I will NEVER install a CODEC-pack. Only install the CODECs that you need, for whatever you decide to encode/decode to.

CODEC-packs are a fequent source of spyware, browser hijackers, and other nasty, nasty stuff. Note that the GK Pack is hosted on Sourceforge (IIRC) so it's likely to be the least bad of the three. Still, though, it has the GAIN supported version of DIVX; ala Adware.

If you MUST install something similar to a codec pack, I would use FFDshow, from http://ffdshow.sf.net it's an open-source implementation of the MPEG-4 standard, and will properly (and in my opinion, far superior to either stand-alone codec) decode both DivX and XviD.

Yes I agree with Adam on this one. Never install codec pacs as they are far more likely to cause you problems then solving any.

S

I was under the impression that those mega-packs install spyware as well, and have avoided them for a long time now.

Actually, this is something I have been looking into recently. I haven't had any clips in a while that I couldn't play on base systems, so this hasn't been an issue. When I was heavily using Linux, the distributions I used (Google and Debian) had builds of applications with all of the common codecs already. The last batch I used was the Gordian Knot one, but that was a few years ago. Again, after seeing the K-Lite one (isn't that the one with all of the bride.ru banner ads? :)) I got the strong impression of spyware being involved. When I recently saw the link at MajorGeeks, I wondered if they didn't have spyware at all but I am still not sure.

Generally I only need Divx,xvid,OGG and an Ac3decoder for audio.
Divx , I get at divx.com
xvid, I tend to use KOEPI's build
I can't remember where I got the OGG codec off hand
and the Ac3filter I got at DOOM9.org.

that is pretty much it. with those I have been able to play everything I have had so far.


S

Personally, the only encoding that I do is audio, and from my CDs, so that leaves my codec needs primarily to decoding.

My commonly-used codecs:

LAME 3.92 - used for encoding my audio CDs
FFDshow - used for decoding DivX and XviD encoded videos

Rarely used codecs:

Ogg Vorbis - used for playing the open source OGG audio format
AC3Filter - Open source filter for playback of audio in VCD/SVCD (DVD too?) format. Don't really use this one too much.

Aside from that, I don't have any audio or video that I can't play back, but it seems as though most of the exotic codecs are only used for filesharing purposes.

I think I came across a program at one point that could identify what audio/video codecs were used to encode a file/stream, that may help.

Finally, the best rule of thumb (IMO) is to only get the codecs that you need, nothing more or less.

Edit part: Even if you use the stand-alone DivX and XviD (Koepi's) codecs, you may want to give FFDShow a try, it has some really neat post-processing effects that can smooth out pixelation and minimize the noticed artifacts. It's highly tweakable and customizable, and seems to be updated every few weeks or so.

Additionally, no matter what codecs you choose to use on your system, best practice is always to get from the homepage of the software/codec, never a 3rd party, as codecs seem to be highly manipulated, ala codec packs.




Edit #2:

Some links:

http://lame.sf.net
http://ffdshow.sf.net
http://ac3filter.sf.net
http://www.vorbis.com/