DV Codec on XP?

[techiejustin]

I'm trying to play some AVI files off my Canon sd400, but Media Player barks at me. Apparently I need the DV codec.
I tried installing the Panasonic DV codec but that didn't work. Is there a generic DV codec I need?

[mats.hogberg]

Panasonic works on my XP system - even if I've just used it to encode.

/Mats

[edDV]

I'm trying to play some AVI files off my Canon sd400, but Media Player barks at me. Apparently I need the DV codec.
I tried installing the Panasonic DV codec but that didn't work. Is there a generic DV codec I need?

The Canon SD400 is a still camera, not a DV format camcorder. Canon usually uses the JPeg engine to create MJPEG video inside an AVI wrapper. To play this you need a MJPEG codec.

The application CD provided with the camera may or may not provide a codec that is installable to windows XP. Free VLC will allow you to play the file but does not install a codec to XP.

If a codec is installed to XP, Movie Maker 2 can edit the file and WMP will play it.

Most recent digital photo and/or video editing suites now include an MJPEG codec that will install to XP during application installation. Look for an application that features digital still camera movie editing.

[techiejustin]

there is no mjpeg codec on the installation CD.
I upgraded my hard drive and had to install WIndows from scratch, previously I never installed a mjpeg codec specifically, but I was able to play them and import them into Movie Maker and Media Encoder 9.
I remember installing an open source codec pack that was supposed to be the end all for codecs, including xvid. I just completely forgot where I got it and what it was called.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Which Service Pack of XP do you have?

SP2 certainly ships with Microsoft's own MJPEG codec.

One problem might be that the Canon video files are tagged as some custom FourCC. MJPEG is *usually* 'mjpg' or 'MJPG' but some digital (still) cameras may tag them otherwise. I also recall reading somewhere that some manufacturers add extra information in the files that must be maintained if, for example, you ever want to load a video back to the camera (Fuji, I think).

[edDV]

MJPG is one of those codecs that requires a licence fee be paid by someone. It is often bundled in applications like editors that pay the distribution royalty. Once it is installed to XP, other applications have access to it.

You can buy versions of the codec from companies like PICVideo, Mainconcept and Morgan Multimedia.

[JohnnyMalaria]

It's definitely part of the OS. According to GraphEdit, it is part of quartz.dll

I just had a rummage and found this. Microsoft include MJPG as part of DirectX 9.0.

I've confirmed that both the encoder and decoder functions are provided.

[edDV]

Cool. I wonder why people keep reporting that Canon MJPG videos won't play in WMP?

[JohnnyMalaria]

I suspect the FourCC is different.

In Quicktime-land, Canon's M-JPEG is "MJAV:CANO" (according to http://www.insanityflows.net/archive/index.php?title=QuickTime#Canon)

The AVI format is probably 'MJAV' or 'CANO' or some other daft thing.

@techiejustin - can you post a very short clip somewhere (just a frame or two will be enough) exactly as downloaded from the camera? I'd like to poke around!