Multimedia Player Codec

Multimedia

  1. Media Player Codec Pack
  2. Multimedia Player Codec Software

Media Player Codec Pack

Windows Media Player 12: Video codecs To properly play video (and even music files), Windows Media Player required an appropriate codec. Codecs are small programs that encode digital signals in a file or data and decode. Only in this way, the player can interpret the streams as. VLC media player VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files, and various streaming protocols.

There are four different variants of the K-Lite Codec Pack. Ranging from a very small bundle that contains only the most essential decoders to a large and more comprehensive bundle. The global differences between the variants can be found below. Detailed differences can be found on the comparison of abilities and comparison of contents pages.

These codec packs are compatible with Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10. Old versions also with XP.
The packs include both 32-bit and 64-bit codecs, so they work great on both x86 and x64 variants of Windows!

Multimedia Player Codec Software

Basic

Small but extremely powerful!

Already contains everything you need to play all common audio and video file formats.

Supports playback of:

  • AVI, MKV, MP4, FLV, MPEG, MOV, TS, M2TS, WMV, RM, RMVB, OGM, WebM
  • MP3, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, 3GP, AMR, APE, MKA, Opus, Wavpack, Musepack
  • DVD and Blu-ray (after decryption)
  • and many more audio and video formats!

Provides lots of useful functionality, such as:

  • Subtitle display
  • Hardware accelerated video decoding
  • Audio bitstreaming
  • Video thumbnails in Explorer
  • File association options
  • Broken codec detection
  • and much more!

Basic does NOT include a player. So you need to use it together with a DirectShow compatible player such as Windows Media Player. For playback issues with WMP please read our F.A.Q. for solutions.

We recommend using K-Lite Standard, which included MPC-HC as a player.

Standard

Same as Basic, plus:

  • Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC)
    This is an excellent player. Highly recommended!
    It provides high quality playback and many useful options.
  • MadVR
    An advanced video renderer with high quality upscaling.
  • MediaInfo Lite
    This is a tool for getting details about media files.

This is the recommended variant for the average user. Use this if you don't know what you need. It already contains everything that you need for playback. The extra components that are included in the larger versions provide no benefit for the majority of users.

Full

Same as Standard, plus:

  • DC-Bass Source Mod
    For decoding OptimFrog and Tracker audio files (very rare formats).
  • GraphStudioNext
    A tool for creating and testing DirectShow graphs.
  • Plugin for 3D video decoding (H.264 MVC)
    Note: this requires using MPC-HC with madVR, and also a compatible graphics driver. Recent NVIDIA drivers no longer support 3D video (but you could try '3D Fix Manager').

Mega

Same as Full, plus:

  • A few ACM/VFW codecs such as x264VFW
    This type of codec is used by certain video editing/encoding applications for working with AVI files.
    These codecs are not used or needed for normal playback.

    The codec pack does not magically expand the import abilities of professional editors such as Vegas or Premiere. Those applications usually (only) use their own internal codecs and only support import of specific file formats.

And a few optional extras:

  • ffdshow audio/video decoder
    An alternative choice for LAV Audio/Video decoder.
  • ffdshow audio/video processor
    This is not something that regular users need.
  • AC3Filter
    An alternative choice for LAV Audio decoder.
  • Haali Media Splitter
    An alternative choice for LAV Splitter.
  • Haali Matroska Muxer

Note 1: Mega does not allow you to play more formats than Full.
Note 2: The optional extras are not installed unless you explicitly select them.
Note 3: We highly recommend to use the default LAV decoder and splitter. The alternative choices should not be used unless you have a good reason.

Update

Additional updates for the latest version of the codec pack.

This is not a stand-alone installer. This update requires that the latest version of Basic/Standard/Full/Mega is already installed.

Download Update

Beta

Beta versions contain the latest updates and improvements, but they may have small bugs, and have not been tested as well as normal releases.

Only suitable for experienced users who like to try out the latest stuff and want to provide feedback.

Beta versions are available for Basic/Standard/Full/Mega.

Old versions

Are you looking for an older version? Those can be found here.

If the latest version give you a problem, then please report that to us so we can fix it!

Download Mega
(old versions)

Download Basic / Standard / Full
(old versions)

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