K-Lite Codec Pack Standard - Installation guide and best settings

Guide for installation and basic settings of K-Lite Codec Pack Standard.

K-Lite codec pack is best for users who wants to easily install all important codecs and MPC-HC media player. It includes all the necessary components for playback of video and audio in various formats.

Software : K-Lite Codec Pack Standard 15.9.5
Operating System : Microsoft Windows 10 Pro x64

1. Download K-Lite Codec Pack Standard

Download link : https://codecguide.com/download_k-lite_codec_pack_standard.htm

2. Installation

Run the Installer.
Select Normal Installation Mode.

Preferred video player : Here user can set the video player which will be set as default media player in Windows OS.

Select Media Player Classic(MPC-HC) as Preferred Video Player.

MPC-HC configuration

Select MPC Video Renderer as Video renderer.
Check Show thumbnail preview on seekbar.

LAV Video decoder Hardware Acceleration

Preferred languages for audio and subtitles ( LAV Splitter)

Here you can set the Primary language for selection of audio track in specified language from multiple audio tracks in a media file.
Additionally you can set the Secondary language in which the audio track will be selected for playback if audio track in Primary language does not exist.
Additionally you can set the Tertiary language in which the audio track will be selected for playback if audio track in Primary and Secondary language does not exist.

Show subtitles when audio is in my primary language:

Checked : If embedded subtitle exists in the language specified in primary language then it will be shown in media player.

Show subtitles when audio is in my secondary language:

Checked : If embedded subtitle exists in the language specified in secondary language then it will be shown in media player.

Audio configuration

Select the correct audio speaker configuration of the computer. In most cases inbuilt speaker configuration of the computer is Stereo. Check the speaker manual if you are not sure.

Set Audio decoder output to Speaker configuration.
Uncheck Boost center (speech volume) .

Complete the installation.

Individual component settings

The setting for individual components can be accessed from Windows Start Menu.

Select Microsoft Windows Start Menu.
Search K-Lite codec Pack.

Media Player Classic Homecinema ( MPC-HC) Setup

1. Set MPC-HC window to remain a top while playing a video File

Select View > On Top > While playing Video

Open MPC-HC Options window.

Select View > Options

2. Set MPC-HC to run with CPU process priority level Above Normal

Select Player tab.
Enable Process priority above normal in group box labelled Other.

3. Set MPC-HC windows to resize in proportion to the video file being played

Tick Limit window proportions on resize in group box labelled Other.

4. Setup MPC-HC app as default app

Associate video files formats to run by default with MPC HC app when opened using Windows Explorer

Select Player > Formats tab.
Click on Run as administrator in the group box labelled Association.

Click Associate with video formats only icon as shown below, to select File extensions of video file formats extensions which will be associated with MPC-HC.

Click on Set as default program button in the group box labelled Association.
Click on Apply button.

5. Volume Step setup

Decrease the volume step which sets the step volume knob will take when increasing or decreasing the volume from the main interface. Disable Auto zoom so that MPC HC do not automatically zooms to the resolution of the video file being played.

Select Playback tab.
Set Volume step to 2 in the group box labelled Control.
Disable Auto-zoom in the group box labelled Zoom and Alignment.

6. Internal LAV Splitter settings

Select Internal Filters tab.
Click on Splitter button in the group box labelled Internal LAV Filters settings.

You may set the Maximum Queue Memory (MB) to 256 in the group box labelled Queue Settings.
Click Apply and OK button.

7. Internal LAV Video decoder settings

Select Internal Filters tab.
Click on Video Decoder button in the group box labelled Internal LAV Filters settings.

Drop down list labelled Hardware Decoder to use shows the list of hardware decoder supported by LAV Video Decoder for decoding the video using GPU.

None : Selecting this will disable use of Hardware Decoder. It will use CPU for video decoding.
NVIDIA CUVID : Selecting this will use Nvidia GPU( only if available) for Video Decoding.
Intel QuickSync : Selecting this will use Intel GPU Quick Sync Video (QSV) feature for Video decoding.
DXVA2 (copy-back) : Selecting this will use DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) 2.0 for Video Decoding. Copy-back means the decoded video will be copied from the GPUs memory to CPUs memory. Supports Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU.
DXVA2 (native) : Selecting this will use DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) 2.0 for Video Decoding. Supports Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU.
D3D11 : Selecting this will use Direct3D 11 Graphics technology for Video decoding. Supports Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU.

