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Quicktime There is a lot of misinformation circulating about Quicktime and AVIs. QuickTime Pro does not include enhanced AVI codec support. AVI is not a codec in itself. AVI stands for "Audio Video Interleave" and, like QuickTime, is simply a way to combine different third-party audio and video codecs to create video files. A stock install of QuickTime supports AVIs encoded in the Cinepak (virtually never used) and uncompressed DV formats (video files imported into Windows Movie Maker, for example). To allow QuickTime to play AVIs encoded using different audio and video codecs, you'll need to go and manually install new codecs. Unless they come with an installer, codecs generally go in the /Library/QuickTime/ directory. Download and install the following codecs to enable QuickTime support for most AVIs: 1. Perian - Perian plays just about every audio and video format you'll come across. This and the Flip4Mac plugin are probably the only ones you'll need for QuickTime. 2. WMV Player - Windows Media audio/video plugin. This plugin allows QuickTime to play Windows Media audio and video files, including Microsoft codecs used in AVI files. This plugin plays most Windows Media content flawlessly. Microsoft has discontinued Windows Media Player for the Mac, and now recommends Mac users simply use this plugin. The playback portion of this plugin is free. The "trial" mentioned on the site refers to the WMV creation and export functions available only in the paid version of the plugin. You will probably not need to install any of the following plugins, but if you have a particularly stubborn file, they may be worth a shot: 3. DivX 6 Codec - Plays AVI files encoded in DivX, Xvid, and other formats. 4. AC3/A-52 Codec - Plays back AC3/A-52 audio in video files. NOTE: This codec is a Core Audio plugin. It goes in the /Library/Audio/Plugins/Components/ directory, and runs only on OS 10.4 and later. 5. Xiph QuickTime Components - Allows QuickTime to play files using the open-source Ogg Vorbis audio codec and/or the Theora video codec. |
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Alternatives VLC and MPlayer are open-source video players capable of playing a wide range of formats without the need to install additional codecs. The interfaces are not as nice as that of QuickTime, but the overall compatibility is greater. This is currently no good way to play Indeo Video encoded movies on OS X. VLC and MPlayer have very rough IV support, and playback performance is generally very bad. Fortunately, the Indeo Video format is not used anymore, so only older AVIs are likely to have it. Indeo Video codecs are available for QuickTime in OS 9 (and should work through classic mode). You can get them here. |
