Preferred Filter Tweaker for Windows 7/8.x/10/11

About Win7DSFilterTweaker

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

The Win7DSFilterTweaker tool allows you to configure your preferred DirectShow decoders with just a few mouse clicks. It is quick, easy, and changes can always be undone.

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

All functionality of Win7DSFilterTweaker is included in Codec Tweak Tool, which also provides lots of other useful functionality. Win7DSFilterTweaker is a deprecated tool and it is recommended to use Codec Tweak Tool instead.

Important Note

The changes that this tool makes to the preferred filter settings of Windows only have effect when a player uses DirectShow.

Windows Media Player and Media Center use a new framework called Media Foundation instead of DirectShow when playing certain file formats. In that case they will always use the Microsoft decoders, and not any third party DirectShow filters. Examples of file formats that are played using Media Foundation are: .m2ts, .mp4, and .mov.

This tool has the capability to disable the use of Media Foundation for specific file extensions.

This tool is also capable of completely disabling Media Foundation and other Microsoft playback components by renaming certain files. However, you should be aware that doing so might have noticeable side effects. For example, playback of live TV in Media Center could stop working. But in any case, any change made by the tool can easily be undone to restore the system to its original state.

Download ~ Version 6.5 ~ 1.2 MB ~ April 3rd 2024

MD5: 72998d73e383661c4f013fc0189ce62a

Supported Formats (DirectShow)

This tool can set the preferred decoding filter for the following audio and video formats.

• H.264
• HEVC
• MPEG-4 (Xvid/DivX/MP4V)
• MPEG-2
• MPEG-1
• VC-1 and WMVA
• WMV1/2/3
• DV
• MJPEG
• AAC
• MP3
• MP2
• MP1

Supported Third Party DirectShow Filters

Only the filters listed below are currently supported by this tool. Requests for additions of other filters can be made on our forum.

Currently supported third party filters (32-bit):

• ffdshow
• LAV Video
• LAV Audio
• MPCVideoDec
• CoreAVC H.264 decoder
• Xvid MPEG-4 decoder
• DivX H.264 decoder
• DivX MPEG-4 decoder
• DivX AAC decoder
• DiAVC H.264 decoder
• DScaler5 MPEG-2 decoder
• Gabest MPEG-2 decoder
• Cyberlink H.264 decoder (PDVD 7/8/9/10)
• Cyberlink MPEG-2 decoder (PDVD 7/8/9/10)
• Cyberlink VC-1 decoder (patched with VC1Tweak: guid {394DFD1B-6F4C-4096-AA14-EF852B02595B})
• ArcSoft H.264 decoder
• ArcSoft MPEG-4 decoder
• ArcSoft MPEG-2 decoder
• ArcSoft VC-1 decoder (patched with VC1Tweak: guid {9DAD7B50-4432-4F48-AC60-B2B4E854454B})
• Purevideo MPEG-2 decoder
• NVIDIA MPEG-2 decoder
• MONOGRAM AAC decoder
• Broadcom H.264/MPEG-2 decoder
• Bitcontrol MPEG-2 decoder
• CoreAAC v2
• MainConcept H.264 decoder
• MainConcept VC-1 decoder
• MainConcept MPEG-2 decoder
• MainConcept MPEG-4 decoder
• MainConcept AAC decoder

Currently supported third party filters (64-bit):

• ffdshow
• LAV Video
• LAV Audio
• MPCVideoDec
• CoreAVC H.264 decoder
• Xvid MPEG-4 decoder
• Gabest MPEG-2 decoder
• Bitcontrol MPEG-2 decoder
• CoreAAC v2

Supported Formats (Media Foundation)

This tool can disable the use of Media Foundation for the following file extensions:
.3g2, .3gp, .3gp2, .3gpp, .avi, .m4a, .m4v, .mov, .mp4, .mp4v, .wav

And additionally on Windows 8/8.1/10/11:
.m2t, .m2ts, .mod, .mp2v, .mpeg, .mpg, .mts, .ts, .vob