[FFmpeg-user] Codecs and containers.

[Dave Rice]

Hi Steve,

On Jun 10, 2011, at 2:00 PM, Steve wrote:
>> FFmpeg can generate a Matroska file with FFV1 video. There isn't a custom
> Matroska codec ID for FFV1 but the file ffmpeg makes uses:
>> Codec ID: V_MS/VFW/FOURCC
> 
> Thanks for this.  
> 
> Do you think it's a good combination for a lossless, copyright-free,
> cross-platform video?

There are probably others here (and on Matroska-devel) that can answer better than I, but:
lossless: ffv1 is lossless and probably supports the most comprehensive list of pixel formats of ffmpeg's lossless video options,
copyright-free: ffv1.c says "Copyright (c) 2003 Michael Niedermayer" licensed under LGPL v2.1 or later
cross-platform: ffmpeg and mkvtoolnix are cross-platform. There are cross-platform players (mplayer, vlc, etc) that will play ffv1 in mkv.

> What would you recommend?

For the three criteria you mention above it seems to meet the set of standards. You could also consider huffyuv or jpeg2000. As far as I know the combination of MKV and ffv1 seems rare but offers a lot of potential. I made up a sample file that utilizes lossless 10 bit yuv 4:2:2, Matroska attachments, and a mix of official and unofficial matroska tags here: http://www.avpreserve.com/pres_metadata_sample_20110608.mkv.

> Secondly, I thought ffv1 *was* the codec, am I missing something? What is
> the difference between codec id and codec?

See http://matroska.org/technical/specs/codecid/index.html. Matroska defines specific codecID for some codecs with V_MS/VFW/FOURCC + private codec data used for things off the list.

Dave

> Thanks
> 
> Steve
> 
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