Third-Party Codecs for QuickTime Player
DivX Codecs for QuickTime Player
Due to the superior quality and compression ratio of H.264, more and more high-dev encoders use it, including QuickTime. But those old video files, and many encodes still use DivX. So if you want to play DivX video files on QuickTime, you need install DivX codecs for QuickTime player first. It requires a stern bout with an installer, a license agreement, and a System Preferences add-on. When it's finished, restart and that's all. No drag-and-drop necessary. But you actually only received a trial version of the pro codec. In other words, you won't be able to encode DivX content after six months. However, the decoder should still work and this will allow you to play DivX files from within QuickTime more or less indefinitely.
XviD Codecs for QuickTime Player
XviD in QuickTime is a little less ostentatiously supported than the DivX codec, however, it's probably a little easier to deal with. First, download the Xdiv DMG. Just like with Perian, you will have to mount the DMG and then do a little leg-work to make things happen. Open up "Macintosh HD" (or whatever you call your hard drive icon thingy on the desktop) and then open /Library/QuickTime. In there, you should see a few other .component "brick icons" which represent the other codecs you have installed. Drag the XviD_Codec_….component file (again LEGO brick icon) into the QuickTime folder along with the other codec components. Log out, and then log back in and you should be able to play XviD files in FrontRow.
WMV Codecs for QuickTime Player
WMV support is a bit painful, but not as painful as trying to get DivX working for the first time. The WMV codec is completely proprietary, but thankfully there is an implementation of the codec for QuickTime called "Flip4Mac". Just like DivX, you'll have to run an installer and will need to restart once it is completed. Also like DivX, Flip4Mac will install a (somewhat useless) System Preference page. However, once the installation is complete, you'll be able to play those dreaded WMV files in QuickTime and FrontRow.
AC3 for QuickTime Player
Some video files (usually XviD) are encoded with AC3 audio streams. While it's always fun to try and perform dialog and sound effects by yourself (or even better, with a group), it's usually more satisfying to actually hear the sound-track recorded for the movie.
The codec for AC3 in QuickTime is available for download here and must be installed similarly to XviD (by dragging the .component file to /Library/QuickTime and then logging out and logging back in). However, there are some unfortunate side-effects you should be aware of before you perform this step. Most importantly, it seems to break H.264 support in QuickTime. This is a killer for me, since I love watching H.264 encoded videos because of the higher quality. I would recommend that if you don't absolutely need AC3 audio support, you leave this codec out and enjoy the perks of your H.264 files.
If you want to play videos on iPod which are in MKV, WMV, AVI, FLV, you need use Mac Video Converter to convert the videos' formats to compatible ones.
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