LEAD Video Codec is a multimedia compressor and decompressor

LEAD Video Codec

What is LEAD's Video Codec?

LEAD Video Codec is a multimedia compressor/decompressor which registers into the Windows™ collection of multimedia drivers and integrates with any application using DirectShow and Microsoft Video for Windows™. Existing video software, such as Windows™ Media Player®, Adobe Premiere®, and Ulead Media Studio®, can utilize this codec to play, create and edit industry standard MJPEG and LEAD's proprietary MCMP files. Developed by LEAD as an alternative to standard compression algorithms, MCMP delivers smaller file sizes and can maintain better image quality than MJPEG with the same or better image quality.

What Does LEAD's Video Codec Do?

Real-time software only compression and decompression of full motion video.
Significantly reduce the size of standard AVI files.
Hand optimized to take advantage of MMX, Pentium II and Pentium III specific instructions making the LEAD Codec faster than other MJPEG solutions. Choose MJPEG or MCMP compression
Create, Edit, or playback your own MJPEG AVI or MCMP AVI files using your existing DirectShow/Video for Windows™ applications such as Adobe Premiere or Ulead Media Studio.
Support for a wide range of MJPEG options, giving you the most comprehensive MJPEG support on the market. (Interlaced/non-interlaced, Color JPEG 4:1:1, 4:2:2, 4:4:4, grayscale JPEG 4:0:0) FOURCCs supported: MJPG, JPEG, dmb1
Lossless JPEG support including 24-bit color and 8,12 and 16-bit grayscale. FOURCCs supported: Ljpg.
With the MCMP option you can compress color and grayscale AVI files to the smallest size possible and increase your data-rate/speed. FOURCCs supported: LEAD.
Read existing MJPEG AVI files created by other codecs.
Save MJPEG AVI files that can be loaded by other hardware/software MJPEG codecs.
No extra hardware needed - significant cost savings

What Makes LEAD's Video Codec Better Than Other Codecs?

Real-time software-only compression and decompression of full motion video.
Real-time compression - incoming video is compressed as it is acquired - no intermediate save/compress step is necessary. Real-time decompression - immediate playback of compressed video. Software only - no additional hardware required. This benefit comes without having to sacrifice either resolution size or quality. LEAD's software only Video Codec allows for full resolution video, 640x480 at 30 frames per second, to be compressed and decompressed with good quality.

Significantly smaller AVI files.
Compress AVI files up to 100 times smaller than their original using the industry standard MJPEG compression option.Choose MJPEG to save AVI files to a fraction of their original size and dramatically increase your frame rate while maintaining the most compatibility available. Compress AVI files even more, down to 200 times smaller than their original size, by using the MCMP option.

Preserve critical image data with lossless compression
Keep critical image data, like Medical multiframe images, exactly as acquired, and prevent cumulative error from repeated re-saving of video edits. LEAD Video Codec has been hand optimized for MMX, Pentium II, and Pentium III. If you are going to use a software only video solution it has to be fast. LEAD has hand optimized its compression and decompression algorithms to the point where they are among the fastest on the market. LEAD is committed to providing updated optimizations for new chips as they become available.

Create, Edit and playback video using existing applications.
LEAD's Video Codec self-installs into Windows™ and integrates with any DirectShow/Video for Windows™ application such as the Windows™ Media Player, Microsoft's ActiveMovie or Adobe Premier. There is no need to purchase additional software or to go through trouble of learning a new software package. It is simple and easy to dramatically enhance your existing multimedia programs.

The most comprehensive support for MJPEG on the market.
LEAD Technologies has supported JPEG for ten years. In that time period, LEAD has developed a JPEG library that is unmatched in the industry in terms of the number of variations and flavors supported. LEAD supports both 24 bit and 8 bit grayscale formats, as well as a variety of color spaces. What does this mean to the user? It means few frustrating file incompatibilities.

Smaller file size, better image quality option.
LEAD's Video Codec includes an MCMP as a higher performance alternative to the industry standard MJPEG. With MCMP, you get file sizes that can be as little as half the size of MJPEG files while maintaining the same or better image quality and the ability to easily perform frame-level editing.

Read/Write hardware compatible MJPEG files.
You've probably faced problems viewing some AVI files - there's a good chance you have run into MJPEG files you couldn't read. There are only a few Codecs (mostly hardware) that support MJPEG. Once LEAD's Video Codec is installed, you will not only be able to load the files, but you will also be able to create your own, edit them and save them back to files which can be read by other codecs (including hardware codecs).

Supports Various FOURCCs
Video codec will compress and decompress MJPG, Ljpg, and LEAD FOURCCs. It will also decode Ljpg and dmb1 FOURCCs.LEAD Video codec will support other FOURCCs as they become available.