EngageMedia.org has published a lengthy, detailed report on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) video codecs and players.  According to the site, “It is a review of available tools for the creation, playback and embedding of online video using FOSS codecs, and a look at the most pressing areas for development to enhance their adoption by social change video projects on the web.”

Non-FOSS codecs and players are plagued by patent issues and proprietary technologies that can inhibit usability and affordability for many video makers.  According to the report, as media become further democratized, it’s important that the tools we use do not become locked down and owned exclusively by a small number of technology corporations.  This report lays it all out and offers some best practices for video content creators.  What follows is an excerpt from the report that focuses on some specific technology recommendations…

Codecs and Containers

The use of two FOSS video and audio codec combinations are recommended:

• Xvid/LAME Use of the Xvid codec for video and LAME codec for audio in the medium term as both codecs are well developed and generally well supported but are encumbered with patent issues that mean they may be plagued with legal issues into the future.
• Ogg Theora/Vorbis Use of the Ogg format, Theora video codec and Vorbis audio codec as they are patent-free technologies that have seen great improvements in usability and the number and quality of tools available to create and play them is increasing.

Players

There are many good FOSS players of both Xvid/LAME and Ogg Theora/Vorbis available, some more suitable for certain purposes than others. However the recommendation is that Transmission projects promote the use of one player application primarily, VLC, in order to share documentation and training resources more easily by adopting the same software:

• VLC Use VLC as it is highly-developed FOSS media player for FOSS codecs available on all platforms.

Transcoders

The following transcoders are recommended to create Ogg Theora/Vorbis video files:

• MediaCoder (Windows) Use MediaCoder as it is a very usable and highly-configurable FOSS transcoding application with good presets.
• Simple Theora Encoder (Mac) Use Simple Theora Encoder as it is a very easy-to-use FOSS application for creating Ogg files with presets and configurability.
• Ogg Convert (Linux) Use Ogg Convert as it is a very simple and usable FOSS application to create Ogg files amongst others.

The following transcoders are recommended to create Xvid/LAME video files:

• MediaCoder (Windows) Use MediaCoder as it is a very usable and highly-configurable FOSS transcoding application with good presets.
• Avidemux (Linux) Use Avidemux, an easy yet configurable FOSS transcoding application with good presets.
• FfmpegX (Mac) Use FfmpegX as it is an simple yet configurable Shareware transcoding GUI application built on FOSS transcoding software.

Server-Side Transcoding

• ffmpeg2theora Install the FOSS ffmpeg2theora on the server to create Ogg Theora/Vorbis files automatically for the user, that can then be played back in the browser with other FOSS technologies
• Mencoder Install the FOSS Mencoder on the server to create Xvid/LAME files automatically for the user where appropriate, for download. Alternatively use this to transcode to Flash video for playback in the browser using FOSS technologies.