This is a follow up of my previous post about using the CCCP to play any video file on Windows. This time I’m going to show you how to use FFDShow, which is installed with the CCCP, to enhance the look of your videos.

1. First, go to Start -> All Programs -> Combined Community Codec Pack -> Filters and click FFDShow Video Decoder Configuration.


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2. A window similar to the one below should appear. Make sure to check Picture Properties and change Luminance Gain (contrast) to 192, Luminance Offset (brightness) to -64 and Saturation: to 128, and make sure to check Process Whole Image. Now click Apply, but don’t close the window just yet.


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3. This should make your videos look much better. Below is an example, with the Picture Properties applied to the right side only, for comparison.


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4. It should be noted that this is not a magic fix for all videos, and it’s all based on how you want it to look. The settings I gave you is just what I set as default. Some videos may look too bright or dark to you, but the good news is, you can change it to your liking! You can even change it while watching a video to get it just right. Just click the FFDShow Video Decoder icon that shows up in your tray while watching videos.



Note: These enhancements may not work for all video. For example, I was not able to get them to work for any of my DVDs.

5. To enhance videos some more, make sure to check Deinterlacing and make sure to check Process Whole Image. I keep the settings at their default. Intel explains that “Deinterlacing is a method of combining the odd and even fields of a video to make a progressive-scan video”. The final thing to do is check Postprocessing, check Process Whole Image, check Automatic Quality Control and Accurate Deblocking. Finally, click Apply.


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6. Now play some videos and see how they look! You can compare the original to the new by checking Only Right Half under Postprocessing and Picture Properties. Enjoy!