Codec Packs - Filters/Decoders Codec Conflicts Guide

If you are a new torrent user, either from my torrent world blog or anyone that downloads media from an online source, you have likely run into various video files that don't play properly. It can be difficult for causal media users to find reliable information on codecs. When users post in a forum saying they have no audio, or no video from a media file, they are commonly told to download a codec pack; this is not the optimal solution.

While these packs are functional, no codec pack contains the optimal codec for every file format. The problem with downloading these codec packs, is that they create all sorts of future conflicts and codec errors that can be a mess to sort out later on. It is fairly easy to forget what codec pack you've installed in the past, and many computer users don't know you can't install multiple codec packs. If you do use codec packs, and want to switch to a new set, you must completely remove the old codecs before updating. Many users either don't know this is required, or can't remember what codecs they added and which were the defaults.

Once you create a codec conflict it can be an extremely frustrating ordeal to find and fix the specific codec error. to find the specific file in the windows folder, give yourself full rights to delete said file, and finally replace it with a codec that is compatible with all your other current codecs. Because codec packs are hardly ideal to being with, and switching between them or trying to remove all traces can create hardware conflicts, it is far better to follow the steps in this codec guide.

Before doing any of these steps, uninstall any codec packs you currently use; especially if you are unable to view a video file, which I would assume is why you are reading this.

You can use an application called "Gspot" http://www.headbands.com/gspot/ to check for any current codec errors, and isolate or delete those troublesome files. Gspot is a free program that is pretty essential to getting codecs, and removing bad codec files or conflicts. You can drag and drop any video file directly into Gspot and it will tell you what codec is required to hear the audio, and see the video contained in that media file.

This is really the only tool you need, you could use http://www.free-codecs.com/ to locate and install and the required codecs at this point if you wanted. However there are a few universal codecs that you will require to view the most common video and audio formats, and you may want to go ahead and grab those now.

• Xvid is one of the most common video formats available on the internet, and Kopei's Xvid Codec is the only codec you should need to view most of these files.
• MKV files are the most common HD video format, but they are not all the same. Due to the diversity of this file type, it can be one of the hardest ones to view consistently. Thankfully there is Haali Media Splitter. This is updated often and will work for most HD video files. You can get Haali Media Splitter from the same free codecs website or from the official site: http://haali.cs.msu.ru/mkv/MatroskaSplitter.exe
• h264 is another very common HD format, and the best option I have found for this file type is CoreAVC. This program offers a trial version, so you can see how useful it is before deciding how to get the full version if it helps you.
• The final codec you should grab is AC3 filter Audio Codec, which is also available at the free codecs website.