AVI Graphics Format Overview

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AVI Graphics Format Overview

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Since machines join and leave the multicast groups over time, the routers
must detect these changes to properly route multicast IP packets.
Much of the difficulty in IP multicast involves development and
implementation of routing protocols for multicast IP packets.

Multicast has been implemented on the Internet throught the
Multicast Backbone (MBONE) which uses the mrouted daemon to
implement the Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP).
Various video programs such as NASA Space Shuttle mission video,
IETF meetings, and other technical conferences are frequently
"multicast" over the MBONE.

RFC 1112 Host extensions for IP multicasting

RFC 1054 Host extensions for IP multicasting

Note: RFC's 1112 and 1054 describe the Internet Group Management Protocol
(IGMP) for management of multicast groups.

RFC 1075 Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol

RFC 1584 Multicast Extensions to OSPF

RFC 2117 Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM): Protocol
Specification

UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

UDP is a very simple protocol layered on top of IP. An IP packet
contains the IP addresses of the sending and receiving machines on the
network. The IP packet has no mechanism to identify separate sending and
receiving processes on the machines. UDP adds "ports" which
effectively identify sending and receiving processes. An IP
address can have many ports. The pair
of sending and receiving ports is called a "connection" in the
language of TCP/IP. Proprietary and experimental streaming video
protocols are usually layered on top of the UDP protocol rather
than the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) protocol.

Why UDP instead of TCP?

While TCP guarantees delivery of a stream of data, something that IP
alone does not, TCP does not guarantee timely delivery of the data.
To insure delivery of data, TCP resends a packet if the TCP protocol
software does not receive an acknowledgement from the receiver
before the TCP retransmission timeout expires.
TCP uses an "adaptive retransmission algorithm" that may choose a
long timeout when the network is slow.
As a result TCP may wait a long time before retransmitting the packet.
With video, packets of video data must be delivered quickly to
prevent an underflow in the buffer of the receiving video player
resulting dropped frames. The video player runs out of video data to
display.

Video networking protocols implemented with UDP often add a fixed timeout
to retransmit packets before the buffer of the receiving video
process, the video player, underflows. Such a protocol may also adjust
the buffer size to compensate for delays and congestion in the network.

RFC 768 User Datagram Protocol

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AVI and Your Health (Eye Strain)

Note: This is not intended as medical advice. If you are
experience visual problems, see a qualified professional.

Sustained use of computers probably causes a variety of
visual problems. The most common problems appear to be "burning
eyes" and focusing problems.

Currently, computer monitors are usually placed around two
feet from the user's eyes. This is much closer than the
natural resting focus distance of the eyes, which is somewhere
between ten feet and infinity. Also computer monitors are
much dimmer and lower contrast than natural objects which forces
the eyes to work harder to focus effectively on the monitor.
This is one of the reasons paper remains a more comfortable
medium for reading than computer monitors. Prolonged focusing
at short distances probably causes a variety of visual problems.

Computer users should look away from their monitor and rest their
eyes, focusing at a distance, every few minutes. Many users do
this without even realizing that they are doing it.

Desktop video such as AVI probably presents greater risks than
traditional computer uses such as reading. With static
media such as text documents or still images, when the user looks
away from the monitor and looks back, nothing changes, no information
is missed. There is no penalty to looking away from the monitor
to rest your eyes, focus at a distance, and so forth. With video, the
video will change while the user is looking away. The user misses
something, perhaps a critical event. Thus, users tend not to look away
from desktop video, keeping their eyes focused on the screen
for long periods of time.

Computer animators who work with computer video, often for
long periods, have reported these problems for years.

Thus, people are very unlikely to watch two hour movies on computer
monitors two feet from their eyes. Digital video will likely
migrate to the same location as the television, at least ten feet
away.

Some Resources on Computers and Your Eyes

"Reducing eyestrain from video and computer monitors "
by Charles Poynton

http://www.inforamp.net/~poynton/notes/reducing_eyestrain/index.html

IBM's Healthy Computing - Vision Page
Note: Keep in mind that IBM sells computers.

