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General discussion

what is a video codec?

Aug 26, 2004 5:31PM PDT

I am trying to get the concept here. I mean, if I open a .avi file, does the player (i.e., windows mwedia player) look all over my hard drive for the information needed to decode it? or do they live in a specific place? and if so where? does having more codecs on my machine make it possible for windows to "see" video it currently can't? and if download a codec, where does it go and how does windows media player know where to find it?

just curious - fj

Discussion is locked

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Re: what is a video codec?
Aug 27, 2004 12:00AM PDT

Typing WMP MINI FAQ into google.com finds that FAQ and http://www.moviecodec.com has other information which I don't duplicate in these forums.

Bob

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To see the codecs installed on YOUR pc,
Jan 15, 2005 8:12AM PST

go to "Start" / "Control Panel", then select "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon. Click the "Hardware" tab (top right). Scroll the window down to "Video Codecs" and select "Properties". This will bring up another window, select the "Properties" tab at the top. This will show you all the codecs that are installed.