Windows 7, by default, comes packed with majority of the audio/video codecs that are required to play most media files. Even if a codec is missing, you can grab various third party media players, such as Media Player Classic, KMPlayer, VLC Player and GOMPlayer, or download a codec pack to do the job. Nevertheless, due to the wide-array of media formats, chances are, you still might have an important codec missing from your PC. To cope with this caveat, you can giveCodecInstaller a try. It’s a feature-rich utility that aims to help you in three simple ways – scan the existing codecs in your PC, analyze a media file to find required codecs, and/or download new codecs from within the application itself. It’s fairly easy to use, and comprises a minimalist user interface. Details to follow after the jump.

Launch the application, and you will be presented with its aforementioned features, namely Installed Codecs, Analyze File and Install Codecs. To check your existing codecs, click the Installed Codecsbutton.