K-Lite Codec Pack: where to download, how to install. K-Lite Codec Pack: where to download, how to install Download the latest codecs k lite codec pack

K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of DirectShow filters and VFW/ACM codecs. They are needed to view and create audio and video files.

Softina eliminates the error that the video format is not supported, installs the player and allows you to encode video and sound with various codecs.

What are codecs

Any information in a computer, including text, photos, video and sound, can be written as a sequence of zeros and ones. The text can be written in a very compact form (the entire text part of Wikipedia will fit on a flash drive), and graphics, sound, and even more video, take up hundreds of places and even tens of thousands times more.

Codecs are programs and devices for storing information in digital form (in any format), as well as for compression all this data. All codecs can be divided into two conditional types:

Lossless data compression (in the so-called lossless-formats). Algorithms similar to those used by archivers when compressing files are used. Video frames encoded in this way will perfectly match the original ones, and take up less space on your hard drive.
Lossy compressing audio and video ( lossy formats). The most typical example is MP3 music files. Codecs that compress to lossy formats throw out "extra" sounds and image details. Due to the loss of some of the information that a person most likely will not notice, as well as due to lossless compression algorithms, the file size is smaller than that of lossless. Lossy coding has one significant disadvantage: you can overdo it with compression, resulting in files with terrible sound and a bad picture.

Among lovers of high-quality sound, disputes do not subside over how best to store music - in lossless or lossy formats. On the one hand, lossless compression allows you to achieve 100% compliance with the original, on the other hand, such an audio library will take up too much space. For videos and photos, the problem of storage is also relevant. For example, over the years of its existence, the Youtube video site has changed several times the codecs that compress the video stored on servers. As a result, now we can watch videos of acceptable quality in 4K resolution, which was impossible to do before, since 4K video simply would not have enough space on the server hard drives.

Types of codecs

There are several types of codecs. Different collections include different types, K-Lite has them all.

DirectShow Filters- modern codec format and more. They are divided into three subspecies. There is capture filters, which are responsible for getting data from a file with video, music, and even from physical devices like camcorders. Transform Filters allow you to decode, recode data, apply effects, and so on. Render filters (visualizations) they can output video and sound to the screen, speakers, other devices and save to a file.

All DirectShow filters work in a chain, which allows experienced users to organize automatic video processing. For example, you can take a picture from surveillance cameras, display them on different screens, while adjusting brightness and contrast on some, take sound from separately connected microphones and save all this into one file with many tracks.

VFW codecs(Video for Windows). An older codec format that appeared in 16-bit versions of Windows before the advent of 95. They are simpler than DirectShow filters and more limited in their capabilities - they cannot be used in a chain. Most often, VFW codecs are needed by video editors to open and save (compress) files.

ACM (Audio Compression Manager) codecs. Same old standard as VFW, but for audio. With these codecs, you can open and compress files in MP3, OGG, AAC, and other formats.

Codecs can be installed in the system so that all programs can use them, or they can be used in separate software. Codecs can also be a separate program. The most typical example is an encoder. You can't watch a video with it, but it's easy to convert it to another format. Codec packs do not include such programs, because the task of packs is to make multimedia files open in any program.

You don't need codec packs to watch videos

The problem of playing files is no longer as relevant as it was in the days of Windows 98/2000/ME/XP. Windows 7/8/10 operating systems already contain the necessary components, and if they are not there, there are always players with built-in codecs. Such as powerful

But there are tasks where codec packs come in handy: video editing and work with the archive of video and sound recordings, where files can be of various formats

There are less popular collections of codecs:

CCCP: Combined Community Codec Pack (development discontinued)
Kawaii Codec Pack (development stopped in 2015)
Codec Pack All-In-1 (the last version was released back in 2006)

K-Lite Codec Pack is the most popular collection of codecs and the most useful, because it contains not only codecs for opening video and audio, but also for compression, as well as several useful programs and a player. K-Lite is regularly updated, new versions are released, while the authors of alternative packs abandon their work.

There are also two universal DirectShow codecs that solve the same problem without installing codecs from different developers - FFDShow(development stopped, included in the "mega version" of the k-light pack) and LAVfilters(included with any version of the K-Lite Codec Pack).

K-Lite Codec Pack

Where to download K-Lite

All versions are suitable for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 of both bit depths - 32 and 64 bits.

There are four variants of the K-Lite Codec package:

1.Basic contains everything you need to play all common video file formats. Simply put, it will open AVI, MKV, MP4, OGM and FLV. The option is for those who like a small package without the bells and whistles. It is small but solves most of the problems with opening video files. The universal Lav Video codec is used for playback.

