Codec Guide, your source for quality codecs.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack

There are four different variants of the K-Lite Codec Pack. Ranging from a very small bundle that contains only the most essential decoders to a large and more comprehensive bundle. The global differences between the variants can be found below. Detailed differences can be found on the comparison of abilities and comparison of contents pages.

These codec packs are compatible with Windows 7/8.x/10/11. Old versions also with XP/Vista.
The packs include both 32-bit and 64-bit codecs, so they work great on both x86 and x64 variants of Windows!

Basic

Small but extremely powerful!

Already contains everything you need to play all common audio and video file formats.

Supports playback of:

  • AVI, MKV, MP4, FLV, MPEG, MOV, TS, M2TS, WMV, RM, RMVB, OGM, WebM
  • MP3, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, 3GP, AMR, APE, MKA, Opus, Wavpack, Musepack
  • DVD and Blu-ray (after decryption)
  • and many more audio and video formats!

Provides lots of useful functionality, such as:

  • Subtitle display
  • Hardware accelerated video decoding
  • Audio bitstreaming
  • Video thumbnails in Explorer
  • File association options
  • Broken codec detection
  • and much more!

Note: the Basic version does NOT include a player
You need to use it together with an already installed DirectShow player such as Windows Media Player. For playback issues with WMP please read our F.A.Q. for solutions.

We strongly recommend using K-Lite Standard. That includes MPC-HC, which is a much better player than WMP.

Download Basic

Contents

Changelog

Standard

Same as Basic, plus:

  • 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.

This is the recommended variant for the average user. Use this if you don't know what you need. It already contains everything that you need for playback. The extra components that are included in the larger versions provide no benefit for the majority of users.

Download Standard

Contents

Changelog

Full

Same as Standard, plus:

  • 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").

Download Full

Contents

Changelog

Mega

Same as Full, plus:

  • 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.

Important note:
The K-Lite Codec Pack does not expand the import abilities of professional video editors such as Adobe Premiere or Vegas Movie Studio. Those applications often only support importing a small set of file formats, and do not support using the type of codecs that are included in the codec pack (DirectShow/VFW). Modern editors often only use their own internal codecs or only support external codecs of the Media Foundation type.

Download Mega

Contents

Changelog

Update

Additional updates for the latest version of the codec pack.

This is not a stand-alone installer. This update requires that the latest version of Basic/Standard/Full/Mega is already installed.

Download Update

Beta

Beta versions contain the latest updates and improvements, but they have not yet been tested as well as normal releases.

For experienced users who like to try out the latest stuff and want to provide feedback.

Beta versions are available for Basic/Standard/Full/Mega.

Download Beta

Old versions

Are you looking for an older version? Those can be found here.

If the latest version gives you a problem, then please report that to us so we can fix it!

Download Mega
(old versions)

Download Basic / Standard / Full
(old versions)