CODECS.COM guides

Guides for Codecs and Media Players

256 guides on codecs, media players and the tools around them.

5 new in the last 7 days

Aug 11, 202652,905 views7 min read

How to Stream With VLC: Open a Stream URL or Send Your Own

How to open a stream URL in VLC in about ten seconds, and how to broadcast your own video without picking the profile that silently fails.

Aug 11, 202633,500 views6 min read

The Best Media Player for Subtitles

A straight comparison of five free media players on the things that actually differ for subtitles - rendering quality, sync controls and built-in subtitle search.

Aug 11, 202640,347 views6 min read

GUI vs CLI: Which Interface Should You Actually Use?

A plain-English look at when a graphical interface saves you time, when the command line is faster, and why most media tools quietly use both.

Aug 11, 202663,346 views6 min read

How to Fix Out-of-Sync Subtitles

Work out whether your subtitles are simply late or slowly drifting, then fix either one - with a keyboard shortcut while you watch, or permanently in a subtitle editor.

Aug 10, 20266,094 views9 min read

How to Record Your Screen With VLC

How to record your screen with VLC, set a frame rate that is not a slideshow, and add the system audio VLC leaves out by default.

Aug 9, 20269,682 views6 min read

How to Get DirectX 11.3 and 12 - No Offline Installer Exists

Why there is no DirectX 12 offline installer, how to get DirectX 11.3 and 12 on Windows 10 and 11, and how to read what dxdiag tells you.

Aug 9, 202613,371 views3 min read

DirectX and D3D11 Video Decoding, Explained Simply

How DirectX and Direct3D 11 hand video decoding to your graphics card instead of your processor, and what you need for it to work.

Aug 9, 202691,736 views4 min read

Best EAC3 Players for Android in 2026

Which media players handle EAC3 audio without any codec setup, which one to avoid on a modern phone, and when to fix MX Player instead.

Aug 8, 202610,317 views4 min read

VMD Codec for MX Player - What Actually Works

Which kind of .vmd file you actually have, and how to play Sierra VMD video on MX Player when it is the video one.

Aug 8, 202665,131 views4 min read

Play Xvid Files in VLC - And Fix It When It Fails

Why VLC plays Xvid files without any codec, and what actually fixes playback when an old AVI stutters, shows artefacts or will not open.

Aug 8, 202665,391 views4 min read

MX Player Custom Codec Not Working? Fix It

What to do when MX Player stops accepting a custom codec that used to work - match the pack to the app, or roll back to a version that takes it.

Aug 7, 202626,992 views4 min read

Xvid on MX Player - Why You Do Not Need a Codec

Why MX Player needs no Xvid codec, and what to check when an old AVI file stutters, shows artefacts or plays with no sound.

Aug 7, 20261,106 views4 min read

Xvid Codec for Windows 11: Do You Actually Need It?

Whether you still need to install the Xvid codec on Windows 11, what plays old AVI files without it, and the one case where installing it is still the answer.

Aug 6, 202696,630 views4 min read

Which MX Player Custom Codec Do You Need?

Which MX Player custom codec file to download - AIO, neon64, neon or x86 - and why the version now matters more than your device architecture.

Aug 6, 202611,630 views9 min read

Xtream Codes Explained: How They Work and Differ From M3U

A plain-English explainer on Xtream Codes logins and how they differ from a plain M3U playlist link.

Aug 5, 2026118,496 views5 min read

Does My PC Support HEVC? Check H.265 Hardware Decoding

How to tell whether your PC decodes H.265 in hardware or in software, and what to change when 4K playback stutters.

Aug 5, 202616,557 views5 min read

How to Convert HEIC to JPG in XnConvert

A short guide for anyone whose iPhone photos will not open on their PC, batch converting HEIC to JPG in the free XnConvert.

Aug 5, 20263,210 views6 min read

HEVC Codec for Windows: Free Download for Windows 11 and 10

The free, official way to add HEVC (H.265) playback to Windows 11 and Windows 10, plus the fixes for when the codec will not install.

Aug 4, 2026784,723 views6 min read

EAC3 Audio Not Supported in MX Player? Fix It

Fix the "EAC3 is not supported" error in MX Player by installing the custom codec that matches your app version - updated for MX Player 3.x.

Jul 31, 202618,904 views5 min read

VP9 vs H.264: Which Video Codec Should You Use?

VP9 and H.264 compared on compression, hardware support, encoding speed and licensing, with copy-paste encoder settings and a straight recommendation.