Codec — MS-MPEG-4 v3
The shared pan-city base plate encoded with MS-MPEG-4 v3 (msmpeg4v3). Microsoft's non-standard MPEG-4 Part 2 variant — the 'DivX 3' bitstream. Deliberately incompatible with the standard decoder, which makes it a sharp test of whether a pipeline identifies codecs from the bitstream or from the FourCC. Every clip in this group carries the identical picture, so a decoder-support matrix built from them isolates the codec as the only variable.
Rendered preview of the avi file (87.6 KB). Download above for the original.
Specifications
- Resolution
- 480x270
- Fps
- 24
- Duration
- 1s
- Frames
- 24
- Codec
- MS-MPEG-4 v3 (msmpeg4v3)
- Container
- AVI
- Audio
- none
- Source
- pan-city base plate
Testing contract
Expected to pass- Scenario
- Probe the file and decode it, then compare the decoded frames against another member of this codec matrix.
- Expected result
- 24 frames of 480x270 at 24 fps (1s) decode as MS-MPEG-4 v3 (msmpeg4v3) in a AVI container, with no audio track. Every clip in this matrix is the same pan-city base plate, so a decoder that produces a different picture here than for the H.264 member has a codec bug rather than a source difference.
What is a .avi file?
AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is a legacy Microsoft multimedia container built on the RIFF structure that interleaves video and audio streams. It predates modern features, lacking robust support for advanced codecs, streaming, and multiple subtitle tracks. It remains common in older video files.
How to use this file
Use an example AVI to test RIFF-based demuxing, legacy codec handling, and converters that modernize older video into MP4 or MKV.
How to use this file for testing
“Codec — MS-MPEG-4 v3” is a deterministic Novus Examples fixture for Video codecs, Conversion testing, Video QA. One source encoded as H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9, MJPEG, and a ProRes-compatible mezzanine, across 8/10/12-bit and 4:2:0/4:2:2/4:4:4, for testing decoder support, transcode pipelines, and container remuxing.
Documented properties for this file: 1s · 24 fps. Compare results against paired or grouped companions on this page when present (clean↔damaged, searchable↔scanned, or format twins) so scores stay reproducible across runs.
Download the file once, keep the path stable in CI or local scripts, and treat the spec table as the contract: dimensions, seeds, field lists, and roles are intentional. Corrupt or invalid samples are labelled as such, expect parsers to fail loudly rather than silently accept them.
Media fixtures are short and synthetic by design. Prefer waveform or transcript ground truth in the same group when measuring ASR, trim, upscale, or sync tools; do not assume broadcast-quality masters.
Code examples
<video controls preload="metadata" width="640" src="msmpeg4.avi"></video>Related files
- webmAlpha Channel — Opaque VP9 TwinThe same codec and container with NO alpha plane, as the control for the alpha clip in this group. Useful for checking that alpha detection reads the pixel format rather than assuming every WebM is transparent — and for confirming a compositing bug is in the alpha handling rather than in the player.
- webmAlpha Channel — VP9 in WebMVideo with a real per-pixel alpha channel: VP9 yuva420p in WebM, the one alpha path browsers decode natively. Composite it over a page background and the transparency is genuine, not a chroma key. Roughly 90% of each frame is fully transparent. Two traps this file exists to expose. First, auto-alt-ref must be disabled at encode time or libvpx silently drops the alpha plane, producing a valid file with no transparency and no error. Second, WebM stores VP9 alpha in BlockAdditional and signals it with AlphaMode=1, so FFmpeg's NATIVE vp9 decoder reports pix_fmt yuv420p and decodes fully opaque — you must force `-c:v libvpx-vp9` to see the alpha at all. Probing this file with default settings and concluding it has no alpha is the expected mistake.
- mp4Bitstream — All-Intra (Every Frame a Keyframe)Every frame is an I-frame, so any frame is an independent cut point. Much larger, and the shape editing and frame-accurate seeking want. Same picture and same codec as every other clip in this group — only the GOP and frame-type structure differ, so the effect on size and seekability is directly attributable.
- mp4Bitstream — Heavy B-Frames (8 Consecutive)Eight consecutive B-frames with a B-pyramid, so decode order and display order diverge sharply and DTS runs well behind PTS. The case that breaks naive timestamp handling and any code that assumes frames arrive in display order. Same picture and same codec as every other clip in this group — only the GOP and frame-type structure differ, so the effect on size and seekability is directly attributable.
- mp4Bitstream — Long GOP (24 Frames, One Per Second)One keyframe per second — the delivery default, and the setting that determines HLS/DASH segment boundaries, since a segment must start on a keyframe. Same picture and same codec as every other clip in this group — only the GOP and frame-type structure differ, so the effect on size and seekability is directly attributable.
- mp4Bitstream — No B-FramesI and P frames only. Required by some low-latency and legacy decoders, and it removes the reordering that makes decode order differ from display order. Same picture and same codec as every other clip in this group — only the GOP and frame-type structure differ, so the effect on size and seekability is directly attributable.
Generated by generation/video_codecs_wave.py. Free for any use, no attribution required, license.