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/healthycomputing/ergoviso.html

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Miscellaneous Questions about AVI and Video for Windows

What is most recent version of Video for Windows?

Most recent version of Video for Windows for Windows 3.1 appears to
be Video for Windows 1.1e. (10/2/96)

Where can I get the 16-bit Video for Windows 1.1e runtime?

This is the Video for Windows for Windows 3.x In a pinch, it will
also work under Windows 95. Windows 95 includes a version of
Video for Windows that has 32 bit video codecs and possibly other
changes specific to Windows 95. See elsewhere in this Overview
for information on re-installing Video for Windows for
Windows 95.

From Microsoft,

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/WV1160.EXE

(Note the file name is all upper case)

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How to import AVI files into Lightwave

Lightwave is a powerful 3D animation program from NewTek. Originally
developed for the Amiga, Lightwave has been ported to Windows 95 and
Windows NT.

BurntPixels produces a plug-in for Lightwave 5.0 called AVILoad 2.1
that enables direct importing of AVI files into Lightwave animations.
AVILoad 2.1 is available for Lightwave 5.0 for Windows 95 and NT.

See the AVILoad Web site for further details.

http://www.en.com/users/bforce/

For further information on NewTek and Lightwave, see the LightWave
Web site:

http://www.newtek.com/

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How to give AVI files a different extension in Windows 3.x

It is possible to give an AVI file a different file extension, for
example VID. Microsoft Windows can be configured so that Windows
treats this file the same as a file with the AVI extension. For
example, double clicking on a .VID file in File Manager will play the
.VID file just the same as a .AVI file.

In Windows 3.x, edit the WIN.INI file, usually in the \WINDOWS
directory. There is a section [Extensions] which associates
file extensions with applications. For example, this section
will typically include a line such as:

[Extensions]
AVI=mplayer.exe /play /close ^AVI

which causes Media Player (mplayer.exe) to be invoked when the user double
clicks on a file with extension AVI. For VID, add a line

VID=mplayer.exe /play /close ^VID

Media Player is an MCI (Media Control Interface) application. It will
attempt to play the .VID file through MCI. At this point however, MCI
would not recognize VID although Media Player would be invoked.

There is also a section [mci extensions] which contains lines such as:

[mci extensions]
AVI=AVIVideo ( tells MCI to use the MCI driver refered to as AVIVideo for files with the extension AVI)

For the VID example, add

VID=AVIVideo

to the [mci extensions] section in WIN.INI

The WIN.INI file is used mainly for configuring the higher levels
of Windows: the graphical user interface and the desktop. Many applications
install their configuration or installation information in sections within
WIN.INI

Names such as AVIVideo are defined in the [mci] section in the SYSTEM.INI
file, also usually in the \WINDOWS directory. SYSTEM.INI is used
mainly for configuring the lower levels of Windows: the device
drivers, VxD's, and so forth.

[mci]
AVIVideo=mciavi.drv ( where mciavi.drv is the AVI MCI Driver )

Thus, many file extensions can refer to AVIVideo which in turn refers to
the MCI Driver for AVI files. The MCI Driver processes MCI commands and
may in turn invoke other drivers or DLL's such as the Video for Windows
decompressors.

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How AVI Files are Handled in Windows 95

If a user double-clicks on an AVI file icon in Windows 95, Windows 95
will invoke an AVI player. In Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2, Windows
95 will invoke the ActiveMovie Control to play the AVI file. ActiveMovie
1.0 ships with OEM Service Release 2 which is configured to use
ActiveMovie for AVI, QuickTime, and MPEG files.

Windows 95 has file extensions and file types. .AVI is a file
extension. File extensions are mapped to file types. AVIFile is
a file type. The information on file extensions and file types
is stored in the Windows 95 System Registry. More than one file
extension can be mapped to the same file type. For example, the .AIF
and .AIFF file extensions are both mapped to AIFFFile, the file
type for the Apple AIFF audio file format.

The file type contains information on how to play the file (which
application to use) and other information. This information is
all stored in the Windows 95 Registry.

