A codec is a piece of software to compress and decompress media data like audio, video, and image. MP4 codecs are the video and audio codecs used to compress the video and audio streams in the MP4 container. To play back an MP4 video, it requires the media player to have the corresponding MP4 codecs to decompress the video.
MP4 can contain various kinds of codecs, such as video codecs like MPEG-4, H264/AVC, H265/HEVC, and AV1, and audio codecs like AAC, MP3, and AC3. But Windows only has a small number of codecs which doesn’t include the ones like HEVC and AC3, so it would fail to play some MP4 files sometimes. Installing MP4 codecs is one of the effective ways to get your MP4 playable on Windows again. Luckily, there are multiple ways to get the MP4 codecs downloaded. The next part will show you exactly how to download MP4 video codecs for Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, and 7. Please read on.
Though Windows does not support some of the MP4 codecs natively, it provides codec extensions for download in the Microsoft Store to help you enable some MP4 playback. Below is a roundup of the codecs for MP4 to download:
1. HEVC Video Extensions (costs $0.99)
2. AV1 Video Extension (free)
3. VP9 Video Extensions (free)
4. MPEG-2 Video Extension (free)
5. Raw Image Extension (free)
Tips. This article will show you how to check the codec of your MP4 file.
After getting the MP4 codecs installed, you can play your MP4 in Windows Media Player or Movies & TV and see if it plays properly.
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If installing MP4 codecs from the Microsoft Store didn’t fix the problem, you can try downloading codecs for MP4 from external codec packs. A codec pack contains a number of different codecs to help play different types of media files. Here are the best four free codec packs with MP4 video codecs included.
The Media Player Codec Pack supports a wide range of codecs, including MP4 codecs, to play nearly all modern video and audio files, including HEVC, MPEG4, 10 bit x265, AVCHD, and many more. It has three editions, among which the standard version is enough for regular uses.
The Media Player Codec Pack is compatible with Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Server 2022, 2019, 2016, and any media player compatible with DirectShow. But note that this codec pack may install third-party toolbars that may cause changes to the computer.
The Windows 10 Codec Pack is similar to the Media Player Codec Pack in that it also includes the most popular codecs to play all sorts of video and audio files. By installing Windows 10 Codec Pack, you will have codecs for MP4, MKV, HEVC, WebM, FLV, TS, OGM, and so on.
The Windows 10 Codec Pack is compatible with Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Server 2022, 2019, and 2016, Microsoft Windows Media Player 10+, and any player compatible with DirectShow.
The VLC Codec Pack provides not only the essential codecs to play MP4 and a lot of other media files but also includes VLC Player to help with broken or poorly encoded files. If your media player cannot play a file, the VLC Player will come to help. Yet, if you don’t want another media player, you can disable the option during Expert Installation.
The VLC Codec Pack is compatible with Microsoft Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, 2008 & 2003, Microsoft Windows Media Player 9, 10, 11 & 12, and any player compatible with DirectShow.
K-Lite Codec Pack is another famous installer that combines all the major codecs that can be used to play not only MP4 but also other mainstream and rare media files. It provides different variants for download, ranging from basic to mega. You can choose the variant based on your own needs. But the standard version is recommended for the average users.
K-Lite Codec Pack is compatible with Windows 7/8.x/10/11 and works both on x86 and x64 variants of Windows.
Some believe that the third-party codecs could mess up the system environment, and they would prefer to convert the codec to a Windows-friendly format to make the video playable. If you have the same concern, you can try changing the MP4 video codec too. Since Windows Media Video (WMV) is the codec and format supported by Windows natively, you can convert MP4 to WMV to make the video compatible with your Windows.
WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory is a reliable and free video converting program that can not only change video formats but also transcode video codecs. And it can easily help you change the MP4 codec into WMV with a few simple clicks. Just free download free download the program and follow the instructions.
Step 1. Launch Free HD Video Converter Factory on your Windows desktop and enter the Converter module. Next, click Add Files to import your MP4 video or directly drag the file into the converter interface.
Step 2. Click the format image on the right side of the converter program to unfold the output format list. Then, in the Video format section, choose WMV as the output format.
Tips. You can also select the MP4 format and go to the Parameter settings to change the video and audio encoders to a Windows-supported format.
Step 3. Finally, choose an output folder at the bottom of the interface and click Run to start the conversion. After the conversion, you should have no problem playing the video on your Windows.
MP4 codecs are important if you want to play MP4 on Windows 10/11 without playback error. But besides downloading codecs for MP4, you can try converting video codecs to a format supported by the target device. In fact, converting MP4 codec is the method I would most recommend to users who want to resolve MP4 playback issue one-and-for-all, because the codecs are updating so fast and the codec pack may not have all the codecs you need. With a codec changer, you don’t have to worry about the issue any more. Download Download the free video codec changer to have a try!
That’s all I want to share about the MP4 codecs. I hope this article has been helpful to you. Thanks for reading. Have a good day!
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