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MPC Video Decoder is a free DirectShow video decoder filter from the MPC-HC project, distributed with X Codec Pack, that handles hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and VC-1 playback in any Windows media player - though it sits alongside LAV Filters rather than replacing it, and LAV remains the better choice for AV1 and VP9.
MPC Video Decoder is a DirectShow filter that handles one job in Windows video playback: turning compressed video back into frames your screen can show.
It comes from the MPC-HC project, ships inside X Codec Pack, and the current release is 1.9.1.6 at 10.1 MB.
Download MPC Video Decoder - or read the comparison below first, because for a lot of setups LAV Filters is the better answer.
It does not decode AV1 or VP9.
Those two go to LAV Filters, which is installed alongside this decoder in X Codec Pack precisely so it can take them. If you set this filter to handle AV1, AV1 files will stop playing.
Where the Decoder Sits in the Chain
Windows plays video as a chain of small components handing work to each other.
A splitter opens the container file and separates the video, audio and subtitle streams. A decoder takes the compressed video stream and turns it into raw frames. A renderer takes those frames and puts them on screen.
MPC Video Decoder is the middle stage. It does not open files and it does not draw anything, so it will not fix a container that refuses to open or a picture that looks wrong.
If you are not sure which stage your problem lives in, our guide to the roles of decoders and renderers is the quickest way to work it out.
What It Decodes
The vendor lists H.264, H.265/HEVC, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2 including DivX and Xvid, and VC-1.
That covers Blu-ray rips, broadcast recordings, and the older AVI and MKV files that make up most long-standing collections. It is deliberately the MPEG family rather than everything.
It also handles 10-bit video, but only when paired with a renderer that accepts it - madVR being the usual example.
Hardware Acceleration with DXVA2
The practical reason to care which decoder is active is where the work happens. DXVA2 hands decoding to your graphics card instead of your processor, on Intel, AMD and NVIDIA hardware alike.
The effect is largest on high-bitrate and high-resolution files, where software decoding forces the CPU to reconstruct every frame and a modest processor runs out of headroom. Offloaded to the GPU, the same file plays with the CPU close to idle.
To see which decoder and which acceleration mode are actually running, DXVA Checker reads the active session from your GPU rather than guessing.
For turning acceleration on inside the player, the hardware acceleration guide covers every option in MPC-HC's filter settings.
MPC Video Decoder or LAV Filters?
For most people, LAV Filters. It is FFmpeg-based, actively maintained, and decodes essentially everything including AV1, VP9 and awkward cases like interlaced MPEG-2 transport streams.
X Codec Pack installs both, and this is not an accident. LAV takes priority for most formats, MPC Video Decoder provides a second path tuned for H.264 and the MPEG family, and your player chooses between them automatically.
So the honest answer is that you rarely pick one over the other. The case for reaching for this decoder specifically is when a file misbehaves on LAV and you want a different implementation to try - which does happen with older MPEG-2 and VC-1 material.
If you would rather have a ready-made LAV configuration than assemble one, LAV Filters Megamix bundles the pieces together.
Finishing the Playback Chain
Decoding is only the middle stage, and picture quality is decided after it.
MPC Video Renderer is the sensible default on Windows 10 and 11, with HDR passthrough and a direct D3D11 path that needs no configuration.
madVR is the enthusiast option, with reference-grade scaling and tone mapping done entirely on the GPU. Be aware it is demanding on graphics hardware, and that development stopped years ago at 0.92.17 - it still works, but nothing new is coming.
Audio is a separate filter again, and LAV Filters handles that side too, including bitstreaming to a receiver.
Who Should Skip This
The tell is simple: if you do not already know what a filter graph is, you do not need to install a decoder by hand.
K-Lite Codec Pack bundles LAV Filters, a renderer and everything supporting them into one installer that configures itself, and K-Lite Full adds madVR for people who want the image-quality end without the assembly.
FFDShow is still around for older machines whose owners like its post-processing for deinterlacing and noise reduction, though it has not been developed in years.
Installing It
One installer covers 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. It places the filter in System32 and SysWOW64, registers it with DirectShow, and needs no reboot.
Once registered it is available to every DirectShow player on the system, Windows Media Player and PotPlayer included.
That covers MPC-HC and MPC-BE as well, which is where most people using this filter will meet it.
You do not have to configure anything. Players pick between registered decoders automatically, so leaving it alone is a valid choice.
- To force it in MPC-HC, open Options, then External Filters, then Add Filter, and select MPC Video Decoder.
- Set it to Prefer. In MPC-BE the path is the same, under Options then External Filters.
- Assign it only to H.264, HEVC, MPEG-2 and VC-1. Leave AV1 and VP9 with LAV Filters, which is the only one of the two that decodes them.
- If playback breaks afterwards, a conflicting decoder is usually the cause. Check which filter is active under Internal Filters, or reinstall X Codec Pack to reset every registration.
Quick questions
Should I use this or LAV Filters?
LAV Filters for almost everyone, because it decodes more formats and is actively maintained. Keep this one as the second path X Codec Pack installs it as, and try it when a specific file misbehaves.
Does it decode AV1 or VP9?
No. Those go to LAV Filters. Do not assign AV1 or VP9 to this filter, or those files will stop playing.
Will it reduce my CPU usage?
It can, if DXVA2 acceleration is active and was not before. Confirm with DXVA Checker rather than assuming, because the decoder falls back to software silently when the GPU cannot take a format.
Will it fix stuttering or a washed-out picture?
Stuttering, sometimes, if hardware decoding starts working. A washed-out or badly scaled picture is the renderer's department, not the decoder's - look at MPC Video Renderer or madVR instead.
Do I need it if I already have K-Lite or X Codec Pack?
No. X Codec Pack installs it already, and K-Lite ships LAV Filters, which covers the same ground and more.
Why is there nothing to open after installing?
Because it is a filter, not a program. It has no window of its own. Check it registered by starting playback in MPC-HC and looking at the active filters.
The rest of the Video Codecs section covers the alternatives.
Download MPC Video Decoder 1.9.1.6 and see how it handles your files, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
