Software characteristics
Codecs list
General video codec information — creator/company, license/price, etc.
| libtheora (Theora) |
Xiph.org |
2002-09-25 |
1.1.1 (2009)[3] |
BSD-style[4] |
Patented, but freely licensed[*] |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| dirac-research (Dirac) |
BBC Research Department |
2008-09-17 |
1.0.2 (2009)[5] |
MPL 1.1, GNU GPL 2, GNU LGPL 2.1 |
none |
Lossy/lossless |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Schrödinger (Dirac) |
David Schleef |
2008-02-22 |
1.0.11 (2012)[5] |
MPL 1.1, GNU GPL 2, GNU LGPL 2, MIT License |
none |
Lossy/lossless |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| x264 |
x264 team |
2003 |
r2019 (2011)[6][7] |
GNU GPL |
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 |
Lossy/lossless |
No |
No |
No |
Partial |
Unknown |
| Xvid |
Xvid team |
2001 |
1.3.2 (2011)[8] |
GNU GPL |
MPEG-4 ASP |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| FFmpeg (libavcodec) |
FFmpeg team |
2000 |
0.10.0 (2012)[9] |
GNU LGPL |
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP, H.261, H.263, VC-3, WMV7, WMV8, MJPEG, MPEG-4v3, DV etc. |
Lossy/lossless |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| FFavs (libavcodec) |
FFavs team |
2009 |
0.0.3[10] |
GNU LGPL |
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP etc. |
Lossy/lossless |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Blackbird |
Forbidden Technologies plc |
2006-01 |
2 |
Proprietary |
Blackbird |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| DivX |
DivX, Inc. |
2001 |
DivX Plus (2010)[11] |
Proprietary |
MPEG-4 ASP, H.264 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| DivX ;-) |
a hack of Microsoft's MPEG-4v3 codec[12][13] |
1998 |
3.20 alpha[14] (2000) |
Proprietary |
Microsoft's MPEG-4v3 (not MPEG-4 compliant) |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| 3ivx |
3ivx Technologies Pty. Ltd. |
2001 |
5.0.2 (2007)[15] |
Proprietary |
MPEG-4 ASP |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Nero Digital |
Nero AG |
2003 |
Unknown |
Proprietary |
MPEG-4 ASP, H.264[16] |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| ProRes 422 / ProRes 4444 |
Apple Inc. |
2007 |
|
Proprietary |
Unknown |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Sorenson Video |
Sorenson Media |
1998 |
|
Proprietary |
Sorenson Video |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Sorenson Spark |
Sorenson Media |
2002 |
|
Proprietary |
Sorenson Spark |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| VP3 |
On2 Technologies |
2000 |
|
BSD-style[4] |
Patented, but freely licensed[*] |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| VP4 |
On2 Technologies |
2001 |
|
Proprietary |
VP4 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| VP5 |
On2 Technologies |
2002 |
|
Proprietary |
VP5 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| VP6 |
On2 Technologies |
2003 |
|
Proprietary |
VP6 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| VP7 |
On2 Technologies |
2005 |
|
Proprietary |
VP7 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| VP8 |
On2 Technologies (now owned by Google) |
2008 |
|
BSD-style |
Patented, but freely licensed |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| DNxHD |
Avid Technology |
2008 |
|
Proprietary |
VC-3 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Cinema Craft Encoder SP2 |
Custom Technology Corporation |
2000 |
1.00.01.09 (2009)[17] |
Proprietary |
MPEG-1, MPEG-2 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| TMPGEnc Free Version |
Pegasys Inc. |
2001 |
2.525.64.184 (2008)[18] |
Proprietary |
MPEG-1, MPEG-2 |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Windows Media Encoder |
Microsoft |
1999 |
9 (2003) (WMV3 in FourCC) |
Proprietary |
WMV, VC-1, (in early versions MPEG-4 Part 2 and not MPEG-4 compliant MPEG-4v3, MPEG-4v2) |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Cinepak |
Created by SuperMac, Inc.
Currently maintained by Compression Technologies, Inc.[19]
|
1991 |
1.10.0.26 (1999) |
Proprietary |
Unknown |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Indeo Video |
Intel Corporation, currently offered by Ligos Corporation |
1992 |
5.2 |
Proprietary |
Indeo Video |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| TrueMotion S |
The Duck Corporation |
1995 |
|
Proprietary |
TrueMotion S |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| RealVideo |
RealNetworks |
1997 |
RealVideo 10[20] |
Proprietary |
H.263, RealVideo |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| ACT-L3 |
Streambox |
2003-02-21 |
3.4 (2009) |
Proprietary |
Unknown |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Huffyuv |
Ben Rudiak-Gould |
2000 |
2.1.1 (2003)[21] |
GNU GPL 2 |
none |
Lossless |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Lagarith |
Ben Greenwood |
2004-10-04 |
1.3.26 (2011-09-25)[22] |
GNU GPL 2 |
none |
Lossless |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| MainConcept |
MainConcept GmbH |
1993 |
8.8.0 (2011) |
Proprietary |
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, H.263, VC-3, MPEG-4 Part 2, DV, MJPEG etc. |
Lossy |
Yes[23] |
Yes[24][25] |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Yes[26] |
| Elecard |
Elecard |
2008 |
G4 (2010)[27] |
Proprietary |
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVC |
Lossy |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
- The Xiph.Org Foundation has negotiated an irrevocable free license to Theora and other VP3-derived codecs for everyone, for any purpose.[28]
- DivX Plus is also known as DivX 8. The latest stable version for Mac is DivX 7 for Mac.
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