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Supported Media Codecs for Windows Phone

Windows Phone

March 22, 2012

Windows Phone provides support for various audio and video codecs depending on the processor installed in the device.

Important Note:
Windows Phone Emulator performance may differ from actual hardware codec performance. Always test your app on a physical Windows Phone device to ensure optimal performance.

The following sections contain detailed information about the codecs you can use with the various processors used in Windows Phone devices.

Audio Support

The 7x27a processor is the baseline for audio on all Windows Phone devices. The following table lists the audio codecs you can use with Windows Phone.

Audio codecs on Windows Phone
Codec	MP3	WMA Std 9.2	WMA Pro	AMR-NB	AAC-LC	AAC+	eAAC+
Containers	MP3	WMA	WMA	3GP, 3G2, AMR	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4A, AAC	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4A, AAC	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4A, AAC
Bit depth	16	16	16	16	16	16	16
Max bit rate (per second)	320 kbits	256 kbits	256 kbits	12.2 kbits	576 kbits	320 kbits	320 kbits
Max sample rate	48 kHz	48 kHz	48 kHz	48 kHz	48 kHz	48 kHz	48 kHz
Channels support	1, 2	1, 2	1, 2	1	1, 2	1, 2	1, 2
Streaming support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes for 3GP, 3G2	Yes	Yes	Yes
Emulator support	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No

Important Note:
The 7x27a processor allows audio input on only one stereo bus at a time. This means that applications cannot concurrently capture more than one audio source on 7x27a devices. If your application uses the AudioSink class with the FileSink class on a 7x27a device, the AudioSink class will not get audio samples, and the AudioCaptureDevice object will be set to null. The FileSink class works fine on the 7x27a processor. The FileSink class and the AudioSink class work correctly if used independent of one another.

Important Note:

multiple devices The 7x27a processor allows audio input on only one stereo bus at a time. This means that applications cannot concurrently capture more than one audio source on 7x27a devices. If your application uses the AudioSink class with the FileSink class on a 7x27a device, the AudioSink class will not get audio samples, and the AudioCaptureDevice object will be set to null. The FileSink class works fine on the 7x27a processor. The FileSink class and the AudioSink class work correctly if used independent of one another.

Note:
The 7x27a processor does not allow accessing the FM radio and microphone simultaneously.

Video Support

If you want to use a video codec that works on all Windows Phone devices, use H.264-encoded video in MP4 files. Because the 7x27a processor defines the baseline, make sure your files do not exceed the parameters listed in the following table for H.264 video on a 7x27a processor.

In addition, the IsMultiResolutionVideoSupported property indicates whether the processor supports HD video. Check this property at runtime if you want to scale the video based on the processor in the Windows Phone.

multiple devices The following table lists the video codecs that the Qualcomm 7x27a processor supports on Windows Phone.

Video codecs supported by the Qualcomm 7x27a processor on Windows Phone
Codec	H.263	VC1	VC1	MPEG-4 Pt 2	H.264	H.264	H.264
Containers	3GP, 3G2	WMV	WMV	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MOV	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MOV	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MOV
Profile	0	Simple	Main	Simple	Baseline	Main	High
Level	30	Main	Low	3	2.0	1.3 - CABAC, 2.0 - CAVLC	1.3 - CABAC, 2.0 - CAVLC
Max average video bit rate	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	1 Mbps	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	CABAC: 2 Mbps, CAVLC: 768 Kbps	CABAC: 2 Mbps, CAVLC: 768 Kbps
Max peak video bit rate	4 Mbps	Not Available	Not Available	4 Mbps	4 Mbps	4 Mbps	4 Mbps
Max resolution and frame rate	800×480 @ 30 fps	800×480 @ 30 fps	400×240 @ 30 fps	800×480 @ 30 fps	800×480 @ 30 fps	800×480 @ 30 fps	800×480 @ 30 fps
Smooth streaming support	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Emulator support	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note:
The 7x27a processor does not support the VC1 Advanced profile.

The following table lists the video codecs that the Qualcomm 8x50 and 8x55 processors support on Windows Phone.

Video codecs supported by Qualcomm 8x50 and 8x55 processors on Windows Phone
Codec	H.263	VC1	VC1	VC1	MPEG-4 Pt 2	MPEG-4 Pt 2	MPEG-4 Pt 2 (for 512-MB devices)	H.264	H.264	H.264
Containers	3GP, 3G2	WMV	WMV	WMV	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MOV	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MOV	3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MOV
Profile	0	Simple	Main	Advanced	Simple	Advanced Simple	Simple	Baseline	Main	High
Level	40	Medium	Medium	L1	3b	3b	5	3.1	3.1	3.1
Max average video bit Rate	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	10 Mbps	10 Mbps	10 Mbps	10 Mbps
Max peak video bit rate	20 Mbps	20 Mbps	20 Mbps	20 Mbps	27 Mbps	27 Mbps	27 Mbps	27 Mbps	27 Mbps	27 Mbps
Max resolution and frame rate	800x600 @ 30 fps	800x600 @ 30 fps	800x600 @ 30 fps	800x600 @ 30 fps	800x600 @ 30 fps	800x600 @ 30 fps	1280x720 @ 30 fps	1280x720 @ 30 fps	1280x720 @ 30 fps	1280x720 @ 30 fps
Smooth streaming support	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Emulator support	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note:
8x50 devices support up to Level 3.0 at 720x480 @ 30 fps or 720x576 @ 25 fps.

Important Note:
Smooth Streaming Media Element (SSME) allows for dynamic resolution changes. This option is only supported on 8x55 based devices. The 8x50 and 7x27a processors do not support this feature. Only a single bit rate and resolution can be used for playing back video content on those devices by using smooth streaming.

Image Support

The following table lists the image codecs that you can use on all Windows Phone devices.

Image codecs
Codec	Bitmap	Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)	Portable Network Graphics	Graphics Interchange Format (both GIF87a and GIF89a)
Container	BMP	JPG	PNG	GIF
Emulator support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Other Resources

Media Overview for Windows Phone

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