After downloading K-Lite Codec Pack ( this is the Mega Pack but the info should be useful for other versions such as Lite, Standard or Full ) it`s time to start the installation process. Press the ``Next`` button to continue with the installation: Choose an installation mode, you have to select one from simple, advanced and expert mode.

There's a lot of debates as to whether codec packs such as K-Lite Codec Pack should be installed. Here's my take on this.

If you use Windows Media Player or the Natural Grounding Player's internal player, you will need a codec pack to support certain video formats such as WebM.

If you use MPC-HC, in theory it shouldn't need the codec pack, but in practice I found the video playback performance to be better with the codec pack while it was lagging without. When using SVP, CPU usage is precious.

If you do want to install a codec pack, I recommend K-Lite Codec Pack Basic. The standard version includes MPC-HC and madVR which I instead recommend installing through Smooth Video Project so install the Basic version to avoid installing those in double. I never had any issues with K-Lite Codec Pack while other packs weren't always working.

If you install the codec pack after SVP, there will be a conflict with ffdshow that will cause SVP to fail. The solution is to download the ffdshow version available on SVP's download page and install it manually to replace the one installed by the codec pack.

Warning: Lately, the Mirror 1 on Codec Guide leads to a website that includes spywares with the installation. It first download a small installer that is less than 1MB, and that software then downloads the full 12MB package while installing nasty viruses along the way. If you do want to install the codec pack, select the Basic version and make sure the file you download is the full installer which takes about 12MB. Mirror 2 looks fine.

Some people argue that it installs many codecs you don't need that can cause problems, but personally I didn't have that issue. The spywares that are included in certain download locations, however, are a more serious problem, but you can avoid that by downloading from the right source. The problem isn't with K-Lite Codec Pack itself but with some websites hosting it. If you did catch a virus by installing from the wrong source (I did and got nasty viruses), MalawareBytes does a good job at cleaning it up.

K-lite Codec Pack 4.5

So, whether to install a codec pack is up to you, and the most important question is: do you need it? If you're having problems playing certain video or audio formats, then it will be useful. It will also display thumbnail pictures for video types that aren't natively supported by Windows. I tried running for a while without a codec pack and I could still play the videos without problems. However, the performance was better with the codec pack so I eventually installed it back.

K-lite Codec Pack Xp 64

** IN ANY CASES, BE CAREFUL TO NOT INSTALL VIRUSES WITH IT **