What file codecs and formats does Windows support? What kind of files can Windows Media Player play? How to open Windows unsupported media files?

1. Title: Windows 10 Codecs Supported Formats & Convert Unsupported Formats
Keywords: codecsforwindows10,windows10codecs, hevccodec windows10, windows
multimediacodecs, windowsmediaplayercodecwindows10, movcodec forwindows10, windows
10 codec pack,windows10 avi codec,ogvwindowsmediaplayercodec
Description: What file codecs and formats does Windows support? What kind of files can Windows
Media Player play? How to open Windows unsupported media files?
URL: https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/windows-media-player-codecs.html
Summary: This article raised by MiniTool Software Limited mainly discusses the Windows
multimedia codecs. It elaborates on the supported file formats by Windows Media Player and
Windows Movies & TV app; how to identify the codec of a file; how to play Windows unsupported
media files…
In general,acodecis a way tocompressor decompressmediafileslike videoormusic.Itincludes2
parts,an encoderthatcompressesthe mediafile (encoding) andadecoderthatdecompressesthe
mediafile (decoding).
Some codecscontainbothparts while othersonlyhave eitheranencoderora decoder.Windows
MediaPlayerandotherapplicationstake advantage of codecstoplayand create mediafiles.
Windows Media Player 12 Supported File Formats
The followingare the file typescompatible withWindowsMediaPlayer12.
 WindowsMediaformats(.asf,.wma,.wmv,.wm)
 WindowsMediaMetafiles(.asx,.wax,.wvx,.wmx,wpl)
 MicrosoftDigital VideoRecording (.dvr-ms)
 WindowsMediaDownloadPackage (.wmd)

2.  AudioVisual Interleave (.avi)
 MovingPicturesExpertsGroup(.mpg, .mpeg,.m1v,.mp2,.mp3,.mpa,.mpe,.m3u)
 Musical InstrumentDigital Interface(.mid,.midi,.rmi)
 AudioInterchange FileFormat (.aif,.aifc,.aiff)
 SunMicrosystemsandNeXT(.au,.snd)
 AudioforWindows(.wav)
 CD AudioTrack (.cda)
 IndeoVideoTechnology(.ivf)
 WindowsMediaPlayerSkins (.wmz,.wms)
 QuickTime Movie file(.mov)
 MP4 Audiofile (.m4a)
 MP4 Videofile(.mp4,.m4v,.mp4v,.3g2, .3gp2, .3gp,.3gpp)
 Windowsaudiofile (.aac,.adt,.adts)
 MPEG-2 TS Videofile (.m2ts)
 Free LosslessAudioCodec(.flac)
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Windows 10 Movies & TV Supported Formats
Beloware the mediafile formatssupportedbyWindowsMovies &TV app.
 m4v
 .mp4
 .mov
 .asf
 .avi
 .wmv
 .m2ts
 .3g2
 .3gp2
 .3gpp
Windows Media Player Codec Windows 10
WindowsMediaPlayercontainssome of the mostpopularcodecsincludingMP3,WindowsMedia
Audio(WMA),andWindowsMediaVideo (WMV).Yet,itdoesnotcontainthe codecsneededfor
Blu-rayDiscfiles,FLACfiles,orFLV files.If some filescan’tbe playedinWindowsMediaPlayer,you
may considerthatthere isn’tthe rightcodecon your computer.Todeal withthat situation,youhave
to searchonline,downloadthe correspondingcodecpack,andinstall itonyour PC.
Note: Notall WindowsMedia Playerplaybackproblemsarerelated to codecs. The most codec-
related problemwill send you a message such as“A codecis required to play this file” or “Windows
Media Player encountered an error”.
How to Find Which Codecs Does Your Computer Install?
Thisguide teachesyouthe wayto find outwhichcodecsare installedonyourPC.
1. OpenWindowsMediaPlayer.
2. Go to Help > About WindowsMediaPlayer.If youcan’t see the Helpmenu,select Organize >
Layout > Show menu bar.
3. In the AboutWindowsMediaPlayerpopup, clickonthe Technical Support Information option.

