# Free MPEG decoder?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-mpeg-decoder/362137>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 26, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-mpeg-decoder/362137 "2006-06-26T00:54:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-mpeg-decoder/362137/1 "2006-06-26T00:54:05Z")

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Looking for a free one for XP so I can watch my DVDs. Any suggestions?

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**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-mpeg-decoder/362137/2 "2006-06-26T13:51:23Z")

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[Media Player Classic](http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/) will do the trick just fine. No bells and whistles, just gets the job done (with regard to DVD playback).

Bonus–doesn’t use an installer, and it’s very compact and non-bloated.

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**Author:** ![purpler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cab0a1/32.png) [@purpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purpler)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-mpeg-decoder/362137/3 "2006-06-26T18:26:19Z")

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> [@Happy Wanderer](#):
>
> Looking for a free one for XP so I can watch my DVDs. Any suggestions?

My favorite free video player is the excellent, open-source [VLC](http://videolan.org).