XviD Media Codec

XviD Media Codec is an open source MPEG-4 video codec designed for everyone. Its purpose is to compress video in order to allow for faster transmission over computer networks or for more efficient storage on computer disks. Hence, XviD can somewhat be seen as a ZIP archive for video. XviD removes information from video that is not important for human perception in order to achieve very high compression rates while still keeping very good visual quality. XviD Media Codec is published under the GNU GPL license. That means it can be obtained free of charge. And since XviD is open-source software, everyone can review the XviD source code to check for himself that nothing malicious is included.

XviD Media Codec Features:

Highest Performance
Xvid runs very fast as it is optimized for the latest CPUs. Recording video from a camera in realtime or playing back HD video smoothly are not a problem. Your computer will still have plenty of power left for your other tasks!

Plays Everywhere
A big advantage of Xvid compressed video files is that they play almost anywhere. The Xvid software runs on many platforms and most popular video players support it. Also, home entertainment devices like TVs or DVD/BD players can handle Xvid video.

Strong Compression
The Xvid codec compresses video files to make them smaller. It can compress video at a ratio of 200:1 or more compared to uncompressed video. This makes transmitting the video over a network speedy or saves you a lot of space on your computer's hard disk.

Great Picture Quality
While Xvid compresses video very well, it can do so without causing visible quality loss and by retaining a sharper picture than other codecs do. Xvid is "lossy" compression but aims at removing just those picture details that are not important for human perception. As such, it be seen as a MP3 for video.

No Adware
Xvid is distributed as free and open-source software. And that means you can obtain it really for free. It doesn't come bundled with adware or crapware. No unwanted bundle software, no malware, no browser toolbars, no bullshit.

Open Standards
The Xvid codec implements the ISO MPEG-4 standard. Conforming to a standard makes videos compressed with Xvid future-proof and further ensures that the resulting files can be played back or edited also with third-party software.

Cross-Platform
The availability of the Xvid source code allows "porting" the Xvid software to new platforms and processors easily. Over time, Xvid also already got ported to many different CPU types and operating systems including Windows, Linux and Mac.