3. 4. Then,yourbrowserwill openalocal webpage
(file:///C:/Users/username/AppData/Local/Temp/wmpsupport.htm) showingthe detailsof
WindowsMediaPlayerincludingoperatingsystem,mediaplayerbinaries, audiocodecs,video
codecs,etc. You may needtochoose a browserto displaythatinformation.
Which Codecs Are Included with the Player?
Amongthe many audioandvideocodecsusedtoday,some were createdbyMicrosoftandmost
otherswere designedbyothercompaniesorindividuals.Bydefault,the MicrosoftWindows
operatingsystem(OS) andthe WindowsMediaPlayerconsist mostpopularcodecslike the above-
mentionedMP3,WindowsMediaAudio,and WindowsMediaVideo.
https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/convert-wma-to-wav.html
However,itispossible thatthe file youwanttoplaywascompressedbya codecthat are not
includedbyWindowsOSorthe Player.If so,usually,youcan download the involvingcodeconline
eitherforfree orfor a fee. Insome situations,WindowsMediaPlayercanmake use of the codecs
installedbyotherdigital mediaplaybackandcreationprogramsautomaticallyonyourdevice.
Anotherwayto solve thatproblemistoconvertthe target mediafile’scodectothe WindowsMedia
Player-supportedmediacodec.Toachieve that,you needtorelyona professional andreliable
mediafile conversionsoftware like MiniToolVideoConverter.
VC-Free
1. Download,install,andlaunchMiniTool VideoConverteronyourWindowscomputer.
2. In the defaultConvertingsubtabunderthe VideoConverttab,clickthe Addor Drag fileshere to
start conversionto add the targetmediafile.
Alt=addor drag filestostart conversion

4. 3. In the Target sectionof the file conversionlist,clickthe settingsicon(asquare withanarrow
pointinginside).
4. In the newwindow, switchtothe righttab fromthe top menubar.For example,if the mediafile
isa video,youneedtoselectthe Videotab.
5. Then,selectone file formatsupportedbyWindowsMediaPlayerfromthe leftpanel.
6. You can furtherchoose qualityforthe selectedfile format.Besides,youcanclickthe settings
iconbehindeachqualityoptiontospecifymore specifications. Or,justclickthe Create Custom
optionat the bottomrightto create a customizedvideo/audioqualitystandard.
Alt=convertfile toWindowsMediaPlayersupportedformat
7. In the newpopup, youare able topersonalize the qualitystandard, videoencoder,resolution,
frame rate,videobitrate,audioencoder,sample rate,channel,audiobitrate,etc.

5. Alt=video/audio qualitysettings
8. Clickthe Create buttonto save changes.
9. Selectthe customizedmediafileformatstandardandclickthe Convertbuttonto start the
process.

6. Alt=startWindowscodecconversion
Wait forit to complete.Itwill onlytake afew secondsdependingonthe targetfile formatyou
choose and howlarge yoursource file is.MiniTool VideoConvertersupportsbatchconversionand
youcan convertupto 5 filestothe same or differenttargetfileformats.Mostimportantly,all the
conversionsare completelyfreeof charge!
Sometimes,youmaygetamessage sayingthatyour computerismissingacodec.It may due to you
are tryingto play,burn,or synca mediafile thatwascompressedbyusingacodecthat Windowsor
the Media Playerdoesnotinclude bydefault. Insucha situation,youalsoneedthe above solutions
to fix the issue.
Windows Media Player Alternatives
If Windows MediaPlayercan’tplaythe target file andthe above solutionscan’thelpeither,youcan
use one of the Player’sreplacementstoplaythe file.There are manyalternativestoMediaPlayer,
includingbutnotlimitedtoMicrosoftMovies&TV,VLC MediaPlayer,MPC-HC,Foobar2000, and
MediaMonkey.
https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/vlc-could-not-open-mp4a-audio-encoder.html
How to Find a Codec?
If you knowthe name or ID (knownas a FourCCidentifier forvideocodecsora WaveFormat
identifierforaudiocodecs) of the codec,youcan directlysearchthe codecwiththem.Or,youcan
visitthe official website of the codecmanufacturer todownloadthe newestversion.
Note:
Be cautious when installing codecs fromonlineresources,especially fromsomeof the free codec
packsthatclaim to include codecsfroma variety of companiesororganizations. Thereareknown

