Administration Guide : Working with Videos : Video file compatibility

Video file compatibility
With some exceptions, the thing that determines whether a file is a compatible video or interactive file is its Type. Here is a list of Types that the Xinet fpod(1M) daemon uses to identify video and interactive files:
HTML files present the exception, because they are actually of the type TEXT, just like plain ASCII files. In the case of HTML files, fpod(1M) uses the file extension. It determines that files with the following extensions are HTML files:
webarchive1
CAD files, much like HTML files, are also recognized by their extensions. They include:
In some cases a file’s type may be assigned by the client system upon which it originates; but if the client doesn’t assign a type, Xinet will do its best to assign one correctly. Xinet uses one of two methods when doing so:
The filetype(4) manual page provides more information about this.
The following section shows which of these magic numbers, strings and suffixes Xinet uses when assigning a type. Note that some of the entries in the list may not work on your system unless you have licensed support for a more extensive codec library from either Telestream or some other third-part party developer. Check with those manufacturers about additional licensing options.
Built into Xinet software
The files /var/adm/appletalk/filetype (Unix systems) and C:\Program Files\Xinet\FullPress\Admin\filetype (Windows systems) identify the file formats with which the Xinet Video module works. Once again, the filetype(4) man page provides more information.
Video files recognized by magic number include:
Files recognized by information within the data fork include:
AIF video file containing the string AVI near the beginning of the file
AIF video file containing the string AIFF near the beginning of the file
MQuickTime video containing the string mdat near the beginning of the file
QuickTime video containing the string free near the beginning of the file
QuickTime video containing the string moov near the beginning of the file
QuickTime video containing the string wide near the beginning of the file
RIFF file containing the string RIFF near the beginning of the file
Files recognized by the suffix of the file name include:
HTML files with the suffixes htm, html, url, webloc, mht,and webarchive
Macromedia Flash Format File with the suffix swf
(only swf files containing Flash video will be recognized; other forms of animation such as animated GIFs or Flash interactive will not work)
Adding to the list
Should you license key-frame generation for a type of video file that Xinet and the Video module do not automatically recognize, you can extend the Xinet list by editing the filetype file, (/var/adm/appletalk/filetype on Unix systems and C:\Program Files\Xinet\FullPress\Admin\filetype on Windows systems). The filetype(4) man page explains the syntax. For forward compatibility, Xinet recommends that you use the file-name-extension recognition method rather than magic-number or string recognition within the data fork.
If you customize the filetype file, and later, upgrade your Xinet software, your edited file will be moved aside and replaced with the distribution’s newer version. You must then update the newly installed file with the changes you made in the file that was set aside. Note: you would lose your changes if you were to install two upgrades to the software in a row without ever touching the filetype files.
It is also possible to employ a custom Action to transcode video and audio files from one format to another. See Xinet Technote 0317 for more information.
The Xinet Video Engine and standard size formats
The Xinet Video Engine pads low-resolution files at the following resolutions

1
Only WebKit on OS X servers processes the webarchive format.

2
Xinet Video for Xinet only supports key-frame and low-resolution movie generation of Red R3D Video files on Linux 64/32, Windows and OS X server. This file format is not supported on Altix and Sun servers.