Play your multimedia files with Windows Media Player and the Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP). Tutorial 2 - Configuring the CCCP

Last updated March 29, 2010 6:00 PM

Now that you have installed the Combined Community Codec Pack, there are one or two options you may wish to set. Most of the options can safely be left at their default values. However, there are some options you may wish to tweak depending on your setup.

Once installation has completed, you will see the window shown below. You can also edit these settings at any time by starting the configuration tool from the Start Menu (its default location is Start->All Programs->Combined Community Codec Pack->Settings).

Most options on this window should be left at their default values, unless you are an expert user and know exactly what you are doing. You may wish to configure the speaker settings for FFDShow however. Click on the list box arrow as circled in red in the picture above, you will then see the following options:-

Here you should choose the speaker set-up that most closely matches your PC's speaker configuration. What do all those numbers mean? They indicate the number of speakers in the front, middle and rear positions. If you only have two speakers, left and right, you should choose 2/0/0 - Stereo (2 speakers in front, 0 at the sides and 0 at the rear). +LFE means "Low Frequency Effect". This is sometimes called a "Sub" or "Sub-Woofer". This is a big speaker that sits in a corner and makes only low, bass sounds like explosions. If you have a surround sound system with 3 speakers at the front, 2 at the back, and a sub-woofer, you would choose "3/0/2+LFE 5.1 Channels".

The S/PDIF options are for those users who have connected their PC via a digital audio cable to a dedicated amplifier or home theatre receiver. You should only select these options if your home theatre equipment supports them, see the documentation that came with your equipment for more details.

Once you have chosen your speaker set-up, click "Next >". The following window will then be displayed:-

Everything should be configured for you automatically on this window. If you don't want to use Windows Media Player to play your media files, you can choose an alternative player for each file type using the controls on the left. Also, if you think there is something wrong with your settings, you can tick the box that is labelled "Reset All Settings" to return all the settings to their default values.

Once you are happy with the options, click on "Apply". The CCCP is now fully configured and ready for use. To use it, simply open up a multimedia file in Windows Media Player.

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