I recommend using D3D11 or DXVA2 (native) as video decoder.

If you want a specific GPU device to be used for video decoding then select it in drop-down list labelled Hardware Device to use.
In my case it NVIDIA NVS 5400M GPU.
Click Apply button.

8. Color controls

If you want to adjustment to video playback brightness,contrast and Saturation then do as shown below

Set Brightness to -10.
Set Contrast to +10.
Set Saturation to -10.

MPC Video Renderer Settings

Open Microsoft Windows Start Menu.
Select K-Lite codec pack > MPC Video renderer.
Check Use Direct3D 11 if it is available.
Click Apply button.

LAV Video Decoders Setting

Multiple LAV Video is list in start menu. Select the one as shown below to configure it.

Drop down list labelled Hardware Decoder to use shows the list of hardware decoder supported by LAV Video Decoder for decoding the video using GPU.

None : Selecting this will disable use of Hardware Decoder. It will use CPU for video decoding.
NVIDIA CUVID : Selecting this will use Nvidia GPU( only if available) for Video Decoding.
Intel QuickSync : Selecting this will use Intel GPU Quick Sync Video (QSV) feature for Video decoding.
DXVA2 (copy-back) : Selecting this will use DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) 2.0 for Video Decoding. Copy-back means the decoded video will be copied from the GPUs memory to CPUs memory. Supports Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU.
DXVA2 (native) : Selecting this will use DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) 2.0 for Video Decoding. Supports Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU.
D3D11 : Selecting this will use Direct3D 11 Graphics technology for Video decoding. Supports Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU.

I recommend using D3D11 or DXVA2 (native) as video decoder.

LAV Splitter Setting Guide

User can set preferred languages for Audio track and subtitle by adding more languages in it if required.

Audio: This setting allows the user to set the the preferred languages in which the audio tracks will be selected for playback from multiple audio tracks present in the media file.

Subtitles: This setting allows the user to set the the preferred languages in which the subtitle will be selected for playback from multiple subtitles present in the media file.

You need to enter the 3 letter language codes (ISO 639-2) separated by comma or space.

Link to ISO 639-2 codes for various languages : https://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php

3 letter language codes for some languages:

English : eng
Arabic : ara
Chinese : chi
Finnish : fin
French : fre
german : ger

MadVR Settings

Open madVR settings from Windows Start menu.

Open Windows Start Menu .
Select K-lite Codec Pack > madVR .

Select devices > Your monitor model ( in my case its Lenovo LTN156AT24401)
In the group box labelled device type select what type of display device is being used. In my case its Digital Monitor/TV.

Select calibration tab.
Select this display is already calibrated.

You may select BT.2020 from the drop down List labelled the display is calibrated to the following primaries/gamut.

Select scaling > chroma upscaling tab.
Select Lanczos in the group box labelled Processing done by custom pixel shader code.
Select 4 taps as shown below.
Enable activate anti-ringing filter.

Select scaling algorithms > image downscaling tab.
Select Lanczos in the group box labelled Processing done by custom pixel shader code.
Select 4 taps as shown below.
Enable scale in linear light.
Enable activate anti-ringing filter.

Select scaling algorithms > image upscaling tab.
Select Lanczos in the group box labelled upscaling.
Select 4 taps as shown below.
Enable activate anti-ringing filter.

Setup MPC HC app to use madVR

Using madVR is demanding on GPU. Don't use it unless you have a fast GPU

Open MPC-HC Options windows.

Open Media Player Classic Home Cinema.
Open View > Options.

Select Playback > Output tab.
Select madVR from the drop down List labelled Direct Show video.

Select Apply button.

Setup MPC HC app to use Enhanced Video Renderer

Enhanced Video Renderer(custom presenter) is the inbuilt Video Renderer . If you want to use it then do the following:

Select Playback > Output tab.
Select Enhanced Video Renderer(custom presenter) from the drop down List labelled Direct Show video.
You may set Resizer to Bicubic A=-1.0 (PS 2.0) .
Select Apply button.