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Codec Support

This document describes the audio and video codecs supported by Movian.

Video Codecs

H.264 (AVC)

  • Support: Full
  • Hardware Acceleration: Yes (most platforms)
  • Container: MP4, MKV, TS, AVI
  • Profiles: Baseline, Main, High

H.265 (HEVC)

  • Support: Full
  • Hardware Acceleration: Yes (modern hardware)
  • Container: MP4, MKV, TS
  • Profiles: Main, Main 10

VP9

  • Support: Full
  • Hardware Acceleration: Limited
  • Container: WebM, MKV
  • Profiles: Profile 0, Profile 2

AV1

  • Support: Experimental
  • Hardware Acceleration: Limited (newest hardware)
  • Container: MP4, WebM, MKV

MPEG-2

  • Support: Full
  • Hardware Acceleration: Yes
  • Container: MPEG-PS, MPEG-TS, VOB

MPEG-4 Part 2

  • Support: Full
  • Hardware Acceleration: Limited
  • Container: AVI, MP4, MKV

Other Codecs

  • VC-1: Full support
  • Theora: Full support
  • VP8: Full support

Audio Codecs

AAC

  • Support: Full
  • Profiles: LC, HE-AAC, HE-AACv2
  • Container: MP4, MKV, TS

MP3

  • Support: Full
  • Bitrates: All standard bitrates
  • Container: MP3, MP4, MKV, AVI

Opus

  • Support: Full
  • Container: WebM, MKV, Ogg

FLAC

  • Support: Full
  • Container: FLAC, MKV, Ogg

Vorbis

  • Support: Full
  • Container: Ogg, WebM, MKV

AC-3 (Dolby Digital)

  • Support: Full
  • Passthrough: Yes
  • Container: MP4, MKV, TS

E-AC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus)

  • Support: Full
  • Passthrough: Yes
  • Container: MP4, MKV, TS

DTS

  • Support: Full
  • Passthrough: Yes
  • Container: MKV, TS

Other Codecs

  • PCM: Full support
  • ALAC: Full support
  • WMA: Full support
  • TrueHD: Passthrough only
  • DTS-HD: Passthrough only

Hardware Acceleration

Platform Support

Platform API Status
Linux VAAPI Full
Linux VDPAU Full
Windows DXVA2 Full
Windows D3D11VA Full
macOS VideoToolbox Full
Android MediaCodec Full
iOS VideoToolbox Limited

Codec Acceleration

Codec Linux Windows macOS Android
H.264 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
H.265 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
VP9 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
AV1 Limited Limited ✗ Limited
MPEG-2 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Container Formats

MP4

  • Video: H.264, H.265, MPEG-4
  • Audio: AAC, MP3, AC-3
  • Subtitles: SRT, VTT

MKV (Matroska)

  • Video: All supported codecs
  • Audio: All supported codecs
  • Subtitles: SRT, ASS, VTT, PGS

WebM

  • Video: VP8, VP9, AV1
  • Audio: Vorbis, Opus
  • Subtitles: VTT

AVI

  • Video: MPEG-4, H.264, MJPEG
  • Audio: MP3, PCM, AC-3

MPEG-TS

  • Video: H.264, H.265, MPEG-2
  • Audio: AAC, MP3, AC-3
  • Subtitles: DVB subtitles

Codec Selection

Automatic Selection

Movian automatically selects the best codec based on:

  1. Hardware acceleration availability
  2. Codec support
  3. Performance characteristics
  4. Quality requirements

Manual Override

Force specific codec in plugin:

{
  sources: [{
    url: "http://example.com/video.mp4",
    mimetype: "video/mp4",
    codec: "h264"
  }]
}

Performance Considerations

CPU Usage

Codec Decode Complexity Recommended
H.264 Medium HW acceleration
H.265 High HW acceleration required
VP9 High HW acceleration recommended
AV1 Very High HW acceleration required
MPEG-2 Low SW decode acceptable

Quality vs Performance

  • High Quality: H.265, AV1
  • Balanced: H.264, VP9
  • Low Overhead: MPEG-2, MPEG-4

Troubleshooting

Codec Not Supported

Check Movian build configuration:

movian --version

Hardware Acceleration Not Working

Enable debug logging:

movian --debug video

Audio/Video Sync Issues

Try different audio codec or disable hardware acceleration.

See Also