Free DVD decoder/codec?

[nLinked]

Is there a free DVD decoder/codec so I can play DVD video in Windows Media Player?

I do not want to use Media Player Classic, only the current WMP. But it needs to have 3rd party DVD decoder installed like PowerDVD or WinDVD. Is there a free one that'll work with WMP, preferable just a codec and not a whole program?

 

[xtknight]

ffdshow

 

[nLinked]

Thanks.

Does that mean I won't need any other codec pack? I currently have K-lite Codec Pack Basic and is all I ever needed.

Now that I want a free DVD codec, ffdshow seems to come with audio codecs too. Shall I just tick them all in the installation and remove K-lite pack?

 

[xtknight]

You're probably better off just having ffdshow only.

 

[Raptor45]

I don't think ffdshow will let you play DVDs in WMP, I may be wrong. I'm pretty sure K-Lite will already have installed ffdshow in fact. The issue with playing DVDs (afaik) isn't so much a codec problem, as a copy protection one. WMP just complains about copy protection for me, but MPC works fine.

The criticism with K-Lite is that it has too much crap in it which does the same thing, and is outdated; so when something doesn't work its hard to figure out whats conflicting, and you can't expect a fix soon. Is that true? I can't say since I use CCCP. Theres a debate on whats better here if you're interested. What I can say though is that CCCP with MPC + QTAlt + RealAlt has handled everything very well for me.

Anyway, I hope ffdshow works for you with WMP.

EDIT:

Originally posted by: xtknight
You're probably better off just having ffdshow only.

It depends what kinds of video files you want to watch. A codec pack will provide functionality above and beyond just ffdshow. But if ffdshow covers everything you want to play, just leave it at that and be happy.

 

[TheRyuu]

Uninstall ANY other codec packs you have.
Install CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack)

It's a one stop shop.
It has two media players (ZP and MPC), a whole bunch of codecs, and ffdshow and it will work together.
Just make sure to configure ffdshow correctly and to either use the built in deinterlacer or Purevideo or whatever ATI comes with.

 

[gwag]

VLC small and plays just about anything. VLC.org

 

[Raptor45]

I've never been a big fan of VLC. Tried it a few times, and it never suited me. Each to his own.

 

[xtknight]

ffdshow(+Quicktime Alternative+Real Alternative) can decode everything K-Lite can and it has a much smaller foot print. Additionally, all post-processing can be done in one easy area. Three ActiveX controls versus tens of them. For DVDs you might need to run the Video Decoder Checkup utility to set ffdshow to be used for DVD decoding. I know ffdshow can decode DVDs, I just don't know if WMP can support it, though I suspect it can. Worse comes to worst, use Media Player Classic. It's not that bad. Far superior to WMP in every aspect IMO.

VideoLAN Client is also awesome but the codecs it uses (ffmpeg) don't use COM or integrate with DirectShow, making it impossible to play the supported files with other media players. ffdshow is basically the same thing as VLC, except with only the codecs. It's a ffmpeg library wrapper, making it so other apps can use ffmpeg to decode formats.

I don't like codec "packs" that distribute third-party things. ffdshow is just a single open source library able to decode a huge range of formats, and it can do post-processing on all of them. It should be able to decode anything you throw at it providing you enable the codecs you need in the options. There is no need for anything else, except for Quicktime Alternative (for Sorenson Video 3) and Real Alternative for the new RV10 codec which I don't believe ffdshow bundles. Get the Haali Media Splitter so you can demux everything (also DirectShow compatible): http://haali.cs.msu.ru/mkv/ Configure ffdshow, enabling all codecs except the WMV ones (which are better suited to the official WMV decoder). After that you are all set: ffdshow, QT Alt, Real Alt, Haali, config ffdshow. A total of 4 ActiveX libraries and a complete multimedia solution. That's just how I prefer to set things up. The latest ffdshow should even support Quicktime HD (MP4/H.264). Quicktime Alt and Real Alt will give you the browser plugins you need. The setup programs for all these applications should register the codecs on their own for use with any DirectShow media player (every media player for Windows except a rare few such as VLC and "mplayer").

 

[Raptor45]

You might want to check out CCCP xtknight. Their goal is to keep it very small and simple, but still play all common things. Their FAQ lists exactly what they use, and is very similar to your suggestions with the addition of WMV, but the added simplicity of one install, support, and ability to easily set options. You may prefer your way, but I recommend you give it a shot first.