2. standard contains several additional features compared to the basic version. But most importantly, a simple and convenient Media Player Classic is built in. There is also a built-in DirectShow filter madVR, which, in conjunction with Media Player Classic, gives better picture quality compared to the system filter (when stretching the picture, it turns out to be about greater clarity).

3. Included Full(complete) DirectShow filters have been added compared to the standard version, including the popular universal ffdshow filter. It has not been developed for a long time, unlike LAV Video, but it supports more formats and is able to replace more codecs. Also included in the full version is GraphStudioNext. This is a powerful tool for developers of codecs and filters, which is included in the codec pack so that the user can see which system components are used to open a particular multimedia file.

4.Mega-variant is the most complete K-Lite compilation. Video option. It contains standards codecs VFW and ACM for encoding and editing video and sound.

What to choose during installation

At the beginning of the installation, you can select the mode: Normal or Advanced. The difference is that in Advanced mode there will be a "Select components" step. All other sections of the installer will be identical in both modes.

Installation Preferences Section

At the very beginning of the installation, the installer will ask you a few questions.

preferred video/audio player- which player to prefer to open multimedia.

Preffered video/audio decoder- which decoder to prefer (leave LAV video decoder, description will be below).

Create file associations- open files in the selected player.

Install MPC-HC as a secondary player- if another is selected, install Media Player Classic anyway.

Install codecs only for MPC-HC- install codecs only for Media Player Classic (some will still be installed as system codecs for everyone).

Amount of components to install- codec set options, the middle point is optimal. In Advanced mode, you can refine the set at the component selection step.

Install VFW codecs for video encoding- put codecs for encoding, i.e. video creation.

Install only 64-bit components- install only 64-bit codecs, 32-bit programs will not see them.

Select Components Section

If you bet Basic or standard, at this step you can click the "Next" button. There are few components, there is nothing to choose from.

AT Full and Mega There are many more codecs. Most likely you know what you are doing, since you choose these versions, but for the curious I will tell you more about what is in them.

Immediately at the beginning of the installation, you can choose whether to install only codecs for playback, whether to install the player, or select your own set (Custom Selection item).

Let's go through all the points.

MPC-HC is the Media Player Classic. Functional player with many useful options. There are two versions to choose from, the difference is in bit depth. It is better to choose only the one that matches the bit depth of your Windows. Perhaps in the future, the authors of the pack will switch to another player, because the development of Media Player Classic seems to have stopped in July 2017.

In chapter DirectShow video decoding filters there are modern codecs for video playback in any players, including standard Media Player and Windows 10 Video Player. You can choose from:

Filter LAV Video- standard for Basic and Standard versions of the pack, it supports H.264, H.265/HEVC, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV and several other less popular formats. This is the best choice, because the project is actively developing, all found errors are quickly eliminated, and in general, the codec decodes popular formats without any problems.
Filter ffdshow- an obsolete decoder at the moment, its development has been discontinued. Supports H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VC-1 and more. The decoder has one interesting feature: in the ffdshow settings, you can enable image processing, making it brighter, sharpening, turning it sideways, and so on. If you don't have filters in your player, but you need them, then video decoding via ffdshow will help you.
Xvid- for (de)coding MPEG-4 files. You can choose if for some reason LAV and ffdshow do not suit you, while the above codecs can be left for processing other formats.
Microsoft- the item is needed so that the selected format is decoded by the codecs built into Windows as before.

The component selection options affect not so much the choice of what to install, but how the codecs should behave. If the package contains LAV Video and ffdshow, they will be installed anyway, they will simply not be used for formats where another codec is selected.

Chapter DirectShow audio decoding filters contains codecs for sound playback.

LAV Audio- the same as LAV Video, a modern universal DirectShow filter. Supports AC3, DTS, E-AC3, MLP, LPCM, TrueHD, AAC, FLAG, OGG Vorbis, MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, and more.
ffdshow it is also on the list, it can play AC3, DTS, E-AC3, MLP, LPCM, TrueHD, AAC, FLAG, OGG Vorbis, MP1, MP2, MP3 and, importantly, uncompressed PCM audio (.wav files). As in the case of video, filters can be applied to the sound.
AC3Filter- for decoding AC3, DTS, E-AC3, TrueHD, LPCM, AAC and MPEG. This DirectShow filter holds the record for the number of sound processing settings. You can amplify the sound, compress the dynamic range, adjust the delay of individual audio tracks (it is necessary if the speakers are at different distances so that the sound waves reach the listener at the same time), mix in real time ... There are a lot of possibilities and most of them are not needed by the average user.

