What Video Codecs Are And Why You Need Them

Internet video can be confusing at times, probably more so than any other form of digital media. Many videos that you'll find on the Internet are encoded using a variety of different Codecs, which are ways to encode and compress video to allow for better quality and smaller files. Here's a look at what video Codecs are and why you'll need them.

Why Use Codecs? Many computer users wonder if they even need video codecs--whether it's worth the time to bother with them. The short answer is, yes; sure, you could get along without any codecs, but they're free, easy to install, and by encoding your video files, they allow you to fit more data into a smaller space, so a 2 gigabyte file might be 1.5 or even 1 gigabyte. This saves huge amounts of space and allows for higher-quality videos to be downloaded and viewed on your computer. If you have space problems, especially, you should use codecs, but really they're a great download for just about any computer user.

Where To Get Codecs. You can find plenty of free codecs online, which is one of the great things about them. Search for Divx on Google to find the official Divx website, where you can download the most famous codec (which is, uh, Divx). Xvid, an open source codec, is also popular and can be found for free, and you can search for "codec packs" to find tons of codecs. Really, though, you're probably going to be fine with Divx and Xvid to start, and if you come across any videos that require a certain other codec, download it later. Be sure to scan any codec packs that you download with a virus scanner, as they're a common way to infect computers with malicious worms, trojans, and viruses, and only download codecs from websites that seem reputable or that you've been to before.

How To Install Codecs. Generally speaking, most codecs that come in packs will have an easy-to-install executable file that will completely take care of the codec installation for you, and simply needs to be run after being downloaded. Some more obscure codecs may require installation via your media player program, but even those will usually come with very clear instructions to help get you started. Beware any codecs that don't have an installation file or any sorts of instructions.

Do you have any question about using video codecs? Post in our comments section below.