K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of VFW/ACM codecs, DirectShow filters and tools. Codecs and DirectShow filters are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video formats. The K-Lite Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. With the K-Lite Codec Pack you should be able to play all the popular audio and video formats and even several less common formats.

The K-Lite Codec Pack has a couple of major advantages compared to other codec packs:

* It it always very up-to-date with the newest and/or best components.
* All components have been carefully selected. It is not just a random bunch of stuff thrown together.
* It is very user-friendly and easy to use.
* The installation is fully customizable, meaning that you are able to only install those components that you really want.
* For some formats a choice can be made during installation between different filters. This allows you to tweak the pack to your own specific needs and preferences.
* Uninstallation removes everything that was installed by the pack. Including all registry keys.
* It is extremely easy to make a fully customized unattended installation with the integrated wizard.
* It has been very well tested. The pack doesn’t contain any conflicting or buggy codecs.
* It tries to avoid potential conflicts with other codecs already installed on your computer.
* The pack is able to detect broken codecs and filters on your system, and helps you to remove them.
* It is a very complete package, containing everything you need to play your movies.
* This pack has a huge user base. This means that problems are found and resolved quickly.
* There are different packages. From small to extra-large.
* Suitable for both novice and expert users.

Developer: Codec Guide
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 13.4 MB
Download K-Lite Codec Pack Full 4.0.0 link

K-Lite Mega Codec Pack is a collection of VFW/ACM codecs, DirectShow filters and tools. Codecs and DirectShow filters are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video formats. The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. With the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack you should be able to play all the popular audio and video formats and even several less common formats.

The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack has a couple of major advantages compared to other codec packs:

• It it always very up-to-date with the newest and/or best components.
• All components have been carefully selected. It is not just a random bunch of stuff thrown together.
• It is very user-friendly and easy to use.
• The installation is fully customizable, meaning that you are able to only install those components that you really want.
• For some formats a choice can be made during installation between different filters. This allows you to tweak the pack to your own specific needs and preferences.
• Uninstallation removes everything that was installed by the pack. Including all registry keys.
• It is extremely easy to make a fully customized unattended installation with the integrated wizard.
• It has been very well tested. The pack doesn’t contain any conflicting or buggy codecs.
• It tries to avoid potential conflicts with other codecs already installed on your computer.
• The pack is able to detect broken codecs and filters on your system, and helps you to remove them.
• It is a very complete package, containing everything you need to play your movies.
• This pack has a huge user base. This means that problems are found and resolved quickly.
• Suitable for both novice and expert users.

Developer: Codec Guide
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 17.9 MB
Download K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 4.0.0 link

FFDSHOW MPEG-4 Video Decoder is a DirectShow decoding filter for decompressing DivX, XviD, H.264, FLV1, WMV, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, MPEG-4 movies. It uses libavcodec from ffmpeg project for video decompression, postprocessing code from mplayer to enhance visual quality of low bitrate movies, and is based on original DirectShow filter from XviD, which is GPL’ed educational implementation of MPEG4 encoder.

First of all, the FFDSHOW MPEG-4 Video Decoder consumes way less CPU power than original DivX codecs, even with maximum post-processing. At the same time the post-processing seems to give excellent quality results and allows more configuring than the original DivX 5 codec. It can even automaticly reduce post-processing if your CPU is getting overloaded. The noise filter adds a kind of a rasterising effect to the picture - might be useful in some cases. The alpha version also includes experimental playback for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files (such as VCD and SVCD movies), which works pretty damn well. Only problem is that MPEG-2 playback can’t play the SVCD clips directly from the CD, but requires the video to be extracted to the HDD by using VCDGear first.

Developer: FFDShow.info
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 3.9 MB
Download FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder 2008-07-05 rev 2033 link

XP Codec Pack is one of the most completed codec packs which helps you to play all major audio and video formats.

And to enjoy your multimedia experience, instead of 3 or 4 different players you get one, simple integrated player that plays almost all audio and video files: Media Player Classic.

XP Codec Pack includes AC3Filter 1.46, AVI Splitter 1.0.0.9, CDXA Reader 1.0.0.2, CoreAAC (AAC DirectShow Decoder) 1.2.0, CoreFlac Decoder 0.4, FFDShow MPEG-4 Video, Decoder 2007.12.24, GPL MPEG-1/2 Decoder 0.1.2.0, Matroska Splitter 1.0.3.0, Media Player Classic 6.4.9.1, OggSplitter/CoreVorbis 1.1.0.79, RadLight APE Filter 1.0.0.4, RadLight MPC Filter 1.0.0.4, RadLight OFR Filter 1.0.0.4, RealMedia Splitter 1.0.1.2, RadLight TTA Filter 1.0.0.2, The Codec Detective 2.0, VSFilter (DirectVobSub) 2.38

Developer: XP Codec Pack
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 6,8 MB
Download XP Codec Pack 2.3.8 link

The KMPlayer is a versatile media player which can cover various types of container format such as VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg Theora, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, RealMedia, and QuickTime among others. It handles a wide range of subtitles and allows you to capture audio, video, and screenshots in many ways.

The player provides both internal and external filters with a fully controlled environment in terms of connections to other splitters, decoders, audio/video transform filters and renderers without grappling with the DirectShow merit system. Internal filters are not registered to user’s system to keep it from being messed up with system filters.

