Should I use codecs or VLC?

[Dorfdad]

I can imagine there are litterly hundred of people asking this same question. So today I ask you Video Gurus to tell me and us.

What is the best route to go when installing a new PC window 7 Codecs, Which can mess up your PC but give you precision control over image quality.

Or VLC which has all the codecs built into it that will allow you to play any video format you need right out of the box?

Im always wondering and Ive used both myself However I'm working on the "perfect" build and I do not want to install un-needed or troublesome applications.

I love the VLC ease of use, however I hate the player. No matter what I watch when I jump ahead I get tons of pixelations for 10-15 seconds afterwards.

Im not a dig deep into the guts guy either so installing Codecs and having to config every aspect of these when I have no idea what all the setting really means isn't fun either.

So lets hear what the "pros" here have to say on this question! If There is another application besides VLC please feel free to add it to the discussion.

 

[visy199]

Personally i use KM Player,try it and see if it's good for you!

 

[Giever]

I'd download the CCCP codec pack and use Media Player Classic (which it comes with, already basically set up how you'd want it).

 

[Tews]

Miro works very well for me...

 

[septprince]

If you just want to play all media formats use Vlc.
But if you want to Run them in Mediacenter, WMP or if you want to convert, encode and decode you have to use a codec pack......

 

[spliff]

KMP, all the way, plays DTS as well.

 

[Dinesh]

VLC for the win.

 

[mickey megabyte]

for years, i used to say 'vlc' - but now i've converted, so it's kmp for me!

sadly however, neither of the programs are perfect- i watch a lot of foreign movies (needing subtitles) and i've found i've got to keep both kmp and vlc installed.

overall, i prefer kmp - avi quality seems better, and i like the way i can control things with my extra mouse buttons - i can use my side forward/back buttons to make 5 second jumps etc.

plus kmp generally has much better subtitle support, with fine control over size and positioning - you can even position the subtitles in the black bars under widescreen movies, so none of the image is obscured.

i've found the odd mkv that vlc won't play, but kmp can, by using different splitters.

kmp's not perfect, however: its main drawback, for me, is a problem with dvd subtitles, even though it's great with mkv subs.

i've always found codec packs too bloated and complicated, and a real pain getting subtitles to work. i know some people swear by the quality of certain codecs, and they are essential if you need to encode, but for simple file playback, all i need is kmp, with a little help from vlc every now and then.

 

[rsvr85]

I use the Windows 7 codec pack from Shark007.net, it's very lightweight and does the job perfectly for me.

 

[LukeyP266]

I use shark007.net it does the job fine for me.

 

[ten]

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.

 

[blackroseMD1]

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.

 

[KazeNoKoe23]

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

 

[Mvrck]

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?

 

[mickey megabyte]

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...

 

[Mvrck]

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

 

[mickey megabyte]

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!

 

[garbanzo]

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...

 

[masterB]

Personally i use KM Player,try it and see if it's good for you!

KMP, all the way, plays DTS as well.

Same here. Very good media player.