Having problems with playing different of media files? If so, here is a step by step guide to get your media working.
Codec means en(CO)der & (DEC)oder / (CO)mpressor & (DEC)ompressor
Contents:
1. Codec Packs
2. Media Players
3. Audio Codecs
4. Video Codecs
5. Containers
1. Codec Packs
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-Codec Packs are the most succesful way of making any media playable to your player. Codec Packs simply means that all necessary and most commonly used codecs are put together in a single package so the user will have less time in installing different codecs and the user won't have the trouble of figuring out whether he installs the right or wrong codecs he needs.
Currently there are 2 adaptable codec packs for anime medias. Meaning, these 2 codec packs are the most popular ones among any other codecs. I will list down the codecs packs that i have tried in order of the most successful to the least.
A.)
CCCP - Combined Community Codec Pack
url:
Combined Community Codec Pack
-This codec pack is the one that i have the most success in attempt of playing an anime. But note that my trials were not limited to anime only. I also tried lots of different audio and video files. I recommend getting this as this has the best default configuration for your media needs. It means that after installation, you wont be needing much necessary adjustment to the preferences. So it'll save the trouble of tweaking the wrong settings. This codec pack is also a project of anime fans and the the project is a result from recent troubles in playing anime. Lots of fansub group recommend this codec pack for your anime medias.
A quick note for installation:
The CCCP offers a nice tool, called the CCCP insurgent(which can be downloaded over at CCCP's website), to determine whether your computer has installed other external codecs/filters/splitters. Make sure that you use this tool first before installing the CCCP. Uninstall any codecs/filters Pack. This will prevent the problem in overlapping/prioritizing which codec must be used. And make sure that after you uninstall and reinstall a codec, dont ever forget to RESTART.
B.)
K-Lite Codec Pack
url:
Free-Codecs.com : Download K-Lite Codec Pack 3.20 FULL, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.20 STANDARD, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.20 BASIC : K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools
-This codec is complete in every sense. I recommend this as an alternative if you are having troubles with the CCCP. I say that this pack is complete because it has real alternative included plus a quicktime alternative. Meaning you can play your .rm and .mov files with installing quicktime player and real player. overall i have no problems with this codec pack as well, but some necessary adjustments are needed for a better playback, which will depend on your computer.
There are three versions of the K-Lite Codec Pack: Basic, Standard and Full.
• K-Lite Codec Pack Basic contains only the most essential things. It contains everything you need to be able to play the most popular and widespread formats. It is small enough to fit on a single floppy. Also great for including on your movie CDs.
• K-Lite Codec Pack Standard contains everything you need to play all the commonly used formats. This package should be enough for the average user.
• K-Lite Codec Pack Full contains even more codecs. It also has encoding support for the various formats. This package is for power users and people who do their own encodings.
C.)
XP Codec Pack
url:
Download XP Codec Pack 2.0.7.1 - XP Codec Pack is one of the most complete codec pack
-Not much to say about this codec pack since this is not quite popular among the two, but this pack is a good choice as an alternative to the other two. XP codec pack doesnt have any adware on it and it has the content mentioned below:
* AC3Filter 1.01a RC5
* AVI Splitter 1.0.0.7
* CDXA Reader 1.0.0.1
* CoreAAC (AAC DirectShow Decoder) 1.2.0
* CoreFlac Decoder 0.4
* FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder 2004.10.12
* GPL MPEG-1/2 Decoder 0.1.2.0
* Matroska Splitter 1.0.2.9
* Media Player Classic 6.4.9.0 rev. 609
* 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 1.0.1.1
* RadLight TTA Filter 1.0.0.2
* The Codec Detective 2.0
* VSFilter (DirectVobSub) 2.37
2. Popular Media Players(in no particular order)
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A.)
VLC Media Player
url:
VLC media player - Overview
-a cross platform player that has a built in libavcodec. No necessary external codecs required in playing media using this player. The downside of this player is that you wont be able to play any other codecs aside from the ones featured in VLC Player. Another thing, you cannot use external codecs with this player. A list of playable medias can be located from the main site.
B.)
BSplayer
url:
Media player, video player, multimedia player, divx player, free player - BS.Player.com
- This player requires external codecs if your media is not playable with the built in set of codecs that comes with BSPlayer. The downside is this player comes with an Adware package that if you remove, you wont be able to use the player.
C.)
MPlayer
url:
Entering MPlayer homepage
- Mplayer so far is the best player for me, however it is an open source player that requires to run a command line to boot. There's an available GUI for MPlayer, however, it is not regularly updated. It is also a cross-platform player and uses built in codecs. If you dont know how to run a command line, get a GUI.
D.)
Media Player Classic
url:
SourceForge.net: guliverkli
-same as BSPlayer that requires external codecs for further media playback. However this player doesn't come with adwares.
E.)
Zoom Player
url:
Inmatrix.com
-another great player that has a wide set of built-in codecs and can be used with external codecs as well.
F.)
KMPlayer
url:
KMPlayer
-A player good for playing HD/BD DVD rips.