Codecs and File Types Windows Media Player Supports on Windows 11 and 10

Windows Media Player plays more than people think and less than they hope. Here is every file type and codec it handles on Windows 11 and 10, which ones need a free extension, and which ones need a codec pack or a different player.

The short version: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV and every common music format play out of the box, HEVC and AV1 need a free extension, and surround audio and disc formats need a codec pack or another player.

The tables below are built from Microsoft's own codec lists as of May 2026 and apply to Windows Media Player 12 - the version on Windows 7 through 11 - and to the newer Media Player app on Windows 11.

The original 2004 list for Windows XP is kept at the end for anyone still running it.

Two players, one name

Windows 11 has both the classic Windows Media Player Legacy and the newer Media Player app, and they do not support exactly the same things. The new app uses only the Media Foundation decoders in Windows plus the Store extensions; the Legacy player uses those too, and can also fall back to DirectShow decoders such as the ones a codec pack installs.

In practice that means a codec pack widens what the Legacy player opens but does nothing for the new app, while a Store extension helps both. Where the two differ below, the table says so.

File types Windows Media Player opens

A file extension names the container, not the codec inside it, so a container being supported does not guarantee every file in it plays. The second and third tables cover the codecs.

Video codecs

Built in means Windows ships the decoder and both players use it. Free extension means a small Microsoft Store app that both players pick up once installed.

Audio codecs

How to fill the gaps

For the free-extension rows, the Media Foundation Codecs bundle installs every Microsoft extension at once, and the HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer covers H.265 on its own without the Store charge.

For the "not included" rows, the K-Lite Codec Pack adds LAV Filters, which decode DTS, TrueHD, E-AC-3, Opus, ProRes and the legacy video codecs for Windows Media Player Legacy and every other DirectShow player.

If you only need the file to play and do not mind which app opens it, VLC Media Player decodes everything in all three tables on its own, including unprotected DVDs.

Subtitles and a few other limits

The Media Player app on Windows 11 loads external SRT subtitle files; Windows Media Player Legacy does not load subtitle files at all. For subtitles in the classic player, K-Lite's bundled MPC-HC or VLC are the practical answer.

Neither player opens DRM-protected video such as iTunes purchases or downloads from streaming services, and no codec changes that. Neither plays Blu-ray discs, and DVD playback was removed from Windows Media Player in Windows 8.

Still on Windows XP? The original list

Windows Media Player 9, 10 and 11 on Windows XP supported the following codecs, though not all were installed by default. Several were pulled from Microsoft's codec server on demand, and that server no longer exists, so a codec pack is now the only way to add the missing ones.

• Cinepak, ClearVideo, Intel Indeo 3.0 and 5.0, Intel I.263, Intel RAW YVU9, Vivo H.263, Microsoft Screen Video, Streaming Animation Support
• Microsoft MPEG-4 Video v1, v2 and v3, Microsoft MPEG-4 Standard Video, Windows Media Video v7 and v8, Windows Media Audio
• Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 (MP3), Intel Audio Codec, Lernout and Hauspie, Microsoft Network Audio, Sharp G.726, Sipro ACELP.net, Vivo Siren, VivoActive Audio, Voxware MetaSound and MetaVoice

Quick questions

Windows Media Player covers the everyday formats; one free pack covers the rest.

Download the K-Lite Codec Pack to fill every "not included" row above in one install, or tell us which format tripped you up if you have hit one that is not listed.