How to install codecs?

Feature of multimedia files (audio, video)in that they have a large size. This complicates the exchange of such files and their distribution - a video of a large "weight" will not be written on every disk or flash drive. To make the file "weighed" less, and its quality remained almost the same, they use special programs for compressing multimedia files - codecs. The codec encodes (compresses) an audio or video file, and decodes it during playback.

If an error occurs while playing a file,and the computer asks you to install codecs - this means that there are no codecs in the system with which this file format was encoded. Codecs do not work by themselves, but in conjunction with multimedia players. The installed codec will not be able to independentlyplay the file. Therefore, it's not enough just to install codecs, you need to install the player for multimedia files. Some players already have a built-in set of codecs.

Audio and video files are encoded by different codecs. More often the codec of this or that multimedia file can be recognized by looking at the file extension. The most common audio codecs - MP3, WMA, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, etc. From video codecs AVI, DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV, H.261 (263, 264) are popular, among others.

Of course, these are only the most popular codecs,in fact, there are many more. It's best to first install the codecs that you most likely will need to play the most popular file formats. And to establish specific codecs (for example, APE or FLAC codecs for lossless-audio playback, compressed without loss) you always have time.

Before installing codecs, check which ones are already installed on your system - installing codecs "on top" of already stopped versions may be ineffective. To see list of installed codecs in Windows XP, click the button. "Start". In the menu that opens, select "Control Panel". In the Control Panel we need the System item. In the window "Properties of the system" you need to open the tab "Equipment", there will be a button "Device Manager". In the window that opens, you will see a list of devices, you need the item "Audio video and game devices". Clicking on the plus sign near the point, you will open it. In the list, select the item "Audio Codecs" / "Video Codecs". In the dialog box "Properties: Audio codecs" / "Properties: Video codecs" go to the "Properties". In the window that opens, you can see a list of audio or video codecs installed on your system.

What to do if the codecs you need are not listed? You'll have to install codecs yourself. Often when a file playback error occursThe multimedia player offers search on the Internet, download and install codecs. But usually attempts to move on the proposed link and download this or that codec are not crowned with success. So the easiest way to install codecs is to download codec pack.

The codec packs contain the most popular and common codecs. Installing codecs from a package is as simple asinstallation of most programs. Before installing codecs, it is desirable to remove previously installed codecs and codec packets. Although some codec packs do not allow this, it's better to insure yourself that different versions of codecs can conflict with each other. Installing codecs from the package allows you to install the whole package at once (if you do not know what codecs you need) or install some codecs separately.

The most popular codec-packs This is K-Lite Codec Pack, XP Codec Pack, CodecPack All in 1, K-Lite Mega Codec, The Codecs, Vista Codec Package, Nimo Codec Pack, Gordian Knot Codec Pack, etc. Sometimes after installing codecs from the package you need to reboot the system - do this if the installer prompts you to reboot the system after end of codec installation.

Such players, as, for example, Light Alloy, KMPlayer, VLC and some others have an impressive set of built-in codecs that are enough to play most multimedia files.

Pay attention to the fact that The codec is not used the same way as a regular program. Installing the codec, you will not see a shortcut on the desktop, it does not need to be run separately. The media player will find in the system the necessary codec to play the video or audio file.

We hope that now the question "How to install codecs?" you will not have, and you can easily reproduce the files encoded by any audio or video codec.