 

[xtknight]

Cool, it looks very simple. I'd actually recommend CCCP then if you don't want to go through all the trouble. I thought it was like K-Lite but apparently a lot 'liter'. Thanks for the suggestion. The main bone I have to pick with K-Lite is them illegally distributing other codecs, and the sheer redundancy. With like 6 MPEG2 codecs installed (needlessly), which one is going to end up being used? I guess you could always raise the merit on one codec but it doesn't make sense to me. It does include some sweet apps like GraphEdit which is never bad.

 

[nLinked]

Originally posted by: xtknight
ffdshow(+Quicktime Alternative+Real Alternative) can decode everything K-Lite can and it has a much smaller foot print. Additionally, all post-processing can be done in one easy area. Three ActiveX controls versus tens of them. For DVDs you might need to run the Video Decoder Checkup utility to set ffdshow to be used for DVD decoding. I know ffdshow can decode DVDs, I just don't know if WMP can support it, though I suspect it can. Worse comes to worst, use Media Player Classic. It's not that bad. Far superior to WMP in every aspect IMO.

VideoLAN Client is also awesome but the codecs it uses (ffmpeg) don't use COM or integrate with DirectShow, making it impossible to play the supported files with other media players. ffdshow is basically the same thing as VLC, except with only the codecs. It's a ffmpeg library wrapper, making it so other apps can use ffmpeg to decode formats.

I don't like codec "packs" that distribute third-party things. ffdshow is just a single open source library able to decode a huge range of formats, and it can do post-processing on all of them. It should be able to decode anything you throw at it providing you enable the codecs you need in the options. There is no need for anything else, except for Quicktime Alternative (for Sorenson Video 3) and Real Alternative for the new RV10 codec which I don't believe ffdshow bundles. Get the Haali Media Splitter so you can demux everything (also DirectShow compatible): http://haali.cs.msu.ru/mkv/ Configure ffdshow, enabling all codecs except the WMV ones (which are better suited to the official WMV decoder). After that you are all set: ffdshow, QT Alt, Real Alt, Haali, config ffdshow. A total of 4 ActiveX libraries and a complete multimedia solution. That's just how I prefer to set things up. The latest ffdshow should even support Quicktime HD (MP4/H.264). Quicktime Alt and Real Alt will give you the browser plugins you need. The setup programs for all these applications should register the codecs on their own for use with any DirectShow media player (every media player for Windows except a rare few such as VLC and "mplayer").

Thanks, some great information!

ffdshow descriptions say it does not decode WMV9. But even without any codec packs installed (inc. ffdshow), a WMV9 HD video from Microsoft's site still played. So WMP must be using its own one, right?

I also was able to play an MPEG1 DVD with ffdshow. Without ffdshow, the DVD would not play in WMP. But I haven't tried MPEG2 yet but it was in the installation options of ffdshow so I suspect it will work.

The ffdshow version I have is FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder 2006-08-28. But on this website (http://www.codecs.com/FFDShow_download.htm) there is a normal version, an SSE version, and an MMX version. Do I need the SSE or MMX ones or is the one without these extensions the main one? What are the benefits of the others on today's processors that the normal one can't do?

A final question, ffdshow seems to do EVERYTHING (audio and video) so I don't know why a codec pack would be needed. But are the MP3/WMA/DIVX/XVID and other audio and video codecs regularly updated in ffdshow like other popular codec packs? Many codec packs like K-lite show the latest versions of DIVX and MP3 included, but ffdshow doesn't say any versions. Even though it plays everything, I would still like to have the newest but am unsure whether popular codecs are kept up-to-date in it.

 

[Raptor45]

Thats why K-lite sucks, theres so much extra BS in there to crap up your system. FFDShow handles a lot of things, but not everything, so you'll have to find out whether that plays everything you want. If you want to go beyond FFDShow and play things like MKVs, you can install it manually and it will work, but... For someone who isn't knowledgeable in this area such as yourself, a good codec pack is probably a better solution than installing each part manually. CCCP is designed so that you simply install it, and it "just works" without needing to mess with things or worry about version numbers. WMP seems to play everything for me with CCCP, so you still can use that if you must, but MPC is a better player so I'd use that. QTAlt and RealAlt are still needed in any case.