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published on in HowTo Linux tech
tags: coreavc h264 HowTo Linux opensuse

How To: Using CoreAVC on Linux for fast HD video playback

CoreAVC is a fast proprietary codec for decoding H.264/AVC video. It enables low-end systems to play videos without any lag, present in other decoders.

Step 1: Preparing for installation

  1. First of all, remove any existing MPlayer installations. On OpenSuSE this can be done by:

zypper rm MPlayer

  1. Next, install the dependencies for MPlayer by
> zypper si -d MPlayer
  1. Install wine
> zypper in wine

Step 2: Install dshowserver

  1. Install CoreAVC. You will need a licensed copy to get beyond this step.
> wine CoreAVC-Setup.exe
  1. Download the source:
> svn co http://coreavc-for-linux.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ coreavc-for-linux

> cd coreavc-for-linux/dshowserver
  1. Compile and install:
> make && make install

> sudo cp “$HOME/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/CoreCodec/CoreAVC Professional Edition/CoreAVCDecoder.ax” /usr/local/share/dshowserver
  1. Verify whether dshowserver is installed correctly
> dshowserver -c CoreAVCDecoder.ax

should show something like:

> Starting wine dshowserver.exe.so

> No id specified, assuming test mode

> Using default width for CoreAVCDecoder.ax: 1280

> Using default height for CoreAVCDecoder.ax: 720

> Using default fourcc for CoreAVCDecoder.ax: 0x34363248

> Using default outfmt for CoreAVCDecoder.ax: 0x30323449

> Using default outbit for CoreAVCDecoder.ax: 12

> Using default GUID for CoreAVCDecoder.ax: 09571a4b-f1fe-4c60-9760de6d310c7c31

> Opening device (port is 0)

> len: 992

> ProductVersion: 2.0.0

> fixme:thread:SetThreadIdealProcessor (0x8c): stub

> fixme:thread:SetThreadIdealProcessor (0x90): stub

> Decoder supports the following YUV formats: YUY2 UYVY YV12 I420

> Decoder is capable of YUV output (flags 0x2b)

> Setting fmt

> Starting

> Initialization is complete

Step 3: Install Mplayer

  1. Download the source:
> cd ..

> wget http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/mplayer-checkout-snapshot.tar.bz2

> tar xvjf mplayer-checkout-snapshot.tar.bz2

> cd mplayer-export-*
  1. Patch the source:
> patch -p0 < ./mplayer/dshowserver.patch
  1. Compile and install. Grab a cup of coffee while it compiles, it takes a few minutes.
> ./configure && make && sudo make install

Step 4: Final steps

Copy this codecs.conf to your $HOME/.mplayer/ directory.

Test out playback with

mplayer -vc coreserve