A user can view and also edit the information on file types
through the Windows Explorer applet. Select the Options...
item from the View Menu of Windows Explorer. Select the File Types
tab from the Options property sheet. This gives a list box of
registered file types. There are buttons to add, remove, or edit
a File Type. The AVIFile File Type is identified as
"Movie Clip(AVI)" in this list box of registered file types in
Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.

In the Windows 95 Registry, "Movie Clip(AVI)" is a string in the
"AVIFile" file type "key". Windows Explorer displays the string "Movie
Clip(AVI)", not AVIFile, the name of the "key".

A user can change how Windows 95 handles an AVI file by editing
the "Movie Clip(AVI)" File Type in the File Types through Windows
Explorer. For example, a user can select an alternative AVI file
player.

In Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2, the File Type includes a
Content type (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension or MIME type).
The Content type (MIME type) tells Microsoft Internet Explorer how
to handle a file from a Web site.

The original Windows 95 retail version did not include the Content
(MIME) type. This extra feature could be added by installing the
MS Plus! add-on to Windows 95. Some OEM versions of Windows 95 prior
to OEM Service Release 2 supported the Content (MIME) type.

The Windows 95 Registry can be viewed using REGEDIT, the Windows 95
Registry editor. The registry "keys" for file extensions and file types
are stored in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT "key". Although REGEDIT can also
edit the registry, the registry is rather complex and this drastic
action should be avoided. Use the Windows Explorer applet. This applet
knows how to modify the keys in the Windows 95 Registry.

The Windows 95 Registry is a binary database stored in two files:
SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT. Internally, the database is structured very
similarly to a hierarchical file system such as the DOS/WINDOWS file
system. A Windows 95 Registry "key" is essentially a folder that
contains other "keys" or "values". The "values" have a name and
associated data. The data are text strings such as "Movie Clip(AVI)"
or binary numbers. The Registry Editor represents keys with a folder
icon and values with different icons. The Registry Editor closely
resembles the Windows Explorer.

The registry contains a key in the top level HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key
called .avi, for the .avi file extension. All keys contain a default
"value" with the name (Default). In the .avi key, the (Default) value
has the associated ASCII text string data "AVIFile". In Windows 95
OEM Service Release 2, there is an additional value named "Content
Type" with the associated ASCII text string data "video/avi", the MIME
type for AVI files. This additional information is used by the
Internet Explorer.

The (Default) value in the .avi key references the AVIFile key, also
in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. This key contains a number of other keys and
values. The (Default) value for the AVIFile key has the data
"Movie Clip(AVI)" which the Windows interface uses to identify the files
to users. The AVIFile key is an example of a file type key.

The "shell" key in the AVIFile key specifies what happens when a user
double-clicks on an AVI file. In Windows 95 OSR2, the (Default) value
for the shell key is "play". The shell key contains two subkeys:open
and play. These keys specify possible actions to perform. The
(Default) value indicates that the "play" action will be used.

The open and play keys each contain a key called command. The
(Default) value for the command subkey of play is "rundll32 amovie.ocx
RunDLL /play /close %1". rundll32 is a program that runs a 32 bit
Windows Dynamic Link Library or DLL as an Application. The command
executes amovie.ocx, the ActiveMovie Control, as an
application. Controls such as amovie.ocx are actually DLLs. /play
tells the control to play the file and /close tells the control to
close after finishing playing the file.

In versions of Windows 95 without ActiveMovie, the command keys are
configured to invoke Media Player, mplayer.exe.

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Most Common AVI Question: What does "could not find vids:xxxx ..." error mean?

This is the most common question that I get about AVI files (12/18/98).

When Video for Windows cannot find the video compressor decompressor
or codec used to encode an AVI file, Video for Windows pops up a
message box with this error message. ".. could not find vids:xxxx ..."

where "xxxx" is an inscrutable sequence of four letters and digits
such as "i263" or "iv50".

vids is the four character code for the video stream in an AVI file.
xxxx is the unique four character code used to identify the video
codec used to compress the video stream in the AVI file.

In particular, I receive many questions about two video codecs from
Intel:

"... could not find vids:i263 ..."

I263 is the four character code for Intel's implementation of the H.263
video standard. The Video for Windows drivers for this codec can
be downloaded from the Intel Web site.

