec a la VLC and help it's users?

As you say though, it's a braindead law...

Well, having an office in France to do it wouldn't actually be a solution, since MS itself is still a U.S. venture. The reason that Videolan can't be touched is because they're actually based in France and not subject to U.S. law. The issue may be more about licensing the CSS and Macrovision techniques on the discs than it is about MPEG-2 licensing (since any reasonably modern low-end graphics card can handle decoding that in hardware). Having free disc decryption would make the MPAA pitch a fit (and their obsession with content control probably factors into the lack of the option to buy the license outside of the U.S.). And while they're at it, MS can offset the cost of being extorted by the MPEG-LA/MPAA by passing it off onto consumers - pocketing a percentage for themselves is just typical business as usual.

I'll admit that my knowledge of the nuances of patent law is not all that in-depth, but based on what I've been able to glean from my prevailing interest in media works.