7. compatibilityissueswith someof thecomponentsin thesecodec packs,which can cause serious
playbackproblemsin media players,systemcrashes,and makeit difficult forMicrosoftSupportto
diagnoseand troubleshoot problems.
Thus,you are strongly recommended notto install thosecodecs and removethemif you are having
problemswiththe media players. You are suggested to only install codecs,filters, and plug-insfrom
reliable channelslike the provider’sofficialweb page.Besides,you can create a systemrestore point
beforeinstalling thosecodecsin case you can return to the previousworking statewhen necessary.
In addition,yoursystemadministratoratworkmightuseGroup Policy to preventyou frominstalling
newcodecs.
If you don’tknoweitherthe name orthe ID of the missingcodec,youcan figure outwhichcodec is
usedto compressthe targetfile using the followingmethod.
Firstly,youcan playthe file withWindowsMediaPlayerif possible.
1. While playing,right-clickonthe file inthe libraryandchoose Properties.
2. In the Propertieswindow, gotothe File tab.
3. Under the File tab,checkthe Audio codecand Videocodec of the file.
Alt=viewaudio/videocodecwhileplayinginWindowsMediaPlayer

8. Alternatively,youcanplaythe target mediafile withotherplayersandview itspropertiesforcodec
informationif WindowsMediaPlayerfailstoplaythe file.
Secondly,youcan relyon a codecidentificationtool tohelpyourecognize the audioorvideocodec
of the targetfile.
Besides,youmayknowthe formatof a file bycheckingthe file name extensionlike.wma (Windows
MediaAudioformat),.wmv(WindowsMediaVideoformat),.mp3,or.avi.Yet,manyapps create
fileswithcustomfile extensions andanyone canrename afile togetherwithitsextensionwithout
changingthe file format.
Moreover,sometimes,evenif youhave alreadyinstalledthe missingcodec,youstill cannotplaythe
target file.Itmay be due to that youhave installedthe wrongbitof codec.Codecscan be writtenfor
32-bit or 64-bit operatingsystems.If youinstall a32-bitcodec onyour 64-bit OS,it won’twork.
Many oldercodecsare onlyavailable in32-bit.If the codecproviderdoesn’tspecifythe bitof the
codec,it tendstobe 32-bit.
HEVC Codec Windows 10
By default,Windowsdoesn’thave the HEVCcodecincluded.So,itdoesn’tsupportHEVC-encoded
files. Yet,justasmentionedabove,youcandownloadandinstall the HEVCcodecpack onyour
computerandenable WindowsMediaPlayer orMovies &TV to playthe HEVC file.
You can search forHEVC inMicrosoft Store.Withinthe numeroussearchresults,youcanfind HEVC
videocodecpacks,HEVC videoplayers,HEVCvideoextensions, HEVCvideoconverters,etc.Thus,
youhave several choices:
 Install the HEVCcodec pack andplay the HEVCfile with aWindows built-inmediaplayer.
 Downloadandinstall anHEVC playertoopenthe mediafile.
 Addan HEVC video extensiontoplayHEVCfiles.
 ConvertHEVCfile toa Windows-supportedformatby HEVCconverter.

9. Alt=HEVCcodecpacks, players,extensions,converters
The above-mentioned MiniToolVideoConverterisone of the recommendedHEVCvideoconverters
and codectweaktoolsthat supportstoconvertHEVC/H265 videoformatstoWindowsMediaPlayer
supported codecs aswell asotherfile formats containingMKV,XVID, DV,VOB, WEBM,OGV, DIVX,
MXF, TS, FLV,F4V, SWF, and AVC/H264.
As forthe HEVC videoplayer,youcanmake use of MiniTool MovieMakertoview the contentof the
HEVC file. MiniTool MovieMakerisaneasy-to-use videoeditortoturnyour videos, photos, and
musicintoa beautiful videowithitsbuilt-intransitions, effects, texts, motions,aswell asfunny
elements.
MM-Free

10. Alt=HEVC videoplayer
Conclusion
That is all aboutcodecsfor Windows10 and mostof the informationinthisarticle alsoappliesto
Windows11. If youhave anythingspecial toshare withourreaders,youcan leave acomment
below.If youencounteranyproblemwhile using MiniTool products,justcontact
support@minitool.com.