Supported codecs
This article lists the audio, video, and image codec and format availability for UWP apps by default for each device family. Note that these tables list the codecs that are included with the Windows 10 installation for the specified device family. Users and apps can install additional codecs that may be available to use. You can query at runtime for the set of codecs that are currently available for a specific device. For more information, see Query for codecs installed on a device.
In the tables below "D" indicates decoder support and "E" indicates encoder support.
Audio codec & format support
The following tables show the audio codec and format support for each device family.
Note
Where AMR-NB support is indicated, this codec is not supported on Server SKUs.
Note
On versions of Windows prior to Windows 11, version 24H2, the AC-3 codec is included. Beginning with Windows 11, version 24H2, the AC-3 codec is no longer included with Windows. However, many device manufacturers will pre-install an AC-3 codec.
Desktop
| Codec/Container | MPEG-4 | MPEG-3 | MPEG-2 | ADTS | ASF | RIFF | AVI | AC-3 | AMR | 3GP | FLAC | WAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE-AAC v1 / AAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| HE-AAC v2 / eAAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| AAC-LC | D/E | D | ||||||||||
| AC3 | D | D | D | D | D | D | ||||||
| ALAC | D/E | |||||||||||
| AMR-NB* | D/E | D/E | D | |||||||||
| FLAC | D/E | |||||||||||
| G.711 (A-Law, µ-law) | D | |||||||||||
| GSM 6.10 | D | |||||||||||
| IMA ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| LPCM | D/E | |||||||||||
| MP3 | D/E | D/E | D/E | |||||||||
| MPEG-1/2 | D | |||||||||||
| MS ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| WMA 1/2/3 | D/E | |||||||||||
| WMA Pro | D/E | |||||||||||
| WMA Voice | D/E |
* Not available on Windows Server SKUs.
Mobile
| Codec/Container | MPEG-4 | MPEG-3 | MPEG-2 | ADTS | ASF | RIFF | AVI | AC-3 | AMR | 3GP | FLAC | WAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE-AAC v1 / AAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| HE-AAC v2 / eAAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| AAC-LC | D/E | D/E | ||||||||||
| AC3 | D, Only on Lumia Icon, 830, 930, 1520 | D, Only on Lumia Icon, 830, 930, 1520 | D, Only on Lumia Icon, 830, 930, 1520 | D, Only on Lumia Icon, 830, 930, 1520 | D, Only on Lumia Icon, 830, 930, 1520 | D, Only on Lumia Icon, 830, 930, 1520 | ||||||
| ALAC | D | |||||||||||
| AMR-NB | D/E | D/E | D | |||||||||
| FLAC | D | |||||||||||
| G.711 (A-Law, µ-law) | D | |||||||||||
| GSM 6.10 | D | |||||||||||
| IMA ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| LPCM | D/E | |||||||||||
| MP3 | D | D | D | |||||||||
| MPEG-1/2 | ||||||||||||
| MS ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| WMA 1/2/3 | D | |||||||||||
| WMA Pro | D | |||||||||||
| WMA Voice |
WIndows 10 IoT
| Codec/Container | MPEG-4 | MPEG-3 | MPEG-2 | ADTS | ASF | RIFF | AVI | AC-3 | AMR | 3GP | FLAC | WAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE-AAC v1 / AAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| HE-AAC v2 / eAAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| AAC-LC | D/E | D | ||||||||||
| AC3 | ||||||||||||
| ALAC | D | |||||||||||
| AMR-NB | D/E | D/E | D | |||||||||
| FLAC | D | |||||||||||
| G.711 (A-Law, µ-law) | D | |||||||||||
| GSM 6.10 | D | |||||||||||
| IMA ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| LPCM | D/E | |||||||||||
| MP3 | D | D | D | |||||||||
| MPEG-1/2 | D | |||||||||||
| MS ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| WMA 1/2/3 | D/E | |||||||||||
| WMA Pro | D/E | |||||||||||
| WMA Voice | D/E |
Xbox
| Codec/Container | MPEG-4 | MPEG-3 | MPEG-2 | ADTS | ASF | RIFF | AVI | AC-3 | AMR | 3GP | FLAC | WAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE-AAC v1 / AAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| HE-AAC v2 / eAAC+ | D | D | ||||||||||
| AAC-LC | D/E | D | ||||||||||
| AC3 | D | D | D | D | D | D | ||||||
| ALAC | D | |||||||||||
| AMR-NB | D | D/E | D | |||||||||
| FLAC | D | |||||||||||
| G.711 (A-Law, µ-law) | D | |||||||||||
| GSM 6.10 | D | |||||||||||
| IMA ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| LPCM | D/E | |||||||||||
| MP3 | D | D | D | |||||||||
| MPEG-1/2 | D | |||||||||||
| MS ADPCM | D | |||||||||||
| WMA 1/2/3 | D | |||||||||||
| WMA Pro | D | |||||||||||
| WMA Voice | D |
Video codec & format support
The following tables show the video codec and format support for each device family.
