Coda codec pack is a freeware solution that includes the most important codecs and filters a computer needs to play the common multimedia formats out there.

The application is extremely easy to use and it almost doesn't interact with the user at all, except for the setup process.

Since it includes only the quintessential codecs and filters, Coda codec pack is a very light package that installs in a second and attempts to deploy exactly the tools you need to play multimedia files.

Installation is of course the most important step and comes with three different modes, “Lite”, “Full” and “Custom”. There are eight components included in the package, so the user can choose basically any of these by picking the “Custom” mode.

The “Full” installation procedure comes with the AC-3 audio decoder, DivX audio codec, DivX video decoder, DivX video encoder, MPEG-2 video decoder, MPEG-4 video decoder, XviD video decoder and XviD video encoder.

No other unnecessary tools, no built-in media players, no file associations, just the essential files you need.

Unfortunately however, Coda codec pack comes with minimum information about the aforementioned components, so beginners may need to search the web for additional details.

Although we've received reports that Coda codec pack may break down video files on specific Windows versions, everything worked flawlessly during our test, both on Windows XP and Windows 7.

As a conclusion, if you don't want to spend too much time looking for a full-featured codec pack that comes with tons of files, and you just wish to install a simple package with the essential codecs, make sure to give Coda codec pack a try.