To K-Lite or not?

pmikep

Senior Member Joined: Nov 26, 2016 22:51 Messages: 285 Offline

Solved by

Apr 12, 2018 20:13

So, I just finished reading The Shadowman's article in the latest Newsletter. He recommended installing the K-Lite codec pack if any problems using PD. And, as it turned out, I have had K-Lite installed on my Win7 box for a few years.

But then I was reading the Video forum over at Magix and there, a Moderator warned that users of their product should never use K-Lite. So I uninstalled it, even tho it wasn't causing any problems (that I could tell).

Anyway, not to disparage any advice that The Shadowman offered, I wonder if Cyberlink has an official recommendation on using K-Lite with PD and/or any statement about compatibility with PD.

Moderator?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 12. 2018 20:14

James Dotson

Senior Contributor Location: Tennessee Joined: Aug 24, 2009 20:40 Messages: 3066 Offline

Apr 12, 2018 20:51

In the past there were a lot of problems with K-Lite conflicting with other codecs. If you are not having any problems then go ahead a use it, but also, if you have not found any problems without it then you may not need the codecs it provides. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

pmikep

Senior Member Joined: Nov 26, 2016 22:51 Messages: 285 Offline

Apr 12, 2018 23:26

True. But since K-Lite is not under control of CL (and so could interfere with PD again some day in the future), I'm thinking that CL's official position will have to be that K-Lite is not recommended.

Hatti

Contributor Location: Bonn, Germany Joined: Feb 21, 2017 15:54 Messages: 576 Offline

Apr 13, 2018 00:18

My opinion: Yes, you are right. Never touch a running system. But if there are problems with certain codecs, it is the recommendation of the user community to install the codec pack. Every program that you install, which is not maintained by the manufacturer of the OS does interfere with the OS. Have a look at the magix forum. If there are problems, the always recommenadtion is: "make a clean install of your OS and install the magix product as the only software". They recommend that because of the missing interference between other programs, the OS and magix. I think, CL would recommend the same.
The codec pack interferes, yes, but as far as I know, it solved problems with some special footage from exotic cameras. So if you don't have problems, don't install it. But if your footage cannot be played or is not recognized, the codec pack can help.
I have the codec pack installed, and my PD runs absolutely rock solid. That is the reason why I changed from magix.

Hatti Win 10 64, i7-4790k, 32GB Ram, 256 GB SSD, SATA 2TB, SATA 4TB, NVidia GTX1080 8GB, LG 34" 4K Wide, AOC 24" 1080

PowerDirector Moderator

Senior Contributor Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan Joined: Oct 18, 2016 00:25 Messages: 2104 Offline

Apr 13, 2018 04:00

Hi,

Firstly I can find nothing about CL "supporting" K-Lite or other codecs.

In fact 2 older FAQs specifically recommend removing it to avoid installation problems with Quicktime.

https://www.cyberlink.com/support/product-faq-content.do?id=9914&prodId=4&prodVerId=848
https://www.cyberlink.com/support/product-faq-content.do?id=4520&prodId=4&prodVerId=-1

So as a generality, and not specific only to CL, I think it best to assume that any supported 3rd party software, plugins etc will be either within the installation packs (as with NB, Adorage, BorisFX etc.), or specifically mentioned by CL or the 3rd party vendor as being "supported" - as opposed to being "compatible with".

In all other cases, I would assume that installation is at the "users own risk", which is not to say that it won't work but just that it isn't part of any officially supported system.

Cheers
PoweerDirector Moderator