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NetShow v3.0
Codec List

The following table describes the codecs available in NetShow 3.0. Because Microsoft® NetShowTM uses the standard ACM/VCM Windows mechanism, the codecs installed are also available for use by other Windows applications, such as Sound Recorder, Media Player, and many other multimedia software programs. For the latest list of beta1 codecs that shipped with NetShow 3.0, see the NetShow SDK or the User Education documentation that came with your beta copy of NetShow 3.0

Microsoft Media Player Full Install  

Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
Microsoft MPEG-4 V1 Microsoft Corp. Live and on-demand video Excellent low-to-high-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 300 Kbps. Up to 30 fps. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any video application.
Microsoft MPEG-4 V2 Microsoft Corp. Live and on-demand video Excellent low-to-high-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 300 Kbps. Up to 30 fps. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any video application.
Duck TrueMotion RT The Duck Corporation On-demand video Mid-to-high-bit-rate video codec.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is available in the NetShow (for both live and stored AVI file content). Decode is in the full Microsoft Media player install, the Microsoft Media Player that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.
Vivo V263 Vivo Software,Inc. On-demand video Good low-to-mid-bit-rate video. SQCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decode (only) included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the standard Microsoft Media Player.
VDOnet VDOwave VDOnet Corp. Live and on-demand video Low-to-mid-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 150 Kbps. 15 fps.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is included in the NetShow tools installation (NetShow and VIDTOASF). Encode can be accessed by any video application. Decode is included in the full Microsoft Media Player, the Media player that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.

Audio Codecs Shipped with Microsoft Media Player Full Install  

Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
MPEG Layer-3 Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen IIS Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio. Encode is up to 56 Kbps stereo, and decode is up to 128 Kbps+ stereo.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, standard Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools install. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Voxware MetaSound

NOTE: Use File Format, not Bit Stream selections

 Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Encoder, Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
Voxware MetaVoice Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Extremely low-bit-rate speech only audio. 2.4 Kbps 8,000 Hz mono.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Encoder, Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
Lernout & Hauspie CELP 4.8kbit/s2 Lernout & Hauspie Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate voice oriented audio. 4.8 Kbps 8,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, the standard Media player and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
ACELP.net Sipro Lab Telecom Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate, excellent voice compression.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the standard Microsoft Media Player and the NetShow tools.

Video Codecs Shipped with Microsoft Media Player Standard Install  

Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
Microsoft MPEG-4 Microsoft Corp. Live and on-demand video Excellent low-to-high-bit-rate video. 18.8 Kbps - 300 Kbps. Up to 30 fps. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported:Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode:Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, the standard Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any video application.

Footnotes:
1NetShow works with any fixed-bit-rate ACM codec.

Audio Codecs Shipped with Microsoft Media Player Standard Install  

Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
MPEG Layer-3 Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen IIS Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio. Encode is up to 56 Kbps stereo, and decode is up to 128 Kbps+ stereo.
Client Platforms Supported:Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, standard Microsoft Media Player, and NetShow tools install. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Voxware MetaSound

NOTE: Use File Format, not Bit Stream selections

 Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the fullMicrosoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Real-Time Encoder, NetShow Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
Voxware MetaVoice Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Extremely low-bit-rate speech-only audio. 2.4 Kbps 8,000 Hz mono.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Real-Time Encoder, NetShow Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
ACELP.net Sipro Lab Telecom Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate, excellent voice compression.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the standard Microsoft Media Player and the NetShow tools.

Video Codecs Shipped with NetShow 3.0 Tools Install  

Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
Microsoft MPEG-4 Microsoft Corp. Live and on-demand video Excellent low-to-high-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 300 Kbps. Up to 30 fps. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any video application.
Duck TrueMotion RT The Duck Corporation On-demand video Mid-to-high-bit-rate video codec.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is available in the NetShow Encoder (for both live and stored AVI file content). Decode is in the full Media player install, the Microsoft Media Player that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.
Intel H.263 Intel Corp. On-demand video Good low-to-mid-bit-rate video. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT and Windows 95
Encode/Decode: NetShow content for this codec can be created using the NetShow Encoder. Decode by using the Vivo V263 codec.
VDOnet VDOwave VDOnet Corp. Live and on-demand video Low-to-mid-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 150 Kbps. 15 fps.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is included in the NetShow tools installation (NetShow Encoder and VIDTOASF). Encode can be accessed by any video application. Decode is included in the full Microsoft Media Player, the Microsoft Media Player that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.

