Let's talk about Codecs...

The Zentu Encoder supports a wide variety of Codecs. Let's learn about our different options.

How do we find out what codec our video uses? The first place to look is the file extension.

Here is a list of common file extensions for video:

1. .mpg - MPEG 1or 2 (commonly refered to as VCD or DVD formats)
2. .avi - Audio Video Interleave
3. .wmv - Windows Media Video
4. .rm - Real Media Video
5. .mov - QuickTime Video

Now that we know what the file extension is we can use a program such as AVIcodec to give us more information about the codec and the Bitrate used. The important information we get from AVIcodec is:

Video : 17.42 MB, 1008 Kbps, 29.970 fps, 640*304 (2.21:1), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5, Supported

This tells us that our Video BitRate should be below 1008Kbps and our aspect ratio should be within 2.21:1 and that our codec is supported on the system.

Now what do we do if we are given a video by a client and we can't watch it or encode it?

1. The first step will be to check the file extension (see above)
2. If the file extension is .mpg or mpeg you should be able to view it if you have a dvd player on your system.
3. If the file extension is .avi you should use a program such as AVIcodec and follow the web links provided to download the codec if not already on the system.
4. If the file extension is .wmv you need to got to microsoft and get the latest version of Windows Media
5. If the file extension is .rm you can download Real Player or Real Alternative.
6. If the file extension is .mov you can download Quicktime or Quicktime Alternative.

What is the best format/codec to use with Zentu?

The best formats seem to be Audio Video Interleave and Quicktime. The best codecs are Divx, Xvid, and H.264 . It is important to remember that the higher the quality a video is before the Zentu encoding the better it will come out.