Why is VLC better than Quicktime Player for playback?

VLC is codec indpendent and plays some formats regardless of if QT can or can't. QT is not a DivX or WMV or MPEG player really so it should not surprise you that much that for some formats you use other players. You cannot open a powerpoint presentation in preview either, but it doesn't mean something is wrong.

As to your comparison try exporting something from VLC.

Just FYI, Divx has not yet come out with a codec that's compatible with QuickTime 7, so it's not surprising that you're having problems with playback of Divx-encoded movies.

The same may apply to your AVI movies, depending on what codec was used (AVI is a container format like MOV and may use any number of codecs).

They do offer a "beta" version for QT 7:
http://labs.divx.com/
The trouble with the original posters QT playback issues may be "audio" related.
Use the Audio MIDI Setup app (Utilities folder) and change the audio output to 44100Hz. You may need to change it to other settings first and then switch it back.
I'm too cheap to purchase the MPEG-2 Playback Component and this is where VLC shines. It allows playback (GB Limit in QT) of larger files.
But it's mainly a playback tool. MPEG Streamclip (new version 1.5) is another "tool" for any Mac user.

Thanks, Kirk. I thought I remembered seeing mention of a beta codec, but I couldn't find it.

Except the non beta one provided with Toast 7 .

I know that Toast provides Divx encoding and decoding, Rick, but does Roxio include a QT plugin? I know that Toast 7 has Divx encoding and conversion, but I wasn't aware that it came with a QT plug-in.

Yup it does, I have it here. Called DivX 6 Decoder.Component in the QT folder.

You are a bit late with that bit of news. Read the whole thread.

Other reply? The QT logo only is based on the file extension not the fact it is an AVI file. Change the extension of a Word document to .AVi - it has a QT logo. QT plays what it can play if it has codecs. The usual problem is it hasn't, and they are hard to get (or the AVI's are typical internet/usenet AVI's and are encoded terribly). Examples - any Indeo codecs can't be played.

A better universal player is VLC. Apple is not trying to represent QT as a universal player - it is a Quicktime player that will do a few other formats.

Thanks, Rick. Good to know.

In my opinion QuickTime IS a universal player that accepts universally adopted standard media formats. AVI as it is used by most PC users doesn't adhere to the standard (and AVI as a standard was abandoned looong ago).

VLC is better at AVI because it must contain a massive list of all the different non-standard variants of AVI and plays depending on the file header. QuickTime, knowing what all AVI files SHOULD look like, can't make any sense of the non-standard ones (for example, QuickTime expects an AVI and gets something with a variable bitrate MP3 audio track, something AVI never supported).

There is no excuses! Why so sophisticated player which coast 30$ cant play my old avi's as smooth as VLC or MPlayer does? That's how it looks from the consumer side. Freeware can and apple can't?
Saying that its becouse you can export and make many other things with them doesnt make sens.
Argument with not optimised codecs doesnt seems to be good either. As far as I know there is no different version of codecs for different player. They are all using the same stuff and VLC or MPlayer can make a good use of them-Quicktime not! I understand that someone can make an extra-optimised codec exclusively for quicktime to be extra fast but I also think that quicktime should be at leas as fast as freeware programs on the existing codecs. Thats what they take money for!