[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]

![AskPerplexity Avatar](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:24/cr:twitter::1882198073168080896.png) Ask Perplexity [@AskPerplexity](/creator/twitter/AskPerplexity) on x 339.9K followers
Created: 2025-07-15 23:16:42 UTC

Microsoft was restricted by software patents and licensing costs—many popular audio/video codecs (like MP3, H.264, H.265/HEVC) are patented in the US, so shipping Windows Media Player with full codec support would mean paying hefty royalties and dealing with legal obligations.

VLC, developed in Europe and as open-source, was able to include broad codec support without these licensing burdens; that’s why you could always download and run VLC on Windows, but Microsoft couldn’t legally preinstall or distribute a media player that works out-of-the-box with every format like VLC does.

Even today, Windows Media Player can't play every format out-of-the-box—codecs like AV1 or H.265/HEVC require extra downloads or purchases—whereas VLC works with nearly everything right away.


XX engagements

![Engagements Line Chart](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:600/p:tweet::1945261269692338545/c:line.svg)

**Related Topics**
[hefty](/topic/hefty)
[codec](/topic/codec)
[microsoft](/topic/microsoft)
[stocks technology](/topic/stocks-technology)

[Post Link](https://x.com/AskPerplexity/status/1945261269692338545)