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Xvid Video Codec 1.4-127

Xvid is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile (ASP).

It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices.

Xvid is a primary competitor of the DivX Pro Codec. In contrast with the DivX codec, which is proprietary software developed by DivX, Inc., Xvid is free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

Xvid is a video codec for PC, whereas codec is an abbreviation for [co]der/[dec]oder, hence describes a program to encode and decode digital video. The purpose of encoding video data is to reduce redundancies – that means to make it smaller for faster transmission over computer networks or for more efficient storage on computer disks.

Hence, Xvid can somewhat be seen as a ZIP for video. But unlike ZIP, Xvid is not lossless. That means that a video after compression and decompression with Xvid won't be identical to the original source. Typically however, a difference to the source is visually imperceptible.

So Xvid removes information that is not important for human perception, which is somewhat similar to MP3 for audio. This enables very high compression rates that allow to effectively work with digital video on home computers at all. To give an example: uncompressed digital video is huge and requires about 100 GB per hour at PAL resolution. The same video would require just 500 MB per hour at very high quality when compressed with Xvid. That is a compression ratio of 200:1.

Main features of Xvid 1.4:

- MPEG-4 Video Codec library
- Optimized for highest picture quality and archival purposes
- SP/ASP de-/encoding support
- Open-source software released under GPL license
- Primary platform PC (Windows and Linux)
- High-performance due to extensive assembly optimizations

Important Notes:

- Jawor's stable builds are built on 24.06.2011 while the unstable builds are built on 13.07.2011.
- Jawor's patched build includes Xvid EncRaw while x86 & x64 version and x64 version have a 64-bit DirectShow decoder.

Changes in Xvid Video Codec 1.3.2:

- Dark Shikari's VAQ added to 1.2.2 (1.3.1 had it already)
- Simple Profile @ Level 4a/5/6 added to 1.2.2 (1.3.1 had those profiles already)
- "Generic Standalone" profile (just like "Xvid Home", only it allows more B-VOPs and doesn't force Packed Bitstream)
- MTK profiles for better compatibility with MediaTek-based standalone players
- DivX profiles (both current and obsolete) for better compatibility with DivX-Certified standalone players
- Frame Drop Ratio can be set to -1 to disable "real" N-VOPs completely (only in 1.2.2) (in 1.3.1 Frame Drop Ratio has been redefined and 0 disables them)
"- INTER4V" macroblock mode can be disabled by unchecking Use 4MV (for really crappy devices)
- VBV parameters can be adjusted in the "unrestricted" profile
- Closed GOV can be disabled in the "unrestricted" profile
- DivX 5 user data can be written in any profile (for better compatibility)
- "DX50" FourCC is forced in DivX profiles (for better compatibility)
- Encoder can use "MP4V" FourCC
- Maximum number of zones increased to 255
- Latest bug fixes
- Many cosmetic GUI changes

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