With the final release of Windows 7 coming ever closer we are stating to see a number of very nice tools being released gear toward the new platform. For Media Center users some of the most useful programs being developed are in the area of codec support. With Windows Media Foundation and the new pipeline used in Media Center it has become fairly difficult for the novice users to setup their preferred codecs for video playback.
Today we’ve got a new application from CLSid, Doom9 member and FFDShow Tryout developer, that takes much of the leg work and guess work out of setting up your preferred codecs. To get started you can download v1.9 from Hack7MC servers here or check the thread on Doom9 for the latest version.
There’s no installation needed, just run the downloaded exe file and the program will automatically detect the installed codecs available as well as whether or not they are properly setup for playing back that particular format. For instance, if FFDShow has VC-1 enabled properly it will appear under the options, otherwise it will not.
This can actually serve a dual purpose of double checking whether or not you’ve got your configuration right. The tools currently supports the following output formats:
- H.264
- Xvid
- DivX
- MP4V
- MPEG-2
- VC-1
- MP3
In version 1.0 the following 32-bit filters are able to be detected by the program (Later versions include additional support for both 64-bit and 32-bit filters):
- ffdshow
- CoreAVC H.264 decoder
- Xvid MPEG-4 decoder
- DivX H.264 decoder
- DivX MPEG-4 decoder
- DScaler5 MPEG-2 decoder
- Cyberlink H.264 decoder (PDVD 7)
- Cyberlink MPEG-2 decoder (PDVD 7/8/9)
- Cyberlink VC-1 decoder (patched with VC1Tweak)
- ArcSoft H.264 decoder
- ArcSoft MPEG-4 decoder
- ArcSoft MPEG-2 decoder
- ArcSoft VC-1 decoder (patched with VC1Tweak)
The program also includes support for Microsoft and FFDShow filters under 64-bit operating systems.
The biggest advantage of this wonderful app is the ability to set separate decoders for each of the formats. This way you get a very customized setup allowing you to select the best suited decoder and tweak playback for specific formats.
With all these manual hacks being transformed into easy to use programs lately it seems like we may even see a comprehensive tweaking application at some point. We can all hope (and beg and plead) in any case that sometime soon getting your Media Center “just right” will be that simple.
Subscribe to Hack7MC and we’ll be sure to let you know when that glorious day comes!