avc1Decoder Editor's Review

avc1Decoder is an easy to use and configurable H.264/MPEG-4 video decoder.

The decoder itself is basically a QuickTime decompression component. Before trying this decoder, please make sure that your system has the minimal specifications, Mac OS X 10.4.9 and QuickTime 7.1.6 or above installed.

The configuration of avc1Decoder is pretty usable because the developer provides a nice 'Preference' pane which can be installed as an add-on to the 'System Preferences' application.

The 'README' file provides plenty of information, and it can guide all your steps from installation through configuration. Since it's an Open Source project, it also provides you the source code of the components, so you can make your own builds of avc1Decoder.

Pluses: it can decompress H.264 and MPEG-4 content from '.mov' and '.mp4' video containers, it has a 'Preference' pane which can be installed easily and it allows you to configure the decoder's behavior.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: this is one of those components that is a must-have for a multimedia setup.

version reviewed: 0.6.7