H.264 X.264

with all the hd content thats on tv these days, why are people not using codecs
like avc h.264???

actually all 720p/1080p re-encodes for tv and movies use x264 as a codec

yes, can someone give us a clear explanation of x264 h264 and h263 (i think that
exists too right?)

both x264 and h264 are mpeg-4 part 10 (aka avc)
just simply that x264 is what encodes h264

generally avc (advanced video codec) encodes are called x264 while tv broadcasts
using it in europe for hd are called h264 (simply to distinguish between them)

being we are on the topic of x264 and h264... i can't get either of them to
play on wmp. they will both play using vlc or media player classic. when i
use media player classic, the ffdshow icon shows up in the tray which makes me
assume it is making the fiel playable. i have no problems with sound or
video. in windows media player i get an error. that error is some weird code
and it's link says audio error. it doesn't make sense. you may wonder why i
want to play in windows media player, but i use media portal for my videos and
it uses wmp by default. someone please help, it has been weeks i have had this
problem.