1) Pod Gold installer NOT replaces the system IV41 codec (ir41_32.ax). It adds ir41_32.dll.
2) The HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32\vidc.iv41 value is changed from ir41_32.ax to ir41_32.dll.
3) The system iv32 codec (ir32_32.dll) is replaced.
The uninstaller NOT revert these changes.
Looks like there is something more. No video if I revert 1-2-3 manually. And I not have debugging skills...

P.S. *Censored* Ubi-Soft programmers!

P.S.S. The method "copy ir41_32.dll to the game directory as ir41_32.ax" not works. Even with LoadLibraryCWD and the dll redirection.

How about making registry backups once you install one version, and then utilising the particular backup for the game (considering no file is replaced)?

There is a "net-made" version of the Indeo codec that came out some years back. It came about because the codec was no longer available/compatible with new versions of Windows, so someone made their own to use with the old games/hardware that required it.

1) Install the game w/o Indeo (uncheck "Indeo VFW" in "Software tests").
2) Copy ir41_32.dll from <CD>:\INSTALL to %WINDIR%\SYSTEM32.
3) Change the vidc.iv41 value to ir41_32.dll in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32.
4) Play.
5) Change the vidc.iv41 value back to ir41_32.ax in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32.
6) Goto 3). 😀

Tested with WinXPSP3 Pro.

More games with "Ubi-Soft Indeo":
1) F1 Racing Simulation. Works ok with ir41_32.ax so just install w/o "Indeo VFW".
2) Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2. Works ok with ir41_32.ax so just install w/o "Indeo VFW".
3) Speed Busters. Not installs *.dlls. Uses IV50.

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2023-02-09, 16:24:

There is a "net-made" version of the Indeo codec that came out some years back. It came about because the codec was no longer available/compatible with new versions of Windows, so someone made their own to use with the old games/hardware that required it.

Do you know where I can find this?

Gamecollector wrote on 2023-02-09, 16:30:

1) Install the game w/o Indeo (uncheck "Indeo VFW" in "Software tests"). 2) Copy ir41_32.dll from <CD>:\INSTALL to %WINDIR%\SYST […]
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1) Install the game w/o Indeo (uncheck "Indeo VFW" in "Software tests").
2) Copy ir41_32.dll from <CD>:\INSTALL to %WINDIR%\SYSTEM32.
3) Change the vidc.iv41 value to ir41_32.dll in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32.
4) Play.
5) Change the vidc.iv41 value back to ir41_32.ax in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32.
6) Goto 3). 😀

Tested with WinXPSP3 Pro.

Apparently adding the vidc.iv41 string to the regestry and setting it to ir41_32.dll seems to have fixed the problem (it wasn't there at all before), and both Thief and POD work!!

EDIT: So apparently there is a quirk with this: upon startup, if you play POD first, let the intros play, etc, then try to boot up Thief, Thief's cutscenes won't work until you restart again. If you start Thief first, both of them work fine. It's really weird.

OpenRift wrote on 2023-02-09, 20:15:

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2023-02-09, 16:24:

There is a "net-made" version of the Indeo codec that came out some years back. It came about because the codec was no longer available/compatible with new versions of Windows, so someone made their own to use with the old games/hardware that required it.

Do you know where I can find this?

There used to be downloads for it, but I haven't used it in ages, so I can't recall. The various versions of Indeo were reverse engineered and put into FFMPEG some years back, after the community had reverse engineered them to make their own release.

The NewDark changelog states:
"Replaced video player lib with an FFMpeg based one to play cutscenes. LGVid.ax or other codecs are no longer required"
So if you use NewDark itself or TFix\T2Fix which includes NewDark then you should be able to use Indeo for POD and NewDark for the thief games.