Audio Codecs Shipped with NetShow 3.0 Tools Install  

Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
MPEG Layer-3 Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen IIS Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio. Encode is up to 56 Kbps stereo, and decode is up to 128 Kbps+ stereo.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, standard Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools install. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Lernout & Hauspie CELP 4.8kbit/s2 Lernout & Hauspie Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate voice oriented audio. 4.8 Kbps 8,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, the standard Microsoft Media Player, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Voxware MetaSound

NOTE: Use File Format, not Bit Stream selections

 Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Encoder, Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
Voxware MetaVoice Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Extremely low-bit-rate speech only audio. 2.4 Kbps 8,000 Hz mono.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full Microsoft Media Player, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Encoder, Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
ACELP.net Sipro Lab Telecom Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate, excellent voice compression.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the standard Microsoft Media Player and the NetShow tools.
Microsoft G.723.1   Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate, excellent voice compression.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player and the NetShow tools.
MSN Audio Microsoft Live  Low-bit-rate, excellent voice compression.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full Microsoft Media Player and the NetShow tools.

Codecs Previously Shipped With NetShow,
But No Longer Shipping With NetShow 3.0   
The following codecs were in NetShow 2.0 and 1.0 but are no longer installed with NetShow 3.0.
Click on the links below to get individual installation programs to install and use these codecs with NetShow 3.0.
Codec Name Company Best Used For
VDOWave (VDONet) VDONet Corp. Low-to-mid-bit-rate video; 28.8 Kbps - 150 Kbps, 15 fps.
Indeo Video Interactive R4.1 Intel Corp. Mid-to-high-bit-rate video
Indeo Video R3.2 Intel Corp. Mid-to-high-bit-rate video - lower compression and CPU utilization.
Microsoft Network Audio codec Microsoft Corp. Low-to-mid-bit-rate audio
NetShow v2.0 Codec List  

The following table describes the codecs available in NetShow 2.0. Because Microsoft NetShow uses the standard ACM/VCM Windows mechanism, the codecs installed are also available for use by other Windows applications, such as Sound Recorder, Media Player, and many other multimedia software programs.

NetShow 2.0 Codecs - All  
Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
ClearVideo Iterated Systems Live video Low-to-mid-bit-rate video.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is included in Osprey 1000 capture cards. Decode for the ClearVideo codec is included in the full Media player install, the Media Player that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.
Duck TrueMotion RT The Duck Corporation On-demand video Mid-to-high-bit-rate video codec.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is available in the NetShow Encoder (for both live and stored AVI file content). Decode is in the full Media player install, the NetShow client that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.
Intel H.263 Intel Corp. On-demand video Good low-to-mid-bit-rate video. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT and Windows 95
Encode/Decode: NetShow content for this codec can be created using the NetShow Encoder. Decode by using the Vivo V263 codec.
Lernout & Hauspie CELP 4.8kbit/s2 Lernout & Hauspie Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate voice oriented audio. 4.8 Kbps 8,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core NetShow client, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Microsoft MPEG-4 Microsoft Corp. Live and on-demand video Excellent low-to-high-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 300 Kbps. Up to 30 fps. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core NetShow client, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any video application.
MPEG Layer-3 Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen IIS Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio. Encode is up to 56 Kbps stereo, and decode is up to 128 Kbps+ stereo.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, core NetShow client, NetShow tools and PowerPoint Publish to ASF add-on. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
VDOnet VDOwave VDOnet Corp. Live and on-demand video Low-to-mid-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 150 Kbps. 15 fps.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS
Encode/Decode: Encode is included in the NetShow tools installation (NetShow Encoder and VIDTOASF). Encode can be accessed by any video application. Decode is included in the full NetShow client, the Media player that ships with Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools.
Vivo G.723.1 Vivo Software, Inc. On-demand audio Low-bit-rate general purpose audio. 6.4 Kbps mono 8,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decompresses audio that was encoded using any standards-compliant G.723.1 codec. Decode (only) included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the core NetShow client.
Vivo V263 Vivo Software,Inc. On-demand video Good low-to-mid-bit-rate video. SQCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decode (only) included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the core NetShow client.
Vivo Siren Vivo Software, Inc. On-demand audio Low-bit-rate general purpose. 16 Kbps mono 16,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decode (only) included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the core NetShow client.
Voxware MetaSound

