an open source class assignment

Monday, September 14

Understanding Codec

by Gee Jay M. Coleco

Have you tried opening a file and experienced these errors on your media player?

WMP Codec Error 1


WMP Codec Error 2


VLC Codec Error


Arguably the most common error one might experience is a "Codec error." This error may be experienced in both WMP and VLC media players whenever we try to play or open certain audio and/or video files.

But what exactly are codecs?

According to Wikipedia, a codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau (word used to mean a blend of two or more words) of 'compressor-decompressor' or, most accurately, 'coder-decoder'.

Simply put, it makes your audio/video file smaller in size to make it playable on your media player. Which means, if you are receiving this error message, you probably don't have the right codec program installed on your computer in order for your media player to read the file.z

If you are receiving this kind of error, then most likely you don't have the correct codec installed in your computer. Hence, your medial player cannot read your audio/video files.

About.com said that video and audio files are normally large in size. Because of this, files are difficult to transfer across the Internet quickly. To help speed up downloads, mathematical "codecs" were built to encode ("shrink") a signal for transmission and then decode it for viewing or editing. Without codecs, downloads would take three to five times longer than they do now.

So which codec should I use if I experience these errors?

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of codecs available on the Internet. Different types of media files -- mp3's, movies, voice recording, screen captures, streaming videos, etc. -- use different sets of codecs. There is no specific codec that is compatible with certain file types.

Because of the number of choices available for download, About.com suggested that user should download codec packs instead. Codec packs are collections of codecs gathered in single large files.

For suggested codec packs, please visit the About.com website.


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