AT DirectShow source filters You can select video source filters. They are needed not for decoding codecs, but for opening containers - files, inside of which there will be video with sound. For example, AVI, MP4, MKV file extensions speak of different containers.

LAV Splitter- for AVI, MP4, Matroska (MKV), MPEG-TS (MTS), MPEG-PS (PS) and others. By selecting LAV Splitter as the default source filter, you can change audio tracks on the fly in any player via the LAV Splitter tray icon.
Haali Media Splitter- once a popular filter, it was used to enable subtitles in unsupported players and switch audio tracks. Now it has been replaced by LAV Splitter as more functional.
DC Bass Source Mod- needed to support OptimFROG files (.ofr .ofs extensions) and open tracker music (.it .mo3 .mtm .s3m .umx .xm).

In chapter DirectShow subtitle filter there is only one item DirectVobSub. This filter will allow you to automatically connect subtitles from the files of the same name with the video. Not relevant now, because popular players already support subtitles stored both inside video files and external ones with the .srt extension.

Chapter Other Filters includes two DirectShow visualization filters for displaying images in players.

MadVR- a very powerful filter, allows you to scale the picture with high quality and, what is important, make the frame change smooth.
Haali Video Renderer- a filter whose development was stopped a long time ago, not really working, it is not clear why it is included in the K-Lite Codec Pack.

AT VFW video codecs there are codecs of the Video for Windows standard. If you use old video editing software or VirtualDub, then you need them.

ffdshow VFW interface- VFW-part for ffdshow, which was mentioned above. Allows you to save in FFV1, HuffYUV, DV and MJPEG.
Xvid is a free compatible alternative to the once popular DivX (MPEG-4).
x264VFW- for encoding video in H.264 format, which is on the next evolutionary stage after MPEG-4.
huffyuv- lossless codec for encoding and decoding video files of the same format.
lagarith- modified huffyuv, compresses more strongly, there is no data loss either.

ACM Audio Codecs needed for audio compression.

MP3 (LAME) is a popular MP3 codec for audio compression in programs such as VirtualDub. It will be installed only if there are no other MP3 codecs in the system.
AC3ACM- for AC3 format. AC3 has two features: there can be many audio tracks and the technology is protected by patents. Because of this, many players on phones do not support the AC3 format. In Windows players, this is not a problem.

In chapter Tools utilities are located.

Codec Tweak Tool- a program for reconfiguring codecs, resetting their settings. In it, you can replace LAV with ffdshow without reinstalling the K-Lite Codec Pack.
MediaInfo Lite- to show detailed information about codecs inside multimedia files.
GraphStudioNext- very powerful utility for developers of DirectShow filters. In K-Lite Codec Pack, most likely, it is enabled due to the function of viewing which filters are used when opening a particular file.
Haali Muxer- a utility for packing individual audio and video files into Matroska containers (.mkv).
VobSubStrip- a tool for solving a specific task: extracting subtitles for a particular language from .idx and .sub files.
FourCC Changer- a program that changes the label of the codec used in video files. Useful if the desired codec is not used when opening a video file.

AT Explorer shell extensions Windows Explorer extensions are located.

Icaros ThumbnailProvider allows you to view the contents of video files in popular formats in thumbnail view.
Icaros PropertyHandler allows you to view the width, height, frame rate, duration in the properties of files with extensions .flv, .mkv, .ogm, .rmvb, .webm, .ape, .flac, .mka, .mpc, .ofr, .opus, .spx , .tak, .tta, .wv.

AT Miscellaneous there are two options - Detect broken codes and Detect broken DirectShow filters, which include checking codecs and DS filters already installed in the system. If something goes wrong with them (damaged or missing files and entries in the Windows registry), they can be deleted. The same feature is available in the Codec Tweak Tool.

Additional Tasks and Options section

In the next step, the installer will refine a few settings.

Their number will differ depending on your choice in the previous step. Most of the settings are clear, based on their names, I will only talk about the most important ones:

Reset all settings to their defaults- Reset all codec settings. Useful if you are updating a codec pack from an old version or an alternative one has been installed.

Windows Media Player: register supported file formats- Standard Windows Media Player will open formats supported by installed codecs.

Optimized preferred decoders settings: the installer will tweak the system codec settings to the optimal values, according to the authors of the K-Lite Codec Pack. You can change them later manually using the Codec Tweak Tool.

Add to Explorer context menu- A new item "MediaInfo" will appear in the right-click menu to easily open video and music files in the MediaInfo program.

Hardware acceleration section

Here you can configure the hardware acceleration of video decoding. This is important for watching movies in high definition.

