K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of DirectShow filters, VFW/ACM codecs, and tools. Codecs and DirectShow filters are needed for encoding and decoding audio and video formats. The K-Lite Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your audio and movie files. With the K-Lite Codec Pack you should be able to play all the popular audio and video formats and even several less common formats.

The K-Lite Codec Pack has a couple of major advantages compared to other codec packs:

  • It is updated frequently. So it is always up-to-date with the newest and/or best components.
  • All components have been carefully selected for specific purposes. It is not just a random bunch of stuff thrown together.
  • It is very user-friendly and easy to use.
  • The installation is fully customizable, meaning that you are able to install just those components that you really want.
  • The customization abilities even go beyond the component level. Some components are able to handle multiple formats.
  • You can specify exactly which components should handle which formats. The pack can thus be fully tweaked to your own specific needs and preferences.
  • Uninstallation removes everything that was installed by the pack. Including all registry keys.
  • It is extremely easy to make a fully customized unattended installation with the integrated wizard.
  • It does not contain any bad, buggy or unstable codecs.
  • It tries to avoid potential conflicts with other codecs installed on your computer. The installation is able to detect and remove over 100 different codec and filter packs.
  • The pack is able to detect broken codecs and filters on your system, and helps you to remove them.
  • It is a very complete package, containing everything you need to play your movies.
  • This pack has a huge user base. This means that problems are found and resolved quickly.
  • There are different variants of the pack. From very small to large.
  • The pack is suitable for both novice and expert users.

The full variant has many additional features. It supports playback of several (lossless) audio formats. It contains VFW/ACM codecs that can be used for encoding. It has playback support for a few legacy audio and video formats. This package is suitable for power users.

What's New

  • Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC): This is an excellent player. Highly recommended! It provides high quality playback and many useful options.
  • MediaInfo Lite: This is a tool for getting details about media files.
  • MadVR: An advanced video renderer with high quality upscaling algorithms.
  • Plugin for 3D video decoding (H.264 MVC): Note: this requires using MPC-HC with madVR, and also a compatible graphics driver. Recent NVIDIA drivers no longer support 3D video (but you could try "3D Fix Manager").
  • A few ACM/VFW codecs such as x264VFW and Lagarith: This type of codec is used by certain video editing/encoding applications for working with AVI files. For example VirtualDub. These type of codecs are not used or needed for video playback!
  • Bass Audio Source: For decoding OptimFrog and Tracker audio files (very rare formats).
  • MPC Image Source: For displaying image formats in DirectShow applications.
  • GraphStudioNext: A tool for creating and testing DirectShow graphs.
  • ffdshow audio processor: DirectShow filter that provides some audio processing options. Not used by default. Also not needed or recommened.
  • ffdshow video processor: DirectShow filter that provides some video processing options. Not used by default. Also not needed or recommened.