Video::FourCC::Info(3pm)

NAME
Video::FourCC::Info - Perl module to retrieve information about FourCCs

VERSION
Version 1.005 ($Id: Info.pm 10585 2009-12-22 02:50:06Z FREQUENCY@cpan.org $)

DESCRIPTION
In order for video players to detect the algorithm required to decode a given video file, a four-byte sequence called a Four Character Code is written somewhere in the header of the file. This ensures that the detected codec format is independent of the file extension, which may be incorrect due to human error or for some other reason.

This is similar to the four-byte "magic number" used by the UNIX file(1) command to roughly determine a file format.

Most applications seem to treat this as a case insensitive code. As a result, internally, your given FourCC's will be silently converted to uppercase.

SYNOPSIS
  use Video::FourCC::Info;

  my $codec = Video::FourCC::Info->new('DIV3');

  printf "Codec description: %s\n", $codec->description;

COMPATIBILITY
This module was tested under Perl 5.10.0, using Debian Linux. However, because it's Pure Perl and doesn't do anything too obscure, it should be compatible with any version of Perl that supports its prerequisite modules.

If you encounter any problems on a different version or architecture, please contact the maintainer.

METHODS

  new
  Video::FourCC::Info->new( $fourcc )

Creates a "Video::FourCC::Info" object, which provides information about the given Four Character Code. If the code does not exist in the database, it will return an error.

Example code:

  my $codec = Video::FourCC::Info->new('DIV3');

This method will return an appropriate Video::FourCC::Info object or throw an exception on error.

  describe
  Video::FourCC::Info->describe( $fourcc )

This is really just a shortcut to grab the short description of a codec given a Four Character Code as input. Note that this is a class method, not an object method.

Example code:

  my $codec_desc = Video::FourCC::Info->describe('DIV3');

Internally, this method creates a temporary object and returns the description, destroying the object due to falling out of scope. If you already have a "Video::FourCC::Info" object, then the description accessor will provide better performance.

Note, that just like "new", this class method may throw an exception if the Four Character Code does not exist in the database.

Remember that this value could be "undef" if the information is unknown.

  description
  $codec->description( )

This returns the short description of the codec. It may be "undef" if there is no description in the database.

Example code:

  my $codec_desc = $codec->description;

Remember that this value could be "undef" if the information is unknown.

  registered
  $codec->registered( )

This returns the short description of the codec. It may be "undef" if there is no description in the database.

If "DateTime" is installed, then this will be a DateTime object. Otherwise, it will simply be a string in the format "yyyy-mm-dd".

Example code:

  my $registered = $codec->registered;

Remember that this value could be "undef" if the information is unknown.

  owner
  $codec->owner( )

This returns the name of the corporation or other entity that owns the FourCC. Generally, this seems to be an ad-hoc standard, so it's a listing of the first entity known to use the given FourCC.

Example code:

  my $owner_name = $codec->owner;

Remember that this value could be "undef" if the information is unknown.

  code
  $codec->code( )

This returns the Four Character Code corresponding to the current "Video::FourCC::Info" object.

Example code:

  my $fourcc = $codec->fourcc;

AUTHOR
Jonathan Yu <jawnsy@cpan.org>

  CONTRIBUTORS
Your name here ;-)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

•   Thanks to Allen Day <allenday@ucla.edu> and Benjamin R. Ginter <bginter@asicommunications.com>, developers of Video::Info, which inspired the creation of this module.

SUPPORT
You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

    perldoc Video::FourCC::Info

You can also look for information at:

•   AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation

    <http://annocpan.org/dist/Video-FourCC-Info>

•   CPAN Ratings

    <http://cpanratings.perl.org/d/Video-FourCC-Info>

•   Search CPAN

    <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Video-FourCC-Info>

•   CPAN Request Tracker

    <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Video-FourCC-Info>

•   CPAN Testing Service (Kwalitee Tests)

    <http://cpants.perl.org/dist/overview/Video-FourCC-Info>

FEEDBACK
Please send relevant comments, rotten tomatoes and suggestions directly to the maintainer noted above.

If you have a bug report or feature request, please file them on the CPAN Request Tracker at <http://rt.cpan.org>. If you are able to submit your bug report in the form of failing unit tests, you are strongly encouraged to do so.

SEE ALSO
Video::Info, a module for extracting information like the Four Character Code from arbitrary files.

CAVEATS

  KNOWN BUGS
There are no known bugs as of this release.

  LIMITATIONS

•   This module has not been tested very thoroughly with Unicode.

DATA SOURCE
The FourCC database of owner and descriptions come from data extracted from GSpot v2.70a, a freeware Codec Information utility. The registration dates come courtesy of Microsoft Corporation, accessed online at: <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms867195.aspx#fourcccodes>

LICENSE
In a perfect world, I could just say that this package and all of the code it contains is Public Domain. It's a bit more complicated than that; you'll have to read the included LICENSE file to get the full details.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
The software is provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.