"... could not find vids:iv50 ..."

IV50 is the four character code for Intel Indeo Video 5.x, also available
from the Intel Web site. IV50 is used by Indeo 5.0, 5.06, and 5.10.

The AVI Overview contains extensive information on four character
codes. Link to Section on Four Character Codes

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How can I play an AVI file?

MS DOS

On DOS, the shareware program QuickView by Wolfgang Hesseler can
play AVI files (including sound). QuickView 1.03 is available
through the simtel sites such as

ftp://info.nic.surfnet.nl/mirror-archive/software/simtel-msdos/graphics/qv103.zip

You can get the latest version of QuickView (2.30 on 6/6/98) from

Wolfgang Hesseler's Home Page

Microsoft Windows

Windows Media Player

Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT are usually configured so
that double clicking on the icon for an AVI file will invoke an AVI player
application. Video for Windows includes an application known as Media
Player that can play AVI files as well as other multimedia data types.
ActiveMovie 1.0 inclues an ActiveMovie ActiveX control that can play
AVI, QuickTime, and MPEG video as well as other multimedia data types.

On Windows 3.x, Media Player is MPLAYER.EXE. This is a 16 bit
Windows 3.x application. Windows 95 can run both the 16 bit Media Player
and a 32 bit Media Player. There is also a Media Player on Windows NT 4.0
This is MPLAY32.EXE

MediaPlayer can be invoked by typing mplayer.exe at the DOS command
prompt or through the Run... item in the Windows 3.x Program Manager or
the start menu for Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0

The ActiveMovie ActiveX control on Windows 95 is amovie.ocx. This can
be executed as a standalone application using the
commands Rundll32 amovie.ocx.

ActiveMovie is only available for Windows 95. It will not work on
Windows 3.x Windows NT 5.0 should add an ActiveMovie implementation.
ActiveMovie 1.0 is shipped with the Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.
ActiveMovie has been renamed DirectShow.

Woldo's MCI Video Player for Windows 95/98/NT

Wolfgang Doehler distributes a free alternative to Windows Media Player
for 32 bit Windows platforms:

http://pweb.de.uu.net/wolfgang.doehler

Power Macintosh

On the Apple Macintosh, Apple's QuickTime 3 Pro includes a QuickTime
Internet Plug-In that can play AVI video. The QuickTime Internet
Plug-In is available for:

o Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and 4.0 for Macintosh
o Netscape Communicator 4.0 for Macintosh
o Netscape Navigator 3.0 for Macintosh

http://quicktime.apple.com/

On the Macintosh, Microsoft's Internet Explorer (Web Browser) can play
AVI files directly. There is also an application AVI->QuickTime that
can convert AVI files to QuickTime .MooV files on the Macintosh.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.01 (on 6/4/97) for the Macintosh may
be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site at:

http://www.microsoft.com/ie/

MacZilla is an inexpensive shareware Netscape Navigator Plug-In for
the Macintosh that plays QuickTime .MOV, Video for Windows AVI, and
MPEG-1 files. MacZilla can also play Sun Audio .AU, Microsoft
.WAV, and MPEG Layer 2 Audio .MP2 files. If you pay the
fee, MacZilla will send you a STANDALONE player (not a Netscape
Plug-In) for the Macintosh. The MacZilla URL is:

http://maczilla.com

NOTE: I personally experienced a lot of crashes with MacZilla on
my Macintosh. (6/4/97)

Unix

Xanim by Marc Podlipec is a free X Windows based AVI Player for Unix.
Much of Xanim is available as source code!! The Xanim home page is:

http://xanim.va.pubnix.com/

XAnime 2.80.1 was released on March 21, 1999. This is a minor
release with some changes to XAnim 2.80.0, described below.

XAnim 2.80.0 was released on March 14, 1999. According to the
XAnim Web site:

XAnim 2.80.0 is now ready for consumption. In addition to several new
video codecs, the new revision also supports dynamically loadable
video decompression libraries. This means you no longer need to
recompile xanim each time a new video codec is released or
upgraded. There are currently dll's for: Creative CYUV, Radius
Cinepak, Intel Indeo 3.2, Intel Indeo 4.1, Intel Indeo 5.0, CCITT
H.261 and CCITT H.263.

