CODECs list for Movies/Audio/Alternate players / Video help forums/ video-mp3 fixers

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A common question on the forum is about CODECs. So I've decided to leave a list of sites that offer codecs.
It is best to choose one CODEC package ONLY for your system (more than one codec pack installed can cause problems.) Also consider a Video player with in-built codecs as listed in 4th paragraph; VLC & MPlayer seem to be best / most reliable ones & recommended to have both players just in case.)

A list of CODECs sources can be found here (choose one of these sources): 1. Free-Codecs.com, __ 2. DivX codec A / DivX Codec B, __
3. K-Litecode Codec Pack, __ 4. XP Codec Pack 1.3.0, __ 5. Vista Codec Package v4.4.7 Beta 4a (freeware),
6. MS WMP codecs, __ 7. divx-digest tools & codecs, etc., __ 8. Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP) (Good H.264 support),
9. 3ivx codec to allow mpeg 4 audio & video playback, ____ 10. Codecs list,
11. TMPG encoder & burner (TMP is for burning dvd's, VCD's, etc. only!)
Mac OSX users see Problems watching videos in Mac OSX - Read this


* Get Get GSpot (click on link) it's free and it will tell you what you need to play a certain file.. just open the file in GSpot and it will tell you. (GSpot has not been updated in a while!) An alternative to GSpot is MediaInfo (click on link). Another is SHERLOCK - The Codec Detective!. Another is afreeCodecVT. A list of various codec identifiers here.


* Consider getting a back-up player with in-built codecs such as (i) DivX player, or
(ii) VLC : VLC media player - Overview (choose nearest mirror site.) See its VLC Features. FYI see wiki description here. And How Can I load A new Skin In VLC Player?
Similar to VLC is (iii) MPlayer (click link to find wiki details) which is another cross-platform video player for unix, mac, & windows systems. It has in-built codecs, you can also install some extras to give it a much broader support base. Main download site is here. We recommend having "both" VLC & MPlayer on your system since there's the odd thing each other one can't do. MPlayer can play specific VOB files for example, & also better at playing .MOV files.
(iv) Media Player Classic (click link to find wiki details) is another open-source alternative player (for Windows OS only.) Media Player Classic download site. It has limited internal plug-ins & for other codec types relies on those installed on computer. You can even change picture size (strech or compress) while watching the movies. Very good for those Widescreen DVDs and Screeners. Options to stretch etc. are found using NumLock and then the numbers. 5 is normal, etc. Also with Numlock on you can put delay on audio for those out of sync videos using +/-.


AVI specific players: 1. Hyplay, 2. Karawin

* How to set the Default video application


Other video questions:

A: Video Help Forum & B: DVD guides forum, C: Video Tools (see the list, but you can also search more specifically for what you're after), & D: From video card to TV, E: Mac video tools, F: Linux video tools

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mp3 & Video Fixer/Repair Tools

mp3:
1. MP3RepairTool link A, / MP3RepairTool link B (free)

mp3 & video:
2. Video Fixer link A, / Video Fixer link B (not free! But a trial version available.) Is supposed to be able to fix mp3's also.

video:
3. List of Video Repair Tool programs (some are FREE) See this list 1st!

4. DiVFix (free)

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Program Name __________ Free/Trial/Commercial ________ Audio Plug-ins for extra formats, etc. ______ Help Documents / Forums


1. dBpowerAMP _ (Free) ____ Plug-in Codecs _______ dBpowerAMP Support forums

2. WinAmp & Pro _ (Free./.Pro is commercial) ___ WinAmp Plug-ins

3. Foobar2000 _ (Free) _________ Additional components _____ Installation help __ Hydrogenaudio Forums > foobar2000

4. Quintessential (QCD) _ (Free) ____ QCD Plug-ins _______ QCD Forums

5. iTunes _ (Free) ___ 3rd Party Plug-ins & support programs _____ iTunes ipodlounge Forums __ iTunes Tips __ Windows Tutorial

6. Nero Showtime _ (Shareware-30 day trial)

7. MediaMonkey & Gold _ (Free./.Gold is commercial) _ Various MediaMonkey Plug-ins ___ Support _ MediaMonkey Forums


Mac OSX:

1. ToolPlayer _ (Free) _________________________ ToolPlayer support forum
2. Audion & Pro _ (Free./.Pro is shareware*) _____________ Audion Help pages



Extra comments:
WinAmp (has media library)
Quintessential Player (uses playlist)
Nero Showtime plays both audio and video (Uses playlist)
iTunes (has iTunes Music folder) can view video also, but needs to be either mp4/H.264 format. How to transfer music to my iPod (& iTunes) {click on link}. iTunes does not support mp3Pro, Ogg Vorbis or Real.
Foobar2000 can take a bit of time with settings. Best to seek help at hydrogen audio forum & not ask on these forums.

ToolPlayer is a little and simple music player for OSX with support for many file types, including FLAC, MP3, AAC, Musepack, Monkey's Audio, OGG Vorbis, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, IT, MOD, XM, Games Music and many others. Includes numerous effects like Equalizer, Reverb, Time Stretch, Pitch Shift, Echo. Effects can be exported. ToolPlayer does not import to its own music library or use playlists. It plays the songs from wherever the files are opened directly from, so it's simple in function.
Audion is no longer developed, however Pro does give support for mp3Pro which iTunes does not. Also supports Ogg Vorbis, WMA, SID. Can export using various formats including Lame & mp3Pro. * Audion Pro is now supposedly free; a free serial number is provided at the top of the download page. It does work on the new mac intel machines.