TalkingSoft.com Forums: I am completely confused about all this codec stuff...HELP - TalkingSoft.com Forums

I have no idea what's going on with my computer. I get these so called "codec packs" and they come with all these little applications within them that you can run and even those have many settings within them which I have no clue what their purposes are...

The first codec pack I got was the K-Lite. I had no problem with Windows default codecs, they played everything, but after I updated one time it stopped playing MPEG, so it led me to the K-Lite pack.

Half a year later...I'm all into video editing and stuff now. I got a program called River Past Video Perspective to adjust aspect ratios for video files. I ran it once, all fine, but the second time I ran it, it crashed... Help files say it's because it loads bad codecs the first time, but doesn't ignore them thereafter? WTF...idk.

Okay. Then I thought, 'maybe that K-Lite pack had some bad/conflicting codecs', so I uninstalled the K-Lite pack. Program still didn't work. I then learn about the program G-Spot. I DLed it and had it list my codecs, sure enough, it says all this confusing stuff... A few were red, which said it was bad or something. I had no idea how to even fix this stuff or what anything meant. I gave up on that program.

I decided to install the K-Lite pack again, just the basic one. But of course, even though it's basic, it still has all these confusing little programs within it which I don't have any purpose for or even know what situation they are used in. Example... START>ALL PROGRAMS>K-LITE CODEC PACK>CONFIGURATION>AC3 FILTER? DIRECT VOB SUB? DIRECT X DECODER? XVID DECODER? Huh?

Okay, that's fine if they want to decode movies that were coded with DivX, Xvid, ect...but what are these programs for? Why does if have to install stuff that I see? Aren't codecs suposed to be listed in the Windows sound settings thing...why are they on my start menu, what is their purpose...

I also got this Quicktime alternative and Realplayer alternative, thnking it would be all cool to let all my media files play from Media Player Classic. I went in MPC options>Formats>and selected it to play ALL media extensions.

So then I decide to test to see if it works. Sure enough, without fail, something(s) doesn't(don't) work. Quicktime files don't play on the internet (embedded). Any files I click from a link on the internet won't play, they all say they can't play in the assigned application or something, so I have to download all media rather than just open it from the internet. Real media is choppy. All this codec stuff is really agonizing me.

This is what I want to know:

Is it possible to UNINSTALL every single codec on my computer and start it all over FRESH? Or will this make it worse for me in the end?

I just want the simplest way to install the simplest codecs. No extra video/audio "effects"... Just. Basic.
And I want it all to play in MPC. Windows, Real, Quicktime...everything...even embedded if possible...

I am asking here, because frankly, it seems like the only forum about codecs around. If anyone could help me out on ANY of this, I'd really appreciate it, as I have OCD and I need everything to be perfect, or I feel uncomfortable and guilty. That is why codecs piss me off so much...It confuses me...if I don't know it's all clean, simple, and 100% working correctly, I feel extremely annoyed. It results in long posts like this one, and I'm predicting I'll have no replies, but hey, worth a shot, and if you have read all this, maybe You will help?

Thank you. (Sorry if I sounded at all like an a$$, I'm just frustrated at this...)

FINALLY...Something that worked perfect. I uninstalled all codec packs and had Windows' default only. I Googled all remaining codecs to see which were Windows'. Then I got...

This:
http://recodemedia.fre3.com/index.html
+ Quicktime Alt + Real Alt + MPC

= Works perfect; MPC plays everything, and QT alt & Real alt work embedded in IE...Finally.

X Codec Pack is the best codec pack IMO.