NOTE: Use File Format, not Bit Stream selections

 Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Encoder, Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).
Voxware MetaVoice Voxware, Inc. Live and on-demand audio Extremely low-bit-rate speech-only audio. 2.4 Kbps 8,000 Hz mono.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode are included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the NetShow tools. Encode is included in any application with explicit NetShow codec support (e.g., NetShow Encoder, Microsoft NetShow T.A.G. Author, or Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge).

Footnotes:
1NetShow works with any fixed-bit-rate ACM codec.
2Also built in as part of the Lernout & Hauspie software installed with NetShow are the Lernout & Hauspie SBC 8-Kbps, the Lernout & Hauspie SBC 12-Kbps, and the Lernout & Hauspie SBC 16-Kbps codecs. They are not fixed-bit-rate codecs, however, and therefore cannot be used for Microsoft NetShow content.

Codecs Shipped with NetShow Core Client Install  
Codec Name Company Content Creation Category Usage
Lernout & Hauspie CELP 4.8kbit/s2 Lernout & Hauspie Live and on-demand audio Low-bit-rate voice-oriented audio. 4.8 Kbps 8,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core NetShow client, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Microsoft MPEG-4 Microsoft Corp. Live and on-demand video Excellent low-to-high-bit-rate video. 28.8 Kbps - 300 Kbps. Up to 30 fps. QCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, the core NetShow client, and the NetShow tools. Encode can be accessed by any video application.
MPEG Layer-3 Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen IIS Live and on-demand audio Low-to-mid-bit-rate high-quality audio. Encode is up to 56 Kbps stereo, and decode is up to 128 Kbps+ stereo.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Encode and decode included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, core NetShow client, NetShow tools, and PowerPoint Publish to ASF add-on. Encode can be accessed by any audio application.
Vivo G.723.1 Vivo Software, Inc. On-demand audio Low-bit-rate general purpose audio. 6.4 Kbps mono 8,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decompresses audio that was encoded using any standards-compliant G.723.1 codec. Decode (only) included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the core NetShow client.
Vivo V263 Vivo Software,Inc. On-demand video Good low-to-mid-bit-rate video. SQCIF - CIF.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decode (only) included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the core NetShow client.
Vivo Siren Vivo Software, Inc. On-demand audio Low-bit-rate general purpose. 16 Kbps mono 16,000 Hz.
Client Platforms Supported: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.x, DEC Alpha, MacOS, UNIX
Encode/Decode: Decode (only) included in the full NetShow client, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the core NetShow client.

Footnotes:
1 NetShow works with any fixed-bit-rate ACM codec.
2 Also built in as part of the Lernout & Hauspie software installed with NetShow are the Lernout & Hauspie SBC 8-Kbps, the Lernout & Hauspie SBC 12-Kbps, and the Lernout & Hauspie SBC 16-Kbps codecs. They are not fixed-bit-rate codecs, however, and therefore cannot be used for Microsoft NetShow content.

Codecs Shipped with NetShow Full Client Install  
Same as the in the All section above, except for Intel's H.263.

Codecs Shipped with Internet Explorer 4.0  
Same as the in the All section above. Internet Explorer 4.0 is available from http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/.

Codecs Shipped with NetShow Tools  
Same as the in the All section above, except for the Vivo codecs.

Codecs Shipped with PowerPoint®  
FHG MPEG Layer-3 codecs (see above).