Media Player supports a wide variety of codecs. Most are included out of the box; some additional codecs can be installed from the Microsoft Store. Windows includes codecs that allow Media Player to play the following formats out of the box: Codec packs add additional codec support to Windows.

There are known compatibility issues with some of the components in these codec packs, and these can trigger serious playback problems in Windows Media Player and other players, cause system corruption, and make it difficult for Microsoft Support to diagnose and troubleshoot playback issues.

Install or Update codecs: Download and install a codec pack that includes the required codec. Popular codec packs include K-Lite Codec Pack and Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP). Tip: Visit the official Codec manufacturer's website mentioned in the error message and download the latest version.

Enable Windows 10 programs such as Windows Media Player to support activities that include the playback and recording of multimedia files that are encoded with standards-based codecs.

To manually troubleshoot or upgrade your installation of Windows Media Player, try the following: Select Start button, enter features in the search, and then select Turn Windows features on or off.

In some cases, the error message in Windows Media Player will provide information about which codec file that is required. The error message might also provide a link that you can click to download the codec file.

You can configure the Windows Media Player so that it automatically downloads and installs updates and codec enhancements from the Internet when available. This makes more sense in most cases than manually in the Internet codec packs to search for.

Enable Windows 10 programs such as Windows Media Player to support activities that include the playback and recording of multimedia files that are encoded with standards-based codecs.

You can play back .mp4 media files in Windows Media Player when you install DirectShow-compatible MPEG-4 decoder packs. DirectShow-compatible MPEG-4 decoder packs include the Ligos LSX-MPEG Player and the EnvivioTV.

To manually troubleshoot or upgrade your installation of Windows Media Player, try the following: Select Start button, enter features in the search, and then select Turn Windows features on or off.