Preferred Filter Tweaker for Windows 7 1.8

Windows 7 uses its own DirectShow filters for decoding several audio and video formats. Using third party filters instead of the native filters is not possible without making changes to the Windows Registry.

This tool allows you to configure your preferred DirectShow filters with just a few mouse clicks. It is quick, easy, and changes can be always undone

If you for example prefer to use ffdshow or CoreAVC for decoding H.264 video then you can do so by using this tool.

This tool is particularly useful for the Microsoft players, such as Windows Media Player and Media Center. Certain advanced third party players, such as Media Player Classic, are capable of using third party filters without the need for this tool.

Important Note

The changes made by this tool only have effect when a player uses DirectShow.

Windows Media Player and Media Center use Media Foundation instead of DirectShow for playing certain file formats. In that case they will use the Microsoft decoders. Examples of file formats that are played using Media Foundation are: .m2ts, .mp4, and .mov.

Supported Formats

This tool can set the preferred filter for the following video formats.
H.264MPEG-4 (Xvid/DivX/MP4V)MPEG-2VC-1AACMP3MP2Supported Third Party Filters

Currently supported third party filters (32-bit):
ffdshowMPCVideoDecCoreAVC H.264 decoderXvid MPEG-4 decoderDivX H.264 decoderDivX MPEG-4 decoderDScaler5 MPEG-2 decoderGabest MPEG-2 decoderCyberlink H.264 decoder (PDVD 7/9)Cyberlink MPEG-2 decoder (PDVD 7/8/9)Cyberlink VC-1 decoder (patched with VC1Tweak: guid {394DFD1B-6F4C-4096-AA14-EF852B02595B})ArcSoft H.264 decoderArcSoft MPEG-4 decoderArcSoft MPEG-2 decoderArcSoft VC-1 decoder (patched with VC1Tweak: guid {9DAD7B50-4432-4F48-AC60-B2B4E854454B})MONOGRAM AAC decoderCurrently supported third party filters (64-bit):
ffdshowMPCVideoDecXvid MPEG-4 decoderGabest MPEG-2 decoderWarning

Using a third party filter might result in reduced functionality in Windows Media Center. We have for example seen reports that playback of live TV might break when using anything other than the Microsoft H.264 and MPEG-2 decoders.

If you encounter a problem, the first thing you should try is to revert the preferred filter back to the Microsoft one.