Recommended free codecs to play DVD in Windows Media Player 11?

Question

None of the MPEG-2 codecs recommended on the WMP help page are available free.
Without installing a codec pack, or (at this stage) installing another media player, are there any recommended free MPEG-2 codecs out there that will give me DVD playback in WMP 11?

Claification:
I'm looking for just the specific codecs that will do the job rather than an all encompassing codec pack which may have unforseen detrimental effects.

Solution 1

I came accross the GPL MPEG-1/2 DirectShow Decoder Filter which gives DVD playback in WMP.

The only possible problem was a warning from the Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility that it does not support synchronization - not a problem for me.

Solution 2

Most MPEG-2 codecs are hard to find by themselves, as nowadays most people just download codec packs and don't bother with individual codecs. You can download such a codec pack and then extract the ones that interest you.

The latest K-Lite pack contains two MPEG-2 codecs:

• MPEG-2 (Cyberlink) [version 8.4.0.205]
• MPEG-2 (Gabest) [version 1.0.0.4]

If you want a very complete codec pack, use the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. It is the K-Lite variant with the most codecs. However, as far as MPEG-2 codecs are concerned, only these two codecs are included in all K-Lite versions.

To find a codec's filename, you can use InstalledCodec :

InstalledCodec is a small utility displays the list of all Codec drivers and DirectShow filters currently installed on your system. For each component the following information is displayed: Display Name, Type, Disabled Status, Installed/Modified Time, Description, Company Name, Filename, and more...

Installing a codec is normally only a matter of copying it to its place (normally system32) and issuing regsvr32 on it. See this guide:
How to install/uninstall DLL and AX codec/filter files

Comments

[alex]

My answer has been deleted since it did not answer your question.

[alex]

He just said in a comment he doesn't want a codec pack.

[harrymc]

He edited that AFTER I gave my answer. So I edited my answer as well.

[pelms]

"Without installing a codec pack" was in the original question :¬)

[alex]

You should consider marking your answer as accepted if it actually solved your problem.

[pelms]

@alex: Just leaving it for a while in case anyone knows of anything better.

[harrymc]

Installed and uninstalled, just to get the codecs. Also, the installation is fully parametrized, so one can just install the minimum.

[alex]

That's a good idea. I wanted to suggest that as well.

[Geoffrey]

I installed this codec, but I still do not have sound with DVD's in windows media player.