Video, Audio, plugin , codecs etc Setup

[Teac23]

Hello

I have an old PC with Windows Vista setup i use for converting, authoring. Can anyone tell me the basic plugins/codecs or any thing else i should have installed on my PC?

Thanks

[Krispy Kritter]

There is nothing "basic" to install.

What you install will largely depend on which media player that you choose. Even then, if/when you find a file that won't install, find and install the appropriate codec for that file type. Don't just blindly rely on a codec pack which will likely install numerous codecs and other software that you won't need nor use.

[Keyser]

Don't just blindly rely on a codec pack which will likely install numerous codecs and other software that you won't need nor use.

Very good advice!

Some players like VLC, SMPlayer and others rely on their own libraries to decode video sources regardless of which filters/codecs are installed. Also some converters/authoring programs have built-in decoders/encoders or use external ones (e.g. DVD Flick uses FFMPEG for both decoding and encoding).

So, depending on which programs you use, it may not even be necessary to install anything. If the programs you use need DS filters, then something like LAV Filters should do the trick. LAV Filters are based on FFMPEG and can open almost any file/video/audio format.

[hello_hello]

If you're currently using the PC for converting, I assume you're also using specific programs? As a general rule, you'd only need to install any codecs they require, assuming they require any.

Me..... I use MPC-HC for playback and it's self contained (although it can use DirectShow codecs), and mostly MeGUI for converting. MeGUI is pretty much self contained too, although it requires the Haali media splitter for opening some file types and I have ffdshow installed for occasional DirectShow decoding (similar to LAV filters mentioned previously) and that's about it.