Video Codecs
Free video codecs, decoders and DirectShow filters for Windows - from current formats like HEVC and AV1 to the older DV, Cinepak and MPEG-1 codecs that keep archive footage playable.
167 programs 5 updated in the last 7 days
HEIF Image Extensions 1.2.65.0
29 Oct 2026
Freeware 21.1MB
Featured
Microsoft's official add-on that lets Windows 10 and 11 open HEIC and HEIF photos in File Explorer, Photos and other WIC apps.
625.621
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VP7 Personal Edition 7.0.1
30 Mar 2006
Freeware 1.45MB
Discontinued
VP7 is considered one of the best video compressors, which can offer high quality at datarates ranging from dial-up to high-definition.
169.182
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VP9 Video Extension 1.2.20.0
24 Jun 2026
Freeware 7.4MB
VP9 Video Extension is Microsoft's free add-on that lets Windows 10 and 11 apps play VP9 video, the format behind most YouTube HD streams.
228.512
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VPx 1.15.1
14 Jun 2025
Open Source (BSD) 15.4MB
VPx is an open-source, royalty‑free codec suite developed by the WebM Project, ideal for high-quality web video streaming.
WebM DirectShow Filters 1.0.4.1
18 Feb 2025
Freeware 1.34MB
WebP Image Extensions 1.2.31.0
9 Aug 2026
Freeware 1.5MB
WebP Image Extensions is the Microsoft add-on that teaches Windows itself to read .webp images, so File Explorer and the Photos app handle them like any JPEG.
75.989
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Windows Media Format 11 Runtime
26 Oct 2006
Freeware 7.72MB
Not updated
Windows Media Format 11 Runtime is a piece of software which allows you to encode and to decode WMA, WMV and WM files without needing to install Windows Media Player 11.
622.951
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Windows Media Video 9 VCM
30 Jan 2004
Freeware 677KB
Discontinued
Windows Media Video 9 VCM allows you to work with legacy encoding and editing applications in AVI file containers.
WTVC Codec 1.12
17 Feb 2006
Freeware 253KB
Discontinued
WTVC Codec provides lossless screen capture compression. It has been released by WebTrain Communications.
X HEIC Codec 1.1.16 build 4
24 Oct 2026
Freeware 2.8MB
Featured
A free, self-contained codec that brings HEIC thumbnails and viewing to Windows without the Microsoft Store or a paid HEVC extension.
x263 Video Codec
20 Jan 2004
Freeware 347KB
Discontinued
x263 Video Codec is necessary for playing videos encoded in the H.263 format. This codec has been developed by Xirlink and it is used by certain cams for AVI compression.
x264 Video Codec 0.165.3223+44
2 Sep 2026
Open Source (GPL) 23.8MB
Popular
x264 is the encoder behind most of the H.264 video on the internet, whether or not the software using it says so.
3.425.901
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XCD DirectShow filter 6b
14 Nov 2004
Freeware 61KB
Discontinued
The XCD DirectShow filter allows you to parse RIFF/CDXA files and play them from Mode2 CDs.
Xvid Video Codec 1.3.7
29 Dec 2019
Freeware 11.3MB
Discontinued
Xvid Codec offers superior performance and versatility, accommodating movie enthusiasts, content creators, and anyone who values high-quality video playback.
1.327.125
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xy-VSFilter + XySubFilter 3.0.0.891
25 Aug 2026
Open Source (GPL) 3.1MB
The actively maintained fork of VSFilter for SSA and ASS subtitles, now rendering through libass so styling matches what mpv, VLC and FFmpeg produce.
YMPEG 3.5 beta
4 Jun 2015
Shareware 853KB
Discontinued
YMPEG is a VfW application whose main advantage is its ability to encode video provided by any software.
67.545
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YUVsoft Lossless Video Codec 1.3
30 Dec 2007
Freeware 107KB
Discontinued
The YUVsoft Lossless Video Codec provides its users with one of the highest compression ratios, according to tests and comparisons with other encoding tools.
YV12 QuickTime Codec 1.0 b3
2 Jan 2008
Freeware 255KB
Discontinued
YV12 QuickTime Codec allows you to decode and encode YV12 image files (usually denoted with a file extension of .YUV).
