Useful guides and tutorials related to codecs and multimedia.

Which drivers actually need updating, which to leave alone, and the two-minute safety net that turns a bad driver into a five-minute fix.

What an M3U playlist actually contains, why M3U8 is the same file, how to open one on any device - and the one time converting it is worth doing.

Turn a portable SSD into a pocket Android PC with Bliss OS - which build to pick, how to install it so your apps stay, and fixes for boot and Wi-Fi snags.

Seven free video editors for PC and phone that export with no watermark, plus the small print on Clipchamp, CapCut and VideoPad.

When AV1 plays but stutters and the fan spins up, the GPU is not doing the decoding - here is the 30-second check and the fix in each player.

K-Lite, X Codec Pack, Shark007, LAV Filters and Microsoft's own extensions compared, with the abandoned packs to skip and a safe install checklist.

A plain side-by-side of Xvid against H.264, H.265 and AV1, with a simple keep, play or convert table for anyone sitting on a folder of old AVI files.

Windows 11 refuses to install in a new virtual machine until VMware supplies a TPM chip, and here is exactly where that setting hides.

PotPlayer is Windows-only and the store is full of apps borrowing its name - here is who really makes them, and the five Android players worth installing.

Set up one USB stick that boots any ISO you drop onto it - the Ventoy install, the step that erases the drive, and the Secure Boot screen.