WMP doesn't play MKV files, any fix for this ???

[glenpinn]

hi everyone, i just wanted to see what everyones thoughts are about installing codecs, or more specifically codec packs on windows based systems, because a lot of people say you should never install codec packs and others say there is no reason not to.

my media player of preference is WMP, used to be VLC but they just seemed to screw it up with the newer versions, and for me i just cant go past WMP because it just works, however, it wont play MKV files unless i have an appropriate codec installed, or a codec pack, and the last time i used a codec pack it was CCCP.

can someone please tell me the correct advice about codec, or codec packs in particular, and in my case, what codec is best to install so WMP can play MKV files.

cheers

[Baldrick]

I would try the new LAV Filters. You can choose that it only should decode MKV when you install.


I still use ffdshow and haali media splitter. But I mostly play movies with MPC-HC. It has builtin support for most codecs.

[glenpinn]

I would try the new LAV Filters. You can choose that it only should decode MKV when you install.

I still use ffdshow and haali media splitter. But I mostly play movies with MPC-HC. It has builtin support for most codecs.

hi Baldrick, yeah a few years ago i was using ffdshow and Haali for MKV and MP4 in WMP but i wasnt sure if these were still applicable for MKV these days, especially now that WMP has supported MP4 for quite some time.

i just downloaded the latest Haali and ffdshow, but i just installed the LAV filters first to see how it went, and it seems to be fine, i just let it install all the filters, not just the MKV filter.

also, is it still regarded as a no no to install complete codec packs (like K-Lite and CCCP) or was all that hype just hype ???

cheers

[Chug a Bug]

I used CCCP for years and had no problems its basically an installer for Haali, MPC-HC and FFdshow, it doesn't update very often. The real no-no is installing more than one pack at once.

But use the new LAV filters (and use its splitter rather than Haali) rather than either of the codec packs. H264 decoding especially is vastly superior to ffdshow and support hardware decoding via DXVA and CUVID.

[mrcoolekin]

Currently I also use WMP as my default player. I only have ffdshow and directshow filter pack installed. I've been using it for years and still have not had any problems at all. If it can't broke, then don't fix it.

[slacker]

DIVX codecs work as well.
Mark