Should I use codecs or VLC?

Unless your a nitpicker for that last few percent of quality a codec may bring, go VLC. I cant tell the difference but maybe some can.

The less crap on your computer the better.

I have VLC on my computer, but I also have Shark's codecs. The only reason I have the codec pack installed is so I can play mkv files in WMC, which is awesome cause I can finally put my Media Center remote to use.

Overall, I would say VLC, as it plays everything right out of the box.

Another vote for Shark007's codecs here. Those combined with MPC-HC x64 is the perfect combo for Win7 IMO. :)

I've found WMP play every xvid straight out the box without any addtionally codecs. The only thing it didn't like was mkv's which I just downloaded the Halli media splitter and it worked straight away.

In xp I always use CCCP, hassle free and again one small download and the codec pack plays everything.

Would it be worth using media player classic or VLC over WMP12? I'm using a 40" samasung LCD via an Asus 4670 1gb ddr3?

Mvrck said:

Would it be worth using media player classic or VLC over WMP12? I'm using a 40" samasung LCD via an Asus 4670 1gb ddr3?

we can't really answer that question for you, you got to try it out for yourself! download the software and see if you like it, both vlc and mpc are free! - different people like different things...

I treid Media Player Classic Home Cinema and the picture was slightly better for MKV's, however slightly worse with 720p xvids. Therefore I'm going to use both

that's the way!

personally i use two movie players too - mainly kmp, with a little rare help from vlc. and then i use winamp for playing music. it would be nice if there was one program which did it all well - i can't complain though, it's great that there are so many capable and free alternatives out there! :)

this really depends on how you use your player, and what kind of videos you tend to watch. vlc is ok for some things. well, no, it's never ok. but it's easy.

if you ask me, you're far better off setting up a player with a few quality codecs and filters. i use MPC in portable mode. that way, i just have to set it up once. i keep the exe and its INI on a non-system partition, so i never lose my settings.

i use:
ffdshow
coreavc
matroska splitter
ac3filter
quicktime alt
real alt

these provide not just good quality output, but a much higher degree of control over sound and video than all-in-one players offer with their built-in filters.

remember, you if you want to set up external codecs, you have to set them up in your player. far too many people make the mistake of installing codec packs then running players like MPC, KMP, or VLC that use their own internal filters. you gotta disable internal filters and tell your player to prefer the external ones...