You can select the decoding method (universal and hassle-free - DXVA2 copy-back), as well as enable acceleration only in the Media Player Classic (item "Only use hardware acceleration in combination with MPC-HC").

MPC-HC configuration section

Appears when Media Player Classic is selected.

The important option here is the choice of video renderer ("Video renderer"). If you bet madvr, choose it, otherwise the optimal will be Enhanced Video Renderer (Custom Presenter).

Section Preferred language(s) for audio and subtitles

Here you can set preferences for choosing an audio track. The settings in the screenshot below are the most universal for a Russian-speaking user.

If there is a Russian track in the video, it will turn on. If not, then English and Russian subtitles (if available).

File associations section

Allows you to specify which player to use to open audio and video files.

Due to the peculiarities of assigning file associations in Windows 10, this step may not affect the choice and you will have to manually assign programs through the Control Panel - Default Applications.

Depending on the checked checkboxes, additional steps will appear, where you can select in detail the associations of the program with file types.

Audio Configuration Section

After installation

Restart your computer, otherwise some codecs will not work correctly.

If you need to change some settings for codecs and filters, there will be a K-Lite Codec Pack folder in the Start menu with shortcuts that open settings and utilities.

K-Lite Codec Pack — download K-Lite Codec Pack

K-Lite Codec Pack (K-Lite Codec Pack) is the most popular and versatile set of free codecs for viewing and processing video and audio files. Codecs play any files and are suitable for all versions of Microsoft Windows.

Surely, every user sooner or later faced such a problem as when watching a video there is no sound, or the opposite situation, when you start the video, there is no image, but there is sound. It just means that your system does not have a suitable codec (decoder) to play the audio or video stream.

You can solve the problem very simply - install a universal set of codecs, restart your computer and enjoy the video with sound, and of course the image. It is in such situations that the K-Lite Codec Pack is needed, you can always download it directly from our website.

The set of codecs includes a large number of free, distributed under an Open Source license, or free Freeware splitters, compressors and decompressors. Among them, there is also a popular free player for audio and video files (note the player is not included in the Basic set).

K-Lite Codec Pack - difference between codec versions

There are four versions of KLCP codecs in total, differing in the components included in them:

Basic - contains basic decoders, no built-in player
Standard - contains basic decoders, MPC-HC player
Full - contains an extended set of decoders and an MPC-HC player
Mega - the most complete version, contains decoders and encoders plus Media Player Classic Home Cinema

You can download the K-Lite Codec Pack codecs for various versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system from the file archive located on our resource, using the direct links at the bottom of this page.

K-Lite Codec Pack - update installation

Also, updates of the package called Upgrade are periodically released, allowing you to upgrade the Mega and Full sets to the next intermediate version, usually this is the Beta version of the KLite Codek Pack. Due to their low popularity, we stopped posting them on our resource.

Please note that the latest released versions of the codec pack for Windows XP are 10.4.0, for Windows 95/98/Me - 3.4.5, for Windows 2000 - 7.1.0, later releases will not work in these operating systems. systems.

K-Lite Codec Pack is a universal set of codecs and utilities designed to play and process audio and video files, including only free or open source software (open-source software).

Features of K-Lite Codec Pack

Optimal selection of codecs;
Ability to detect and remove damaged filters and codecs;
Compatibility with other software packages;
Advanced installation wizard;
Complete removal of the package by the uninstaller;
Frequent updating of software components.

Supported file formats

.avi, .divx, .flv, .mkv, .mka, .mp3, .mpg, .mpeg, .m1v, .mpe, .m2v, .mpv2, .mp2v, .m2p, .vob, .evo, .mod , .ts, .m2ts, .m2t, .mts, .pva, .tp, .tpr, .mp4, .m4v, .mp4v, .mpv4, .m4a, .3gp, .3gpp, .3g2, .3gp2, . ogg, .ogm, .ogv, .oga, .rm, .rmvb, .ra, .ram, .webm, .mov, .hdmov .qt, .flac, .wv, .ac3, .dts, .amr, . amv, .alac, .ape, .apl, .aac, .mpc, .mpp, .xm, .s3m, .it, .umx, .ofr, .ofs.

