HOWTO: Win32 Video Codecs (AMD64 and 64bit systems)

Hmm ... I don't have win32codec installed. But I can play avi files. I haven't tried DVDs yet, but I think that'll work too, since gstreamer has plugins for that. I believe win32codec is mostly for wmv, asf, and related audio and video encodings (maybe real video and quick time as well[?]). Many AVI files have video streams encoded using the DivX, Xvid, MPEG-4 encoding, so you can actually view those AVI files without having win32codec installed.

Also, older wmv files can be viewed without the win32codec because there are open source implementations of it. Only wmv3 (windows media 9) or higher needs the win32codecs.

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Originally Posted by DancingSun

Hmm ... I don't have win32codec installed. But I can play avi files. I haven't tried DVDs yet, but I think that'll work too, since gstreamer has plugins for that. I believe win32codec is mostly for wmv, asf, and related audio and video encodings (maybe real video and quick time as well[?]). Many AVI files have video streams encoded using the DivX, Xvid, MPEG-4 encoding, so you can actually view those AVI files without having win32codec installed.

Also, older wmv files can be viewed without the win32codec because there are open source implementations of it. Only wmv3 (windows media 9) or higher needs the win32codecs.

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I would really like to know what makes the difference between my method and win32codec package, it's likely only the creator of the package know the answer (about wmv3)

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Originally Posted by tseliot

I would really like to know what makes the difference between my method and win32codec package, it's likely only the creator of the package know the answer (about wmv3)

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Ok, here an excerpt from Mplayer's README:

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MPlayer and libavcodec have builtin support for the most common audio and video formats, but some formats require external codecs. Examples include Real, Indeo and QuickTime audio formats. Support for Windows Media formats except WMV9 exists but still has some bugs, your mileage may vary. This step is not mandatory, but recommended for getting MPlayer to play a broader range of formats. Please note that most codecs only work on Intel x86 compatible PCs.

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Reguarding the Windows Media part, I'm interpreting it as "MPlayer comes with support for Windows Media format up to but not including WMV9, although some bugs still exists". Which means the MPlayer's win32codecs package will allow you to decode WMV9 videos. Makes sense, since win32codecs are directly copied off of a Windows installation anyway.

I am under the impresssion that the win32codec package in the Ubuntu repository is the same package that MPlayer uses, so, if your method worked, both methods should yield the same results. However, some users are reporting the they couldn't view wmv9 videos using your how-to, so perhaps there is more work involved to get win32codecs working on AMD64?

I guess a better way to make sure that win32codecs work is to play some .MOV (Quicktime) files. Since, there are multiple versions of WMV out there and the older versions have already been reversed engineered by the open source community.

FYI, Ubuntu has gstreamer0.8-ffmpeg plugin in the repositries, and ffmpeg includes libavcodec, which is the codec mentioned in the Mplayer README. So that means Totem-gstreamer can also play "some" wmv files, which I can confirm with my experience, although I must agree the playback experience was horrible.

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Originally Posted by tseliot

I would really like to know what makes the difference between my method and win32codec package, it's likely only the creator of the package know the answer (about wmv3)

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Lol, when i try to install them i'm getting an error

I did sudo tar jxvf essential-20050412.tar.bz2 /usr/lib/win32
then it says /usr/lib/win32 not found in the archive ](*,)

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Originally Posted by liquidfire

Lol, when i try to install them i'm getting an error

I did sudo tar jxvf essential-20050412.tar.bz2 /usr/lib/win32
then it says /usr/lib/win32 not found in the archive ](*,)

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If the folder exists copy the tar file to /urs/lib/win32 and uncompress it from there.

You can do it with:

sudo cp essential-20050412.tar.bz2 /usr/lib/win32

cd /usr/lib/win32

tar jxvf essential-20050412.tar.bz2

Or if you prefer to do it using a graphical inteface:

sudo nautilus (if you use GNOME) or sudo konqueror (in KDE)

Then drag and drop the file to the new folder and extract it (or just open the file and extract the file to the correct path /usr/lib/win32.

Tell me if it works.

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Originally Posted by tseliot

If the folder exists copy the tar file to /urs/lib/win32 and uncompress it from there.

You can do it with:

sudo cp essential-20050412.tar.bz2 /usr/lib/win32

cd /usr/lib/win32

tar jxvf essential-20050412.tar.bz2

Or if you prefer to do it using a graphical inteface:

sudo nautilus (if you use GNOME) or sudo konqueror (in KDE)

Then drag and drop the file to the new folder and extract it (or just open the file and extract the file to the correct path /usr/lib/win32.

Tell me if it works.

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That worked, but when I start Xine it can't open my avi file: " Cannot find right demuxer" I assume this has to do something with my sound?

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Originally Posted by liquidfire

That worked, but when I start Xine it can't open my avi file: " Cannot find right demuxer" I assume this has to do something with my sound?

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1) have you followed every step of my guide?

2) have you tried Mediaplayer?

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Originally Posted by tseliot

1) have you followed every step of my guide?

2) have you tried Mediaplayer?

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1) Yes
2) Yes, i tried but i'm thinking to begin my file is corrupt.
I keep getting errors like no stream information ](*,)

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Originally Posted by liquidfire

1) Yes
2) Yes, i tried but i'm thinking to begin my file is corrupt.
I keep getting errors like no stream information ](*,)

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Try to install Kaffeine and Totem-Xine and try again.

And try other files