Mark Podlipec writes (PREVIOUSLY):

Below is some up-to-date information about XAnim, the unix X11 AVI player.

Thanks,

Mark

----

Latest revision: XAnim 2.70.6.4

Official Web sites:

http://xanim.va.pubnix.com/home.html
http://smurfland.cit.buffalo.edu/xanim/home.html
http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/xanim/

AVI Video and Audio Codecs Supported:

+ AVI Video Codecs supported:
+ IBM Ultimotion (ULTI)
+ JPEG (JPEG)
+ Motion JPEG (MJPG)
+ Intergraph JPEG (IJPG)
+ Microsoft Video 1 (CRAM/WHAM/MSVC)
+ Radius Cinepak (CVID)
+ Intel Indeo R3.1 (IV31)
+ Intel Indeo R3.2 (IV32)
+ Intel RAW YUV9 (YUV9)
+ Creative CYUV (CYUV)
+ Uncompressed (RGB )
+ Run length encoded (RLE8)
+ Editable MPEG (XMPG)

+ AVI Audio Codecs supported:
+ PCM (0x0001)
+ MS ADPCM (0x0002)
+ ULAW (0x0007)
+ DVI/IMA ADPCM (0x0011)

Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX/VMS

On VAX/VMS, Xanim (see above) has been ported and works on VMS.

Amiga

MooVId (and) PIV-MooVId AVI/MOV Player for the Amiga
http://www.dfmk.hu/~torokl/

*** MooVId (shareware) ***

MooVId AVI/MOV player with GUI and INDEO support for Amiga computers
Last version: 0.50b (13.09.1998)

Required hardware:
Kickstart 3.0 (3.1 Recommended)
MC68020 or better (68040 recommended for bigger AVI/MOVs)
ECS or AGA chipset (on ECS the playback is only 16 grayscale)
1 MB of free memory

Required software:
Reqtools.library
CyberGraphX or Picasso96 for GFX-Board playback

Recommended hardware:
MC68040/060 and ZorroIII graphicsboard (for bigger animations), but MooVId can play 240x180 truecolor AVI/MOV at 15FPS (without skipping) in perfect (!) colors on 030/50 AGA.

MooVId features:
AVI (Video for windows) and MOV (Quicktime) player in one file

Support INTEL Indeo 3.1 & 3.2 (IV31 & IV32)

100% assembly coded (fast & short)

Buffered I/O handling (direct playback from CD-ROM or HDD)

Timer Based frame skipping method

FULL AGA support (256 color/gray or ham8)

Bugfree "18bit" gfx on AGA Amigas

Special (fast & very good ham8) STORM dither on AGA Amigas

ECS Support (16 grayscale)

16 grayscale Window playback

Full support of the CD32 akiko chip

Synchronized audio playing

On-fly selectable frame rate

Fully system friendly

Direct p96 support (no CGFX "emulation")

Direct CGFX support

Accelerated decoders for ZorroII gfxboards

Full GUI (check the screenshoot)

Supported codecs:

Video for Windows (.avi)

Supported video encoders:

Codec Name FourCC code Depth
Intel Indeo IV31/IV32 24 bit
Microsoft RGB RGB 8/16 bit
Microsoft Video 1 CRAM/MSVC 8/16 bit
Radius Cinepak CVID 24/32 bit
Run Length Encoded RLE 8 bit

Supported audio codecs:
Audio format Channels Bits
PCM MONO/STEREO 8/16 bit
MS-ADPCM MONO/STEREO 4 bit (16bit)

Quicktime (.mov, .qt)

Supported video encoders:

Codec Name FourCC code Depth
Apple Video RPZA 16 bit
Intel Indeo IV31/IV32 24 bit
Radius Cinepak CVID 24/32 bit

Supported audio encoders:
Audio format Channels Bits
RAW MONO 8/16 bit
TWOS MONO 8/16 bit