The KMPlayer includes almost all the essential decoders required for media playback. Furthermore, to get beyond the limitation of internal decoders, the external ones such as commercial h.264 decoders or cyberlink/intervideo audio decoders can be specified, so that KMP works optimally by the users’ own customization. Even though the KMP is based upon directshow structure, it supports Winamp, Realmedia and Quicktime by the internal logic. Thus, it is possible to specify where to try to connect firstly the media in preferences.

In short, the player provides a strong hybrid structure efficient for interconnecting various directshow filters, winamp input&dsp plugin, and internal filters. The most outstanding feature is that the player has the full control of filter connections to prevent a media playback from being messed.

The player can set multifarious audio and video effects, slow down or increase playback speed with regular tone, select parts of a video as favorites, do an exceptionally powerful A-B repeat, remap the keys of remote interface for HTPC including overlay screen controls, change a skin dynamically depending on a media type playing, and many more. It is completely customizable thanks to a wide selection of skins and color schemes, and the configuration options are extremely extensive.

Developer: KMPlayer.com
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 13.4 MB
Download KMPlayer 2.9.3.1430 Beta link

Windows Essentials Codec Pack is a collection of Video and Audio Codecs and tools that are required to Encode / Decode (i.e., PLAY) Audio and Video files. With Windows Essentials Codec Pack you should be able to play 99% of all the movies and music files that you download off the internet, and stay up to date with the latest Codecs through W.E.C.P’s Audio / Video Codec Update Service.

W.E.C.P. is designed as a near complete solution for all your video and audio needs, with it you can play Audio CDs, DVDs, (S)VCDs and XCDs on the fly, and it adds support for 3GP, AAC, AC3, APE, AVI, DivX, 3ivx, DAT, h.264, x264, AVC, Nero Digital, DTS, FLV, FLAC, HD-MOV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, M4A, MPC, MP3, MP4, MO3, MOD, MKV/MKA, MTM, OFR, TTA, OGG/OGM, S3M, Vorbis, VOB, WavPack, ATRAC3, XviD, XM, WV, UMX and many more formats so you could play any video / audio file with your favorite media player or with the free and wonderful Media Player Classic player that comes included with W.E.C.P.

So which Codecs / DirectShow / VfW Filters / Tools does W.E.C.P. includes ?

• APE Source Filter: DirectShow audio decoder filter used to decode Monkey’s Audio files (APE files)
• AC3 Filter: DirectShow audio decoder and processor filter used to decode audio tracks in movies (DVD, MPEG4 and others)
• AVI Splitter: Replacement for DirectShow’s default Audio Video Interleave (AVI) Splitter (It can open many broken files and can reindex when needed)
• CDDA Reader Filter: DirectShow audio decoder capable of reading Audio CDs
• CDXA Reader Filter: DirectShow video decoder capable of reading (S)VCDs and XCDs
• CoreAAC Filter: Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) DirectShow audio decoder capable of reading AAC files
• CoreFlac Decoder: DirectShow audio decoder for the Flac audio codec
• FFDShow: DirectShow decoding filter for decompressing DivX, XviD, H.264, FLV1, WMV, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and various other audio and video formats. It uses libavcodec from ffmpeg project for video decompression, postprocessing code from mplayer to enhance visual quality of low bitrate movies, and is based on original DirectShow filter from XviD, which is GPL’ed educational implementation of MPEG4 encoder
• FLV Splitter: Capable of splitting Flash Video files (FLV) and decoding On2 VP62 Video streams (notable users of the FLV format include YouTube, Google video, Reuters.com, Yahoo! Video and MySpace.)
• OGG Splitter: DirectShow OGG Splitter capable of splitting OGG and OGM file(s) and enables to play / create .ogm wrapped video
• GPL MPEG-1/2 Decoder: DirectShow MPEG decoder filter can be used to play MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 streams
• MOD Source Filter: DirectShow filter decoder capable of decoding Tracker files (MO3, IT, XM, S3M, MTM, MOD and UMX)
• MPEG Splitter: DirectShow splitter capable of splitting MPEG1/MPEG2 files (MP(E)G, VOB, DAT, TS, TP, etc.)
• MPV Decoder: DirectShow decoder capable of decoding MPEG1/MPEG2 Video streams, and DVDs
• MPA Splitter: DirectShow Splitter capable of splitting MPEG Audio files (MP3) and MPEG4 Audio files (AAC)
• MPC Source Filter: DirectShow decoder filter capable of decoding MusePack Audio files (MPC).
• MP4 Splitter: DirectShow Splitter capable of splitting MP4, M4A, 3GP and HD-MOV files
• Matroska Splitter: DirectShow splitter capable of splitting Matroska files (MKV and MKA)
• Media Player Classic: an open source media player that looks just like Windows Media Player, but has many additional features. It has a built in DVD player with real-time zoom, support for AVI subtitles, QuickTime and RealVideo support
• OFR Source Filter: DirectShow filter decoder capable of decoding OptimFROG Audio files (OFR)
• RealMedia Splitter: DirectShow splitter that allows you to play RealNetworks audio/video files.
• SHOUTcast Source Filter: DirectShow decoder filter capable of handling internet radio stations streams (http://www.shoutcast.com)
• WV Splitter / Decoder: DirectShow WV Splitter and decoder capable of splitting and decoding WavPack Audio files (WV)
• VobSub Filter: DirectShow Vob Subtitles filter capable of displaying (embedded) Subtitle files (SRT, SUB, IDX, etc)

Developer: Mediacodec.org
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 8.2 MB
Download Windows Essentials Codec Pack 1.0 link