Gizmodo have a post up about Windows 7 blocking 3rd party codecs in the beta, first let me say I am not a big fan of 3rd party codecs and especially the codec packs that every time I have installed any they seem to break something else. Anyway according to Gizmodo in the 7057 build Windows 7 locks the switching of MPEG-4 and H.264 codecs by locking down the registry keys. They do say this may only be temporary and it may be unlocked in the final version.
Like I said before I am not really bothered and I am happy with having MPEG-4 and H.264 built in to Windows 7 but I know some people will like to be able to choose their codecs
Here’s how a directshow developer lays it out: MPEG-4 and H.264 codecs are hard baked into Media Foundation, and you can’t override them, since Microsoft’s list of preferred codecs in the registry can’t be edited, even in admin mode. Which means basically that Microsoft has "blocked the possibility to use alternate codecs in their applications," according to the developer, so you couldn’t use them in Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center.
Does it matter?
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Now if they would just block mpeg2 codec changes it’d be even better.. can’t count how many times I’ve seen people load XP codecs (like the nvidia ones) then have issues and blame media center..
Yeah I’m all for this, it’s their software they know what works. : )
I’ve been able to unlock the registry entries in my experementation by opening permissions > advanded > owner and changing the owner from trusted installer to administrator then changing permissions in the original priorities window to give administrator full rights.
I’m utterly and completely against this as it blocks me from using FFDShow or any other custom codecs. MS codecs contain no configuration properties what-so-ever and that in itself is simply criminal..
The way I see it, it’s a situation similiar to if they forced all Windows users to user IE.
Honestly I am fine with this. Keeps things simple and makes sure things just work. I just wish they’d add more codec support natively. IE mkv, OGG, Vorbis, Flac, ect…
- Josh
Actually I think they may have Anti-trust issues with this in the EU but I can see both sides. For the average consumer a codec out of the box that can’t be accidentally overwritten is a good idea and will reduce support calls. For power users then changeing codecs to improve playback quality etc. is a good thing and there are a lot of people out there who want to do that – you only have to take a look at my Vista Media Center Decoder utility downloads to see that.
Perhaps a registry switch is in order to allow Power Users to take control.
I’m fine with this. The built in codecs are the one MS will develop and test the product against, so they’re always going to be the most reliable.
The built in codecs also make the 7MC install process painless. Just install Windows, little bit of setup and you have a working 7MC machine in about an hour. The last time I installed MCE2005 I think it took about 6 hours to get it working.
A) I can understand why MS would want to unify this. I’m honestly ok with this as long as they keep up with this via Microsoft Update
B) We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Everyone yelled and screamed when MS changed the MC API (and other things) and it essentially killed off all 3rd party integration with Media Center. But once the truth came out, it turned out that MS really wasn’t blocking 3rd party developers after all.