Other codecs (like JPEG and IMA audio) is in progress

*** END of MooVId ***

PIV-MooVId AVI/MOV player with GUI and INDEO support for PicassoIV
graphics board

Last version: 0.991b (27.11.1998)

Required hardware:
Kickstart 3.0 or better
MC68020 or better (68040/060 recommended)
PicsassoIV graphics board (other graphicsboard NOT supported!)
1 MB of free memory

Required software:
Reqtools.library
Picasso96 1.38 or better (latest version recommended)

Recommended hardware:
MC68040/060 and PicassoIV in ZorroIII mode

PIV-MooVId features:
The FASTEST AVI/MOV player for Amiga

Support the video layer of the PicassoIV

All decoders (espec. Cinepak and Indeo) are video layer accelerated

AVI/MOV playback in a resizable window (up to fullscreen), without slowdown!

AVI (Video for windows) and MOV (Quicktime) player in one file

Support INTEL Indeo 3.1 & 3.2 (IV31 & IV32)

100% assembly coded (fast & short)

Buffered I/O handling (direct playback from CD-ROM or HDD)

Timer Based frame skipping method

Synchronized audio playing

On-fly selectable frame rate

Fully system friendly

Full GUI

Supported codecs:

This part is same as at MooVId!
Plus:
Codec Name FourCC code Depth
Cirrus Accupak/PalomAVI videocapture format CLJR 24 bit

*** END OF PIV-MooVId ***

TapAVI 1.5
Picasso AVI Animation Player
AVI Player for 020+ KS2.0 Picasso-II (variety of Amiga)

http://www.ziplink.net/~wingell/ibrowse/tapavi.html

There appears to be an Amiga version of the XAnim AVI Player. The TapAVI
documentation in fact says that in general XAnim is better but TapAVI is
better for certain uses.

xanim for the Amiga is available in a file xanim6.lha and other files from
Aminet. Aminet is an
archive of Amiga public domain, freeware, and shareware software.
The primary Aminet site is at Washington University in St. Louis:

http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/

Many mirror Aminet sites exist.

OS/2

OS/2 has built-in support for AVI files ... up to a point. OS/2
has had built-in AVI support since OS/2 2.0 in 1992. However, it
cannot play all Windows style AVI files.

Practice Corporation markets an extension for OS/2 called AnPoCODEC
which adds support for playback of Windows-style AVI files, including
AVI's compressed with RLE (Microsoft RLE), CVID (Cinepak), and MSVC
(Microsoft Video 1). Practice also markets QUickMotion which adds
support for playing QuickTime video files.

http://www.quickmotion.com/

At least two other programs exist that are claimed to be OS/2 AVI Players.

Calliope

DMP 1.41

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AVI and NetShow

NetShow is a relatively new product from Microsoft for distributing
streaming video over the Internet. NetShow includes a NetShow server
for Windows NT and NetShow players (both NT and Windows 95).

NetShow uses the Active Streaming Format (ASF) for video streams
over the Internet. ASF adds time stamps for synchronization, error
correction codes, and other features that AVI lacks. The NetShow
family of products includes utilities to convert AVI files to ASF
files.

Microsoft has licensed a number of low bitrate video technologies for
NetShow including Vivo's H.263, Iterated Systems/Progressive
Networks/RealNetworks RealVideo/ClearVideo fractal codec, and VDONet's
VDOWave. Microsoft has purchased VxTreme, possibly the best wavelet
based video codec. Microsoft has used their implementation of the
uncompleted international standard MPEG-4 for NetShow.

NetShow, including the server, is available at the Microsoft Web
site. NetShow has a number of components: the NetShow Player, the
NetShow Tools, and the NetShow Server. The NetShow Player is
a simple client for audio and video playback over networks. The
NetShow Tools are a collection of tools and software components
for creation of content, especially the ASF files. The NetShow
Server is a server that runs under Windows NT for broadcasting audio
and video streams over networks.

The NetShow 2.0 Player Installation and the NetShow 2.0 Tools Installation
both install Video for Windows codecs, the NetShow codecs. Only
the NetShow 2.0 Tools codecs appear to support encoding.