Note
Where H.265 support is indicated, it is not necessarily supported by all devices within the device family.
Desktop
| Codec/Container | fMP4 | MPEG-4 | MPEG-2 PS | MPEG-2 TS | MPEG-1 | 3GPP | 3GPP2 | AVCHD | ASF | AVI | MKV | DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPEG-1* | D/E | D/E | D | D/E | D | |||||||
| MPEG-2* | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | ||||||||
| MPEG-4 (Part 2) | D | D | D | D | ||||||||
| H.265** | D | D/E | D | |||||||||
| H.264 | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | D | ||||
| H.263 | D/E | D/E | D | |||||||||
| VC-1 | D | D | D | D | ||||||||
| WMV7/8/9 | D/E | D/E | D/E | |||||||||
| WMV9 Screen | D | D | D | |||||||||
| DV | D | D | D | |||||||||
| VP8 | D/E | D | ||||||||||
| VP9 | D | D/E | D | |||||||||
| AV1** | D | D | D | |||||||||
| Motion JPEG | D | D |
* MPEG-2/MPEG-1 codec is available with install of optional Microsoft UWP DVD application.
** H.265 and AV1 are available with the install of the corresponding optional codec pack.
Mobile
| Codec/Container | fMP4 | MPEG-4 | MPEG-2 PS | MPEG-2 TS | 3GPP | AVCHD | ASF | AVI | MKV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPEG-4 (Part 2) | D | D | D | D | |||||
| H.265 | D | D/E | D | ||||||
| H.264 | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | D | |
| H.263 | D/E | D/E | D | D | |||||
| VC-1 | D | D | D | ||||||
| Motion JPEG | D | D |
Windows 10 IoT
| Codec/Container | fMP4 | MPEG-4 | MPEG-2 PS | MPEG-2 TS | MPEG-1 | 3GPP | 3GPP2 | AVCHD | ASF | AVI | MKV | DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPEG-1 | D/E | D/E | D | D/E | D | |||||||
| MPEG-2* | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | ||||||||
| MPEG-4 (Part 2) | D | D | D | D | ||||||||
| H.265** | D | D/E | D | |||||||||
| H.264 | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | D | ||||
| H.263 | D/E | D/E | D | |||||||||
| VC-1 | D | D | D | D | ||||||||
| WMV7/8/9 | D/E | D/E | D/E | |||||||||
| WMV9 Screen | D | D | D | |||||||||
| VP8 | D/E | D | ||||||||||
| VP9 | D | D/E | D | |||||||||
| AV1** | D | D | D | |||||||||
| DV | D | |||||||||||
| Motion JPEG | D | D |
* MPEG-2/MPEG-1 codec is available with install of optional Microsoft UWP DVD application.
** H.265 and AV1 are available with the install of the corresponding optional codec pack.
Xbox
| Codec/Container | fMP4 | MPEG-4 | MPEG-2 PS | MPEG-2 TS | MPEG-1 | 3GPP | AVCHD | ASF | AVI | MKV | DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPEG-1 | D/E | D/E | D | D/E | D | ||||||
| MPEG-2 | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | |||||||
| MPEG-4 (Part 2) | D | D | D | D | |||||||
| H.265 | D | D/E | D | ||||||||
| H.264 | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D/E | D | D | |||
| H.263 | D/E | D/E | D | ||||||||
| VC-1 | D | D | D | ||||||||
| VP8 | D/E | D | |||||||||
| VP9 | D | D/E | D | ||||||||
| AV1 | D | D | D | ||||||||
| DV | D | ||||||||||
| Motion JPEG | D | D |
Image codec & format support
| Codec | Desktop | Other device families |
|---|---|---|
| BMP | D/E | D/E |
| DDS | D/E1 | D/E1 |
| DNG | D2 | D2 |
| GIF | D/E | D/E |
| ICO | D | D |
| JPEG | D/E | D/E |
| JPEG-XR | D/E | D/E |
| PNG | D/E | D/E |
| TIFF | D/E | D/E |
| Camera RAW | D3 | No |
1 DDS images using BC1 through BC5 compression are supported.
2 DNG images with a non-RAW embedded preview are supported.
3 Only certain camera RAW formats are supported.
For more information on image codecs, see Native WIC Codecs.
Timed text format support
Windows has native support for the following formats for timed text. For more information on implementing timed text, see Add external timed text with TimedTextSource, TimedTextSource Class, IMFTimedText interface.