DirectShow FilterPack

Since there are an abundance of media files that require dedicated filters and decoders in order to run, a codecs pack might need to be installed. DirectShow FilterPack comprises a collection of media filters that are essential for playing video and audio files within DirectShow-based media players, such as Windows Media Player, BS.Player, Zoom Player, to name a few.

Most modern media players benefit from built-in codecs and playing common files doesn’t pose a problem most of the times. However, there are some media formats that require more sophisticated filter architectures in order to be successfully played. DirectShow FilterPack is one of the many codec packs that offer you a solution for such pretentious formats.

Unlike other codec packs, DirectShow FilterPack features a simple installation procedure. User efforts are reduced to unpacking the zip files. Moreover, the period of time reserved for the deployment is significantly shorter.

The components included in this package are, as follows: a bass audio decoder (DC-Bass), a plugin for playing TAK files (TAK DirectShow Source Filter), a general-use media splitter (LAV filters) and CDDA / CDXA source filters. Controlling and configuring all of these is possible via the DirectShow Filter Manager, also included in the package.

In order to customize the behavior of each filter, select the one you’re interested in and hit the ‘Show filter’ button and from there, you can access the component’s settings.

Installing the components individually is also possible by navigating to the extraction location and accessing the folder reserved for each of them. Same goes for the uninstallation process, of course. Also, you can remove any of the filters or all of them, for that matter, from the DirectShow Filter Manager.

On a more disappointing note, the development of DirectShow FilterPack ended as of the beginning of year 2012. It will not benefit from updates anymore, which makes it all the more difficult to appreciate it in an ever-growing media filter development market.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that DirectShow FilterPack's cause is not completely lost. There are still an abundance of computers that run older operating systems that probably don't support multimedia applications that come with these filters included. If this case applies to you, it's definitely worth a try.