You must install the NetShow Tools to create AVI or ASF files
compressed with the new "low bitrate" NetShow codecs!

The NetShow 2.0 Player (Client) Setup installs:

Codec Name ( line in SYSTEM.INI )

(Video Codecs)

Vivo H.263 decoder/keyed encoder ( vidc.vivo=ivvideo.dll )
VDONet VDOWave decoder ( vidc.vdom=vdowave.drv )
Microsoft MPEG-4 decoder ( vidc.mpg4=msscmc32.dll )
ClearVideo decoder ( vidc.ucod=clrviddd.dll )
Duck TrueMotion decoder/keyed encoder (vidc.tr20=tr2032.dll )

(Audio Codecs)

Vivo G.723.1 / Siren decoder ( msacm.vivog723=vivog723.acm )
Frauenhofer MPEG Layer III Audio Codec ( msacm.l3acm = l3codeca.acm )
Lernout and Hauspie Audio Codecs ( msacm.lhacm = lhacm.acm )
Voxware MetaSound/MetaVoice decode/keyed encode (msacm.voxacm119=vdk32119.acm)

The NetShow 2.0 Tools Setup also installs:

(NetShow 2.0 Player Codecs with Encoder)
Microsoft H.263 keyed encoder ( vidc.m263=msh263.drv )

The NetShow 2.0 Player Codecs appear to lack the functionality
to compress video. While they can be invoked from within some
video editing programs such as Asymetrix Digital Video Producer 4.0, they
produce uncompressed AVI's. These AVI's list the four character
codes for the NetShow codec (such as VDOM for VDOWave) in the
AVI Header but not in the video stream header within the AVI file.
The video stream header uses the value 0 for the video compression
indicating no compression.

The NetShow 2.0 Player Codecs are invisible from Microsoft VidEdit
1.1 (Video | Compression Options ... menu selection). I believe this
is because VidEdit queries the codecs to determine if they support
compression and only lists the codecs that can actually compress
video. In contrast, some applications such as Asymetrix Digital
Video Producer 4.0 will list all codecs, both those that can compress
and those that only decompress.

The NetShow 2.0 Tools Codecs can compress video. You can create
compressed AVI files with the VDOWave and MPEG-4 codecs from NetShow
2.0 Tools. These are actually compressed and use the VDO four character
code or MPEG-4 four character code both in the AVI header and in the
video stream header. However, the so-called "keyed encoders" which are
Microsoft H.263, Vivo H.263, and Duck TrueMotion, cannot create
compressed AVI files if invoked from a Video for Windows video editing
application such as Asymetrix Digital Video Producer.

The "keyed encoders" appear to be used only for creating Microsoft
ASF files compressed with Vivo H.263, Microsoft H.263, or
Duck TrueMotion.

Microsoft VidEdit 1.1 will list all NetShow 2.0 Tools Codecs under the
Video | Compression Options ... menu selection if no AVI file is loaded.
Once an AVI file is loaded, some of the NetShow 2.0 Tools Codecs
disappear from the list. Other video editors such as Asymetrix
Digital Video Producer list all NetShow 2.0 Tools Codecs at all
times.

NetShow tries to use a real-time Internet Protocol called MMS
to transfer video over the Internet. If it cannot use MMS, it will
use TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or HTTP (HyperText Transport
Protocol). MMS appears to be a Microsoft proprietary real time
protocol and a competitor to RTP (Real Time Protocol) or RTCP (Real
Time Control Protocol).

The Microsoft NBC Business News channel distributes video over
the Internet using these technologies.

NetShow also claims to support multicast IP over Networks. I've
not personally seen this work. The NetShow 2.0 server administrative
user interfaces contain panels for configuring multicast channels.

http://www.microsoft.com/netshow/

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How to convert an AVI file to a Microsoft ASF File?

Microsoft has defined yet another audio/video/multimedia format
to support streaming audio and video over the Internet. This is ASF
(formerly Active Stream Format and now Advanced Streaming Format).
ASF is used for streaming audio/video/multimedia and for stored files.
These files have the extension .asf They are used as part of
Microsoft's NetShow video server and client over the Internet.

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