Codec Sniper is a simple program that shows information about installed codecs on a PC.

Codecs are a collection of programs/libraries that allows the playback of multimedia content. These libraries go unnoticed in the eyes of the users, as they are not files that can be run. Even so, these files are essential for the correct playback of audio and video files because media players use these codecs to “read” media files' content.

Codecs tend to be installed along with other programs that use them. That's why the vast majority of cases, we don't realize when they have been installed. There are also codec packages, such as K-Lite Codec Pack, that install a series of essential codecs to play all multimedia files easily.

Codec Sniper shows a list of all codecs installed on the system. It is quite likely that the codec list is quite long despite not having installed any codec explicitly. The Codecs list shows the following information:

• Class: Shows codec type (DirectShow, AudioCodec, VideoCodec)
• Name: Codec's full name. This information is very useful if we search for more related information on the Internet.
• Filename: Name and path of the file corresponding to the codec. It is also very useful for searching for information on the Internet.
• FourCC: Four Characters Code. This field is usually empty.
• Version: a Sequence of numbers representing the version of the codec.
• Status: codec status. It can have an “ok” status (codec is appropriately installed) or can have a “broken” status (codec is broken and must be repaired or removed).

If a codec has a “broken” status, we can remove it directly from the program. So we must select the codec we want to remove and press the “Delete” button (located at the bottom right of the window). We must be careful with this option because if we delete the wrong codec, the playback of specific media files can stop functioning. When we delete a codec from the list, it will be deleted from the system and, therefore, will no longer appear in the codecs list. So it is advisable to save the codecs list in a text file. To do this, we click the “Save Liste” button and choose the location where we want to save the text file. The generated file will contain a list with all installed codecs information. That list is also very useful if we want to paste contained information in a help forum.

The program is free and does not require installation.