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VLC

  • That's a tall order, right?  VLC from VideoLAN.org has become the go-to media player for most, as it can play so many things that Windows Media Player won't, and it's free.  Well, how does it do that, play more than other players?  The Libavformat and Libavcodec libraries, the same ones created by and for the FFmpeg project (and so many other multimedia applications)

    VLC & DirectShow Filters

    DirectShow is one of Microsoft's multimedia frameworks, formerly known as ActiveMovie, which replaced Microsoft's earlier Video for Windows framework.  VLC supports DirectShow-based input sources through a module (not very well, IMO, though), but the default Windows version downloaded from VideoLAN cannot reference 32-bit DirectShow filters installed on your Windows PC for audio/video decoding (i.e. filters/codecs registered in your Windows Registry), as the default version downloaded is x64.

    As an example, a DCCTV video file exported from a GeoVision system to an AVI file may be using the proprietary GMP4 video codec. In order to play the video, you must install the GeoVision GMP4 codec necessary to decode the primary video stream; this is a DirectShow filter.  DirectShow filters can only be referenced by applications that can leverage DirectShow, which we've established, VLC x64 cannot. 

  • Popular media player VLC has been pulled from Apple's App Store at the request of one of the program's original developers--in a move that's caused some hard feelings in the world of open-source software.

    Full Story

  • This really should come as no surprise to folks in our industry, as Apple's support of QuickTime on Windows has waned over many years. It's also important to understand that I.T. is going to take a global approach to the new vulnerabilities, and will likely force removal of QuickTime from all hosts they control/manage. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to explain to them why you are an exception, and to learn more about the available options and solutions to address your environment and needs. There are options.

  • You can just press play if you want to, but if you're forensically processing evidence, I wouldn't advise it. Know the playback software, as it is just as important to proper playback and interpretation as the hardware. Take Windows Media Player, for instance.

    In the following video I discuss a few quirks about Windows Media Player v12, a shortcoming of the popular metadata tool MediaInfo, and more.

  • With faster decoding on multi-core, GPU, and mobile hardware and the ability to open more formats, notably professional, HD and 10bits codecs, 2.0 is a major upgrade for VLC.

    Visit the VideoLAN website for details.

  • You're probably familiar with VLC Media Player, the FREE, open source, cross-platform media player and video converter that has been downloaded over 400 million times worldwide.  Well, VideoLAN has been chuggin' away on non-linear video editor for quite some time and it too will be FREE, open source, cross-platform software.  Initial project estimates had the Windows version being released sometime this week, but so far not a peep from the official project site.   While we wait you can check out this YouTube video the VLMC team published that gives you a look at the new interface. 

    If you get your hands on it before I do, be sure to send me your thoughts.

  • Need to download a web video from YouTube, Facebook, etc.? Here are two Freeware tools that can help, one of which you likely already have. ?

    Let's make it a great Friday, my friends. 

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