K-Lite Codec Pack Components

DirectShow video filters - XviD, On2 VP7, MPEG-2 (Gabest), MPEG-2 (Cyberlink);
Video codecs – XviD, x264, On2 VP7, Lagarith, huffyuv, Intel I.263, DivX, YV12 (Helix);
DirectShow audio filters - MusePack (MONOGRAM), WavPack (CoreWavPack), FLAC (madFLAC), Monkey's Audio (DCoder), OptimFROG (RadLight), DC-Bass Source, AC3/DTS Source (AC3File), AMR (MONOGRAM);
ACM audio codecs - MP3 (Fraunhofer), MP3 (LAME), AC3 (ffcHandler), Ogg Vorbis, DivX Audio;
DirectShow source filters – AVI splitter (Gabest), AVI splitter (Haali Media Splitter), MP4 splitter (Haali Media Splitter), MP4 splitter (Gabest), Matroska splitter (Haali Media Splitter), Matroska splitter (Gabest), Ogg splitter (Haali Media Splitter), Ogg splitter (Gabest), MPEG PS/TS splitter (Gabest), MPEG PS/TS splitter (Haali Media Splitter), FLV splitter (Gabest), CDDA Reader (Gabest), CDXA Reader (Gabest);
DirectShow subtitle filter - DirectVobSub (a.k.a. VSFilter);
Utilities – Bitrate Calculator, Codec Tweak Tool, GSpot Codec Information Appliance, MediaInfo Lite, VobSubStrip, GraphStudio, Haali Muxer, FourCC Changer;
Media Player Classic Home Cinema (included in all package options except Basic, available in 32 and 64-bit versions).

Installing codecs

The installation process of K-Lite Codec Pack is quite simple and intuitive, it will not take much time.

For most users, the settings that will be offered by the wizard during installation are best left unchanged and not experimented with, leaving all the checkboxes in their places, this will be enough to listen to music and watch videos on the computer.

Alternative set of codecs:

Download K-Lite Codec Pack

Codecs K-Lite Codec Pack are distributed in versions: Basic, Standard, Full and Mega. Our site presents the latest version of the most complete package (includes more components, supports more formats, etc.) - K-Lite Mega Codec Pack.

Download K-Lite Mega Codec Pack for free, without registration.

Spoiler (Download K-Lite Mega Codec Pack for Windows XP)

New versions of K-Lite Mega Codec Pack no longer support Windows XP. If you need to download K-Lite Codec Pack for Windows XP, then use one of the links below:

What's new in version: List of changes

One of the most popular free codec packs. Includes all used decoders, DirectShow filters and related tools. If you are faced with the fact that your player cannot open a movie or audio track because it "does not understand" a specific format, install the K-Lite Codec Pack. Analogues of this product are often characterized by the fact that they do not provide for codec conflicts. So with the package in question, this does not threaten you.

Ease of installation and use is another couple of advantages for which millions of advanced users choose K-Lite Codec Pack. Downloading this proven software for free for Windows will be especially interesting for fans of downloading videos from torrent tracks and web services like YouTube and VKontakte.

Capabilities:

contains all the latest versions of the best multimedia codecs;
no conflicts between components and other software;
provides playback of both popular formats like AVI, MKV, MP4, WMA, MP3, WAV, as well as "problematic" ones like FLV, MPEG-2 for DVD, Wavpack, WEBM, FLAC, OGM, TS, M2TS, 3GP, RMVB;
the choice of certain codecs at the discretion of the user;
partial removal or complete (without any traces);
detection and removal of damaged filters and codecs;
includes Media Player Classic and Media Player Homecinema (except Basic version);
regular update.

Principle of operation:

a codec pack is a necessary element for high-quality playback of multimedia files on a computer. It happens that users install the first package they come across, and then have to suffer from the fact that some formats are not played or take too long to open. With this software, you can be sure that this will not happen.

The second adds an MPEG-2 decoder for full DVD playback and Media Player Classic and Media Player Homecinema.

The third and fourth are intended for advanced users and offer additional DirectShow filters that may be needed for professional processing of the video stream.

Pros:

simple installation;
four versions of the package are offered;
provides playback of all used modern formats;
K-Lite Codec Pack can be downloaded for free.

Minuses:

download K-Lite Codec Pack in Russian is not yet possible.

If you value comfort when watching movies and listening to music, we recommend getting the K-Lite Codec Pack. You can download the Basic, Standard, Full or Mega version with one click. Each of them takes up very little disk space, but guarantees the launch and high-quality playback of multimedia files.

K-Lite Codec Pack — download K-Lite Codec Pack

K-Lite Codec Pack - difference between codec versions

There are four versions of KLCP codecs in total, differing in the components included in them:

Basic - contains basic decoders, no built-in player
Standard - contains basic decoders, MPC-HC player
Full - contains an extended set of decoders and an MPC-HC player
Mega - the most complete version, contains decoders and encoders plus Media Player Classic Home Cinema

K-Lite Codec Pack - update installation

Thematic materials: