What is the best mp3 codec for windows media player?

2 Answers

1. 
   

   
   

   inverse_mushroom_cloud on Mar 10, 2011

   Lame is the best MP3 codec. I don’t know if you can use it with WMP. But you can use it with CDex, a free ripper.

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2. 
   

   
   

   codyg_windows_team on Mar 10, 2011

   Neji-

   Hi, my name’s Cody, and I’m working with the Windows Media Outreach Team to help answer questions folks might have about their copies of Windows Media

   There’s no real “best” codec. Any codec that is not malware, doesn’t hurt your system, and still plays your file can be considered the “best” codec for that particular file.

   There’s not one universal codec, so the best codec for your file depends on the file itself. What you don’t want to do is start downloading a ton of random codecs. A lot of times codecs can conflict with one another, and overloading your system with a whole bunch of them is never a good idea cause more more harm than good.

   Instead of just randomly downloading codecs with the hope that one of them will be the “best” for your particular mp3, I’d recommend downloading a codec tool that will analyze your particular video file and tell you exactly what codec(s) you’ll need to play the files.

   Here are a couple of free tools that will do this for you: Gspot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/) and Sherlock (http://www.updatexp.com/sherlock-codec-detective.html) Both of these work great, and using these on your file will tell you what codecs you need to get the particular file running properly, without making you download anything that you don’t need.

   You also might want to check out this page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/codec.mspx It’s a great guide to codecs that Microsoft has made available. It’ll also show you some trustworthy sites to download them from.

   I hope this is helpful!

   Thanks,

   Cody
   Windows Media Outreach Team

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