How to find the codecs which are installed on your PC using Windows Media Player

I usually look for codecs which are installed on a PC by going to the system options but I have recently found  a nice way of viewing them through Windows Media Player. Below are the steps to follow :

1. Open Microsoft’s Windows Media Player.
2. With the application open, press the ALT key on your keyboard to access the drop down menu.
3. Go to “Help” –> “About windows Media Player”.
4. Click on the "Technical Support Information" link in the About Window.
You will now be presented with a web page listing all of your installed codecs!.

How to check the Codec of a video file

Occasionally, Windows Media Player (WMP) may be unable to play a video file because it will say that it does not have the correct Codec. These warnings are not particularly helpful because not only can you not play the file but WMP doesn't tell you what Codec you need.

The video files you are likely to have will have the file extension of .avi, .mpg etc and the most simple way to find out what Codec you need is to do the following :

1. Go to the video file.
2. Right click the file to display the menu and go to 'Properties'.
3. Go to the 'Summary' tab
4. Click the advanced button (If the only button there says '<< Simple' then the Advanced button has already been clicked.
5. You should now be able to see Image, Audio and Video properties.
6. For the necessary Codec you will need to look at 'Video compression'. In my example, it was showing 'XVID'.
7. It's this video compression name that you would use on Google or Yahoo to find the correct Codec to download..

How to check the codec of an audio file

Occasionally, Windows Media Player (WMP) may be unable to play an audio file because it will say that it does not have the correct Codec. These warnings are not particularly helpful because not only can you not play the file but WMP doesn't tell you what Codec you need.

The sound files you are likely to have will have the file extension of mp3, .wav, .dss etc and the most simple way to find out what Codec you need is to do the following :

1. Go to the audio file.
2. Right click the file to display the menu and go to 'Properties'.
3. Go to the 'Summary' tab
4. Click the advanced button (If the only button there says '<< Simple' then the Advanced button has already been clicked.
5. You should now be able to see Bit Rate, Audio Sample, Channels, Audio sample rate, Audio format.
6. It's the Audio format that will show the name of the Codec and it is this name that you would search for on Google or Yahoo to find the correct Codec.