CNET Editors' review
With online video and audio becoming more popular every day, most have experienced the frustration of not getting a podcast or video to work because of codec issues. Fortunately, this little utility helps let you know what's installed on your machine.
InstalledCodec offers a basic functionality: It lists all the codec drivers and Direct Show filters currently installed on your system. The interface isn't flashy or ostentatiously designed, but simply a functional pane that lists items according to a variety of categories. These categories include the driver or filter's name, type, whether it's disabled, its install date and time, a file description and version number, and other useful information. All, perhaps, slightly tedious, but very important when you're trying to get a particular podcast to play and it just won't cooperate.
This little tool performed very well in our tests. We liked its simplicity. Disabling or activating or deleting a file from the list was a snap. It doesn't offer any real bells and whistles, but it does its job well. (If only we could find a utility that will tell us just which specific codec we're missing!) Novices may not gain much value from this free tool, but experienced users will appreciate the data it reveals.
Publisher's Description
From NirSoft Freeware:
InstalledCodec is a small utility displays the list of all Codec drivers and DirectShow filters currently installed on your system. For each component the following information is displayed: display name, type, disabled status, installed/modified time, description, company name, and filename. It allows you to easily disable or enable any Codec/DirectShow component or export the list into text/XML/HTML file.
What's new in this version: Version 1.25 added 'Show Time In GMT' option,'Add Header Line To CSV/Tab-Delimited File' option. When this option is turned on, the column names are added as the first line when you export to csv or tab-delimited file and 'Mark Odd/Even Rows' option, under the View menu. When it's turned on, the odd and even rows are displayed in different color, to make it easier to read a single line.
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All versions:
4.3 starsout of 3 votes
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Current version:
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Results 1-3 of 3
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"Works as described"
Version: InstalledCodec 1.15
Pros
It opens up, and displays all your codecs...
Cons
...I mean ALL your codecs. I had no idea how many there were. I must have had a list of about 50.
Summary
A great little app if you need to get a detailed look at your codecs. It gives names, descriptions, dates, times, versions, filenames, and everything I could ever imagine a person wanting to know, and all in a very neat, simple format (i.e. spreadsheet).
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"PROBLEM SOLVED"
Version: InstalledCodec 1.02
Pros
Got rid of nasty QuickTime message preventing me from viewing videos on Firefox. Now I can access all videos without QuickTime. For good.....
Cons
Absolutely nothing to say against it.
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"Of limited usefulness"
Version: InstalledCodec 1.02
Pros
I'll admit I didn't DL this program, so I can't give a fair appraisal.
Cons
I'm going by only what is said in the description.
Summary
There's a much better free program out there: GSpot. If a video won't play, use the "Open With" option and select GSpot. GSpot then examines the file, determines what kind of file it is (it might not actually BE a video), looks for the common integrity faults that would keep it from playing, determines what codec it uses, and reports whether or not that codec is installed.
GSpot is also able to recognize ZIP and RAR compressed files - in that, if someone has renamed a ZIP to AVI, GSpot will TELL you it's a ZIP so you can rename it (and presumably then extract the file(s) inside it). I've actually seen a handful of occasions where I've had to do this.
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