Windows Vista® Inside Out Deluxe Edition

Adding and Updating Codecs

A codec is a software component used to compress and decompress digital media. Before a sound or video clip can be streamed to your computer from an internet site or played back from a saved file, your computer must be equipped with a suitable codec. For the most part, you don’t have to be concerned about finding and installing codecs for widely supported media types. By default, Windows Media Player is configured to handle this chore automatically. To verify that this option is set, and to change it if necessary, click More Options on the Now Playing menu (or click Options on the Tools menu). On the Player tab, select the check box labeled Download Codecs Automatically. With this option enabled, providers of some types ...