TalkingSoft.com Forums: Stuck with Indeo... What to do next? - TalkingSoft.com Forums

Hi everyone,

I'm a project manager doing a video game and I have thousands of CDs pressed and delivered to the client, with animation (AVIs) compressed with the Indeo Codec (versions 5 and later, I think).

Microsoft recently jacked the Indeo codecs off XP meaning that for all new machines, my game would not show the animation. This has practically caused some problems:

i) I have to find an alternative to the Indeo codec for future game implementations. Ideally, we want something that is already available native on XP so there's no need to download additional codecs during game play, or to have to cut a deal with Indeo. Even if it's a great codec, I still have to see whether it works on the game engine that we have.

ii) Of the thousands of CDs already out, we have to find a solution to this. Indeo wants to charge $14.95 for an XP pack (http://www.ligos.com.../products/indeo) although I can't help noticing many sites offering free downloads. I would like to enquire about the legal implications of downloading the Indeo codec from sites such as Free-Codecs.com. If it is perfectly legal, then what we'll do is to link it in the FAQs and instruct our gamers to download from these sites. And if it's perfectly legal, why would anyone pay Indeo $14.95?

What are your thoughts on this? Appreciate any insights into the matter. I think Microsoft is behaving in their usual high-handed way by jacking off Indeo codecs when so many people are dependant on them.

use mpeg or wmf(wmv,wma)
you can get the codec free online but you have to pay to get it on cd and distribute it!!