What program will tell me the codec a DVD movie uses?

[seskanda]

My brother's short movie only plays back smoothly on a DVD player/recorder. He says the movie uses a hi-res codec, but does NOT know what. I have a rather crummy codec "DVD Decoder Pak for Windows XP" installed (the installer is 245 KB ) Anyhow, is there some app that will show the info about the movie, and reveal the codec it's using?

Thanks in advance.

[redwudz]

Gspot or MediaInfo will work. Just drop one of the VOBs into those programs or point the program to them. It's most likely the MPEG codec, but the framesize, bitrate, or other factors in the video may be causing problems.

And welcome to our forums.

[jagabo]

If it plays on a regular DVD player it is MPEG 1 or 2. Windows does not include an MPEG 2 decoder.

[Supreme2k]

As it has been said, the DVD spec is a single codec (or set: mpg+ac3, mpg+PCM, etc.)

Most of the recorders that I've seen play multi-formats, such as vcd, divx and svcd. In that case, go with redwudz' suggestion.

[seskanda]

Thanks, all. Mediainfo told me the sound uses ac-3 format. I installed AC3 filter, and MOST skipping is gone, but the video quality is still sub-par compared to when i watch it on my TV. Mediainfo says the .VOB is MPEG Video version 2 and MPEG-PS. What DVD codec supports those? And which has the best quality?

[jagabo]

Use MPCHC, KMPlayer, or VLC. All those players have their own built in codecs.

[seskanda]

I only need a better DVD codec, NOT a player, or can you install the codec separately from these players?

[jman98]

AC3 and MPEG-2 are covered by patents. There are no free MPEG-2 codecs available in the USA. I doubt that the freely available AC3 solutions are technically legal here either. If you want something legit, you have to buy either WinDVD or PowerDVD. jagabo's suggestion to use one of those players is quite good as you will likely find your problems will go away with a new player, but if you wish to try to make whatever player you have work better, then you're going to have to buy WinDVD or PowerDVD so you can get access to their codecs.

[jagabo]

ffdshow includes AC3 and MPEG2 decoders.