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Indeo® Video

Question: What is Indeo® video?
Indeo video is Intel's digital video capture, compression, and decompression software. The technology is based on a compressor-decompressor, or codec--in the form of a software driver that compresses digital video data for storage and decompresses it for playback on a multimedia PC. In order for a computer to play files compressed with Indeo video, the Indeo video codec must be installed on the computer, using the setup program provided by Intel.


Question: How can I get Indeo video?
Indeo video is included in Video for Windows*, Windows* 95, and on multimedia titles that use Indeo technology. You can also download the latest drivers, as well as sample video files and supporting documentation, from this Indeo video Web site.


Question: How can I tell which Indeo video drivers are installed?
In Windows* 95 and Windows NT* 4.0:
  1. Click Start.
  2. Select Settings > Control Panel.
  3. Double-click on Multimedia.
  4. Select the Advanced tab.
  5. Double-click on Video Compression Codecs.
  6. Double-click on the Indeo video drivers you see listed.
  7. Click Settings…. An About box appears, containing the version number.

In Windows* 3.x and Windows NT 3.x:

  1. Open the Main group.
  2. Double-click on Control Panel.
  3. Double-click on Drivers.
  4. Double-click on the Indeo video drivers you see listed. An About dialog or Setup dialog opens. The About dialog shows the driver version.
  5. If the Setup dialog opens, click on its About button to see the driver version.

On the Macintosh*:

  1. Open the System folder.
  2. Open the Extensions folder.
  3. Select any files whose name includes Indeo video.
  4. Press Command­I to open the Get Info dialog box.


Question: Is it legal to develop and distribute software titles that install Indeo video drivers on an end user's system?
Yes, Indeo video drivers can be freely distributed and are available to developers royalty-free. However, the codec remains the intellectual property of Intel, and the Indeo video logo is trademarked. Information on using and licensing the Indeo video logo is available from Intel; call Indeo video Product Marketing at (503) 264­8287.


Question: How does the Indeo video palette work in Video for Windows?
When Windows is in 8-bit mode, Indeo video by default asserts its own palette. The Indeo video codec does not use the first and last ten entries, which are reserved for Windows; Indeo video uses the middle 236 only. In active palette mode, Indeo video decodes using the full, 256­color palette asserted by the application.

When Windows is in 16-bit mode (65,536 colors) or 24-bit mode (16.7 million colors), the Indeo video codec decompresses the video directly into 16- or 24­bit RGB rather than selecting from a palette.

See the documents describing the Indeo video palette.



* Legal Information © 1998 Intel Corporation