X Codec Pack 3.3

X Codec Pack 3.3 is a maintenance release on top of the 64-bit rebuild that arrived with 3.0.

The installer is 25.5 MB, runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, and carries no toolbars or bundled extras.

After years of dormancy the pack is fully active again - the X Codec Pack 3.0 announcement covers how the rebuild started.

What Changed in 3.3

Released on 28 October 2026, 3.3 refreshes three components and leaves the rest of the stack alone.

• All 34 MPC-BE filters - the splitters, decoders and readers - move to 1.9.2.53, a new minor series after 1.9.1.
• MPC Video Renderer moves to the 0.11.0 series, build 0.11.0.2633, which adds new HDR tone mapping options.
• MPC-HC moves to 2.8.4 in the full build.

LAV Filters 0.83, xy-VSFilter 3.0.0.891 and madVR 0.92.17 are unchanged - none has shipped a newer public build.

Since 3.2, the pack and MPC-HC use the same renderer build, and an upgrade removes the previous version instead of leaving it on disk. The full changelog is on the X Codec Pack site.

What's Inside X Codec Pack 3.3

The installer bundles six components tested to work together without conflicts on modern 64-bit Windows systems.

LAV Filters 0.83 is the core of the pack - a unified audio and video decoder that handles every format in active use today.

On the video side it decodes H.264, HEVC/H.265, VP9, and AV1, with hardware-accelerated paths on Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA GPUs.

On the audio side it covers AAC, HE-AAC, AC3 (Dolby Digital), EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio, TrueHD, and Dolby Atmos - the full range of formats you meet on Blu-ray rips, streaming downloads, and modern disc backups.

Those are precisely the formats that produce silent playback or broken audio on a Windows system without a proper codec stack.

The same filter is the backbone of K-Lite Codec Pack, so you are getting the same decoding engine in a leaner package.

madVR 0.92.17 handles video rendering after LAV decodes the stream - applying high-quality upscaling, HDR tone-mapping, and color correction before the image reaches your display.

It is the preferred renderer for home theater setups where visual quality from HEVC and AV1 sources needs to be maximized.

MPC-HC 2.8.4 is the media player included with the full build - lightweight, fast to open, and customizable without touching system settings.

It uses the LAV and madVR filter stack out of the box, so HEVC, TrueHD, and DTS-HD all work immediately after installation.

Users who prefer a more feature-rich environment can pair the same filter stack with MPC-BE, which continues active development alongside MPC-HC.

MPC Video Renderer 0.11.0 provides a modern DirectShow video rendering path with HDR passthrough and exclusive fullscreen mode.

It is the lighter alternative to madVR for systems where full upscaling processing is not required.

xy-VSFilter 3.0.0.891 handles subtitle rendering for SRT, ASS, SSA, and other external subtitle formats - the standard choice for foreign language content and anime, where styled subtitles need pixel-accurate positioning alongside HEVC and high-bitrate video.

Matroska Splitter 1.9.2.53 provides dedicated MKV container handling, so chapter support, multi-track audio selection, and forced subtitle detection all work correctly inside DirectShow-compatible players.

MKV is the dominant container for HEVC and AV1 encodes, which makes this a critical component for modern media libraries.

Supported Formats

X Codec Pack 3.3 is built around LAV Filters 0.83, which means the format support list reflects current standards rather than a legacy compatibility checklist.

Video: H.264, HEVC/H.265, VP9, AV1, DivX, Xvid, MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WebM, RMVB, and more.

Audio: AAC, HE-AAC, AC3 (Dolby Digital), EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio, TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, FLAC, Opus, Vorbis, and standard PCM formats.

Containers: Matroska (MKV/MKA), MP4, OGM, AVI, and all common wrapper formats.

The emphasis here matters - HEVC, EAC3, DTS-HD, and TrueHD are the formats that most commonly break playback on unpatched Windows 10 and 11 systems.

Installing X Codec Pack 3.3 resolves all of them in a single pass, with LAV Filters 0.83 handling decoding and hardware acceleration automatically once registered.

For a broader look at which next-generation formats pair well with this stack, the best modern codecs guide covers them in detail.

If you also want the Microsoft Photos and Movies apps to play these formats, the VP9 and HEVC extensions cover the built-in Windows players.

Which Build to Download

X Codec Pack 3.3 ships in two builds, and the difference is simply whether a player comes along for the ride.

The standard 25.5 MB build installs the codec filters only, which is what you want if you already use VLC, MPC-BE, PotPlayer, or Windows Media Player and just need the formats to decode.

The full 43.9 MB build adds MPC-HC 2.8.4 already configured against the bundled filter stack, so playback works the moment the installer closes.

Upgrading from 3.2 or later no longer needs a manual uninstall - setup removes the previous install for you. Coming from 3.1 or older, uninstall that version first.

If you already run a standalone LAV Filters installation, the standard build will replace those registrations with its own.

Silent installation is supported for administrators deploying the pack across multiple machines: run the installer with the /S flag for an unattended install with no user interaction.

X Codec Pack 3.3 vs. K-Lite

The main alternative in this category is K-Lite Codec Pack, which has the advantage of more frequent point releases and a tiered structure - Basic, Standard, Full, and Mega - that lets you match install size to your needs.

K-Lite Mega Codec Pack in particular overlaps heavily with X Codec Pack's component list, including the same LAV Filters core.

X Codec Pack 3.3 counters with a sharper focus: built exclusively for 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, a 25.5 MB installer, and a component list trimmed to the six filters that actually matter on modern systems.

There are no legacy 32-bit compatibility shims, no tiered versions to navigate, and no decisions to make beyond which of the two builds you want.

If you want the same filter stack with additional bundled tools, LAV Filters Megamix is worth comparing. For a full side-by-side of every major codec pack, the best codec packs guide covers the current field in detail.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

3.3 is 64-bit only, so Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 machines are out of scope - those systems need the older X Codec Pack 2.7.4, which is no longer actively maintained but still installs cleanly on 32-bit and 64-bit legacy Windows. The developer says a 32-bit build of 3.3 may follow if enough people ask.

If you would rather not register system-wide DirectShow filters at all, Shark007 Codecs takes a more configurable approach, and a self-contained player such as VLC avoids the question entirely.

And if your video plays fine but only the sound is missing, you do not need a full pack - see the audio-only option in the next section.

Companion Tools from the X Codec Pack Ecosystem

The X Codec Pack team has expanded beyond the main pack with three companion tools.

X Audio Codec Pack is a purpose-built audio-only bundle for users whose video playback is fine but whose AC3, EAC3, or DTS audio broke after a Windows update - particularly relevant after the Windows 11 24H2 change that silenced Dolby Digital playback for many users.

For converting audio between formats, X Audio Converter handles that as a standalone desktop tool, or you can convert directly in the browser with the free online audio converter on this site.

For diagnosing filter conflicts or identifying which codec is currently handling a given file, X Codec Inspector provides a full DirectShow filter graph breakdown.

System Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
• x86-64 (AMD64) processor.
• About 30 MB of free disk space.
• Administrative privileges for installation.

Clean and Safe

X Codec Pack 3.3 is completely free of spyware, adware, and viruses.

The installer includes no bundled toolbars or unwanted software - just LAV Filters, madVR, MPC-HC, MPC Video Renderer, xy-VSFilter, and Matroska Splitter, registered cleanly and removable through Windows Add/Remove Programs.

The installers are not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn that the publisher is unrecognised.

Both builds publish a SHA-256 checksum on the official download page, so you can confirm the file you received is byte-for-byte the one that was built.