2 questions about codecs.

Are codecs legal? I downloaded the KLite Codec basic pack from cnet.com and want to make sure I am not downloading anything illegal. Anyways, I uninstalled it, and want to get all my codecs back to default. Would just uninstalling it work? How do I update Windows Media Player Codecs?

Yes, codecs are legal, they only allow you to view certain formats.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Codecs-frequently-asked-questions

Troubleshoot problems with playing videos in Windows Media Center

Some third party codec packs are very buggy, it is best to avoid them if you can.

Regards....Mike Connor

Ok thanks. Because, I want to get stuff back to the default settings. I'm hoping this codec didn't like, change video quality or sound quality, or mess with settings like mixings somehow.

Just a point to consider:

K-Lite offers QuickTime and RealPlayer alternates.
There has been some debate about copyright issues regarding these two.

RealPlayer has had some privacy issues in the past, so I don't use it.
And QuickTime is too bloated to suit my tastes. Also, there's something about running Apple products on my Windows system that rubs me the wrong way. I use the alternates provided by K-Lite.

Otherwise, there are many codec packages out there, and they are all fine to use.
You may even need some of them to run certain audio/video formats that Windows doesn't natively support.

However, if you don't need them, don't install them. I'm a firm believer in keeping things simple.

Personally, I use a portable version of Media Player Classic for everything. K-Lite provides this player for free. It comes in both 32 & 64 bit flavors.

I haven't gotten their codec packages for many moons now and MPC, by itself, plays everything just fine.
I prefer it to Windows Media Player; it just seems less 'cluttered' to me and certainly is a strong light-weight contender.
In fact, the only reason I have WMP installed on my computer at all is because the WEI won't run without it.
Ya know? Maybe I don't care that much for WEI after all... hmmm...

(I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium at the moment.)

Thanks for the replies, I only use Windows Media Player, and CNET is a legal legit site. I never download anything and always check, thanks.