Codecs are important because they are being used to compress the videos and audios into much smaller size. Compressing a video with different codec will give you different results in terms of quality of the video and also the file size. If a video is being compressed by DivX, we’ll need DivX codec to play the video or else we will only hear the audio being played but no video. There are a lot of codecs and the best way to make sure that you can watch many types of videos is by installing codec packs. Codec packs are a collection of codecs being packed into one installer and is configured by default not to have any conflicts.
There are a lot of codec packs nowadays such as K-Lite Codec Pack, XP Codec Pack, Codec Pack All in 1, Matroska Pack, Satsuki Decoder Pack, The Codec, Combined Community Codec Pack and etc… I have no idea which one is the best but I’ve been using K-Lite Codec Pack for many years now and seldom have any problems with it. The important thing is I make sure that I do not uninstall nor upgrade to the latest version because I read that you’ll start to encounter weird video playback problems after doing that.
If you have codec problems, here is something you can try first before uninstalling and reinstalling the codec pack.
Here are two tools that is able to fix some broken codecs on your Windows computer. These tools are a little old but it works.
1. Filmerit
Filmerit is a freeware application for cleaning and managing the DirectShow filters. Directshow is a very nice concept that Microsoft introduced in DirectX. Many useful filters are delivered originally with DirectX, but each application may install its proper filters, eventually replacing some original ones, and finally this process may create conflicts, and in some extreme cases block all multimedia applications.
2. Codec-Sniper
Codec Sniper is a simple, small and easy-to-use tool that will show all of the Directshow, video and audio codecs on your computer. Codec-Sniper also features a column in which you may see whether the codec is “OK”, or “Broken”. This smart application also allows you to delete any codecs that you know are old or that you don’t need.
I am going to stress again that codecs are very sensitive and don’t mess around with them when they are working perfectly fine. Both Codec-Sniper and Filmerit should only be used when you encounter problems in video playback. Both tools are portable and free, so they are going in to my USB flash drive when I go out to service computers.
Related posts:
hi thanks this programe is fantastic fixed my problem yellow and blue bars thank you thank you
holy crap… fixed it in a glance. thanx, dude!
Brilliant Progs …. fixed the problem in seconds
this info has been a magic as for last one year am afraid to install any codec in my laptop fearing that m,ay corrupt my wmp 11 as i suffered twice for it giving me much worries i think this article wil somewaht reduce the pressure as this is some sort of ptoective gear for the codec installations. thanks
Yeah, for newbies like myself, I recommend K-Lite’s “Codec Tweak Tool”. It’s easier to use than these two and you don’t have to worry about screwing up your computer by yourself.
This tool is definitely not for newbies that simply click and delete. Like I said, codecs are VERY sensitive software for your computer and only use them when you have no other choice.
It’s not fair to blame the software when you’ve used it wrongly.
SORRY. These softwares are pretty useless. Guys my comp just crashed with a BSOD. I did not head the warning at the bottom of the Codec-sniper window. Do not delete anything. Just download the latest codec pack from codecs.com. Sorry Ray this is a flop.
Forget about the bloated codec packs already, just download and install latest FFDSHOW, only thing you need!
you are great… just in time when i’m having this prob… thank you so much
Funny I’ve never encountered any problems after installing the latest version of K-Lite Media Codec. It’s pretty cool!
Very useful – thank you Raymond.
Thanks for the tips how about CodecInstaller does it do its job compared
1. Filmerit
2. Codec-Sniper
jockersoft.com/english/codecinstaller.php
I always install the latest k-lite codec.. no playback prob for years.
Thanks a lot Ray for this article.
thanxs alot Ray.
take care. :-)
Thanks Ray. I used K-Lite before until I found this codec name shark007 which can play all video/audio in WMP. check this link for those who want to try. shark007.net/vistacodecpackage.html
Cheers!!!
thanks raymond nice post…raymond what u think about kaspersky 2010 beta…
Good info to keep in mind,txs. I also use K-Lite Codec Pack and have no problems so far.
Just wanted to say thanks for this article! I just happened to have this exact problem a few days ago (couldn’t play DVDs with WMP) and it was driving me freaking nuts. Thank you so much as always!