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Paul's Internet for Beginners Blog

By Paul Gil, About.com Guide to Internet for Beginners since 2004

"What is a 'Codec'? Why Do I Need It?"

Friday May 30, 2008
Your Windows Media Player is giving you a message that you do not have the right "codec" to play this movie. "What is a codec?", you ask? Well, a codec is a small "compression-decompression" program that helps large files travel across the internet quickly. Unfortunately, codec formats also require you to identify and install the right codec code before you can play the movie. It works like this...  

Comments

January 6, 2008 at 10:07 pm
(1) ced21 says:

Now I know! Thanks for informing me. I’ve had that experience when I tried to play a certain song on Windows media and indeed I got that message. Before then I didn’t know what it meant. So I just ignored it anyway.

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