Download MP4 Video Format Compatible with Windows 10 & Mac: Works on WMP, QuickTime, and VLC

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MP4 Codec Windows 10/Mac for WMP, QuickTime or VLC

Posted by Kaylee Wood | Last update: August 20, 2019

To play MP4 videos files on computer, the basic component for a media player is MP4 codec. MP4 codec is the key to open the door of compressing and decompressing MP4 videos with a media player on a computer. So, according to your requirements, here provides ways to download MP4 codec Windows 10/Mac to strengthen your Windows Media Player, VLC or QuickTime so as to play MP4 files without errors.

Main Contents:
Why Download MP4 Codec?
Where & How to Download MP4 Codec?
MP4 Codec vs. MP4 Player: Is MP4 Codec the Best Choice for MP4 Playback?

Why Download MP4 Codec?

The word codec is a portmanteau of ‘compressor-decompressor’, so codec is a program created to encode or decode the video and audio from files, streams and broadcasts, so that your media player and computer can understand and play.

MP4 codec is a typical one and is needed most as MP4 is a container format that contains various video audio codecs. If your media player doesn’t include the specific MP4 codec like H.264, it will fail to play the MP4 file. MP4 codec pack is the key for a media player to open MP4 files, that’s why we need to download MP4 codec pack for Windows 10 or Mac when MP4 not playing error happens.

MP4 codec types: H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, ALS, SLS, MP3, MP2, MP1, etc.

Where & How to Download MP4 Codec?

For specific media players like Windows Media Player and VLC, you’d better download MP4 codec from their official website to ensure the safety of the codec pack.

Download Windows Media Player MP4 Codec:

MP4 format is encoded with MPEG-4, H.265, H.264, etc but Windows Media Player before version 12 can normally play H.264 files so Windows Media Player not playing MP4 is an occasional case. And the no video, no audio or video audio out of sync problem is also a big headache.

To enable Windows Media Player to play MP4 videos successfully, you can download Windows Media Codecs pack which contains MP4 codec from Microsoft official website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=507 and follow the guide Microsoft offers to install the setup for your WMP. This MP4 codec pack is available for Windows Media Player 7.1, XP, 9 series and 10.

Worth mentioning, Windows Media Player 12 has natively support for MP4 files, but you may also encounter the MP4 won’t play problem on Windows Media Player 12. Since the Windows Media Codecs pack is not compatible with WMP 12, you can try to download MP4 codec from the below third-party codec pack sites we select.

Download VLC MP4 Codec:

The best way to download VLC MP4 codec is to update your VLC media player to the latest version with renewed codecs.

Other Sites to Free Download MP4 Codec:

1. Media Player Codec Pack: https://www.mediaplayercodecpack.com/

This codec site allows you to install major multimedia codecs, filters, plug-ins and splitters for media players on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, 2008 & 2003. Supporting almost every compression and file type used by modern video and audio files including x264, x265, AVC, Xvid, etc, you can play any common media files with the help of it. It is specifically designed for Microsoft Windows Media Player 12, 11 & 10 and any other media players like VLC compatible with DirectShow.
How to download the MP4 codec from this site: Just like downloading software, free download the MP4 codec pack on this site and double-click the setup to install it on your Windows computer and then it will beef up your media player to play any MP4 files.

2. CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack): http://www.cccp-project.net/

CCCP is a collected archive of codecs packed for Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10 to help media player play most common media files and formats like MP4. By installing it, your video player is able to play MP4 encoded with MPEG-4, H.265, H.264, etc much more easily. However, to avoid the major problem caused by conflicting codec packs, you’d better uninstall all the codec packs on your computer and then install the CCCP MP4 codec pack.

3. K-Lite Codec Pack: https://www.codecguide.com/download\_kl.htm

The K-Lite Codec Pack is also only compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 & 10. Based on your different requirements, K-Lite offers you four types of codec pack ranging from a very small bundle that contains only the most essential decoders to a large and more comprehensive bundle. Here, you could only download the basic one which contains codecs for playback of MP4, AVI, MKV, FLV, MOV, etc. Like other MP4 codec packs, K-Lite codec pack also includes 32-bit and 64-bit codecs that will work great on both x86 and x64 variants of Windows.

MP4 Codec vs. MP4 Player: Is MP4 Codec the Best Choice?

MP4 codec pack is indeed the prerequisite for a computer to play MP4 files but installing external codecs is not that ideal. First, third-party codec pack from unauthorized sites may contain virus, adware or spyware that may conflict with your programs and even corrupt your operating system of computer. Second, the newly downloaded codec pack may conflict with the existed codecs on your computer. Third, the third-party MP4 codec pack probably doesn’t update for a very long time, for example the CCCP last updated in 2015, so this kind of MP4 codec maybe not compatible with your media player. Besides, we didn’t find any well-known sites to offer MP4 codecs for Mac computer. – These are the shortages of MP4 codec

Therefore, the MP4 player is better. A professional MP4 player often comes with embedded MP4 codecs like H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, etc that used to encode MP4 videos files. Without the need of downloading extra MP4 codec pack which may lead several troubles, a MP4 player lets you play any MP4 files videos directly and easily. – That’s why MP4 player is better than MP4 codec

Best Free MP4 Player for Windows 10/Mac to Play Any MP4 Files

Your second-to-none MP4 player 5KPlayer can play any MP4 files videos encoded with different video audio codecs on computer easily. As the best free media player , 5KPlayer never ends with MP4 playback, but it also supports MKV, WMV, MOV, FLV, DVD, 360°, etc videos in 4K/HEVC/HDR and even up to H.264 8K. It is also a free music player to allow you to play MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG etc on macOS and Windows 10 with 5.1/7.1 DTS multi-channel surround sound support. If interested, you can also use this MP4 codec player to free download MP4 movies videos for offline watching.

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