Which ffmpeg video codec should I use to create MP4 files compatible with Windows Media Player 12?

How do I determine the appropriate ffmpeg video codec to use in order to create MP4 files compatible with Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 10?

1 Answer

I posted this question to assist anyone else trying to figure this out. I spent a good deal of time thrashing through online posts until I found out how to have Windows Media Player 12 simply tell you what codecs it supports.

Go to Windows Media Player 12's Help / About / Technical Support Information, it generates a local web page with version information and a section listing the video codecs it supports, including these MP4 decoders:

Name Format
Mpeg4s Decoder DMO mp4s, MP4S, m4s2, M4S2, MP4V, mp4v, XVID, xvid, DIVX, DX50
Mpeg4 Decoder DMO MPG4, mpg4, mp42, MP42

Next, run "ffmpeg -codecs" to list all of the codecs it knows about, including:

mpeg4 MPEG-4 part 2 (decoders: mpeg4 mpeg4_cuvid ) (encoders: mpeg4 libxvid )
msmpeg4v1 MPEG-4 part 2 Microsoft variant version 1
msmpeg4v2 MPEG-4 part 2 Microsoft variant version 2
msmpeg4v3 MPEG-4 part 2 Microsoft variant version 3 (decoders: msmpeg4 ) (encoders: msmpeg4 )

I used the "mpeg4" video codec as follows:

ffmpeg.exe -stats -i "my home video.avi" -vcodec mpeg4 -acodec aac -f mp4 "my home video.mp4"

and I was able to successfully open "my home video.mp4" in WMP 12.