
How to Choose the Best Video Player/Media Player. Top 3 Video Players/Media Players for Windows Snapshot. In this article, we’ve found the best free video players/media players that make it easy to play videos - no codes or troubleshooting required. When choosing a video player for Windows, your primary consideration should be the ability to play the widest range of video and audio files, without downloading any plug-ins. All of this is time-consuming and takes up space on your computer, causing everything to run slowly. You can install plug-ins and codecs to improve compatibility, but some videos might remain out of reach. Relying on the installed video player could cause you to need multiple players - one to play music, one to play DVDs, one to play videos, and one for streaming - because it can’t handle the files. These built-in video players/media players only support a limited range of formats, meaning that half of the time you can’t even open the files you need. This fee likely reflects the cost of licensing the codecs for Microsoft.Since most computers come installed with a video player, why would anyone hassle with downloading a third-party software? Simple. If you search the Store for HEVC, you’ll see the $0.99 HEVC Video Extensions package. Both are identical, but one costs $0.99 and one is free. There are actually two different codec packages you can get from the Store.
You have no guarantee that they’re safe, even if you run them through antivirus tools like VirusTotal to check. Your only alternative is to try to download the codecs from a third-party website, which is potentially risky.
If you use video editing software that relies on Microsoft’s HEVC codecs to import and export H.265 video, like DaVinci Resolve, you’ll need to pay for the codecs. Unfortunately, that means you must now either pay the 99 cents for the other codecs available from Microsoft or opt to use a third-party video player, like VLC, to play back videos encoded with H.265. RELATED: What Is HEVC H.265 Video, and Why Is It So Important for 4K Movies? How to Install the Codecs for Free Update, 4/7/23: Microsoft has finally pulled the free HEVC codec from the Microsoft Store. These codecs are also required for encoding video in HEVC (H.265) format in applications that use Windows 10’s system codecs.
These aren’t included with the latest versions of Windows 10 but must be installed from the Microsoft Store. For built-in support, you’ll need the codecs.