So what you're suggesting is a complete codec pack? That sounds like a great option. I'll be honest--I don't care where my DVD playback ability comes from and VLC or any other DVD player codecs do just fine. I just want video & audio to work and perhaps some deinterlacing.
Addition: Why does the CCCP wiki talk about it being so great for anime playback. Lol. I don't watch anime.
CCCP and VLC use the same playback code in the back-end, so quality should be identical for the two. CCCP provides DirectShow playback filters for all the things that VLC has built-in (they both use code from the FFMPEG and Gabest's projects). It comes with full DVD playback support out of the box.
As far as the anime stuff... That's the "scene" that CCCP was designed for. Anime users encounter all sorts of odd file types, and need very good support for multiple audio and video tracks, subtitles, and all the other "advanced" media container features. CCCP has subsequently grown much beyond the Anime "scene" and it is now the official codec set for Matroska files (MKV).
Try that codec pack:
k lite
I use the mega version....works stable:
http://www.codecguide.com/
K-Lite's Standard codec pack is also a good choice. It is mostly identical to CCCP except that it includes:
GSpot Codec Information Appliance
Gabest's FLV Splitter (for Flash video)
And it doesn't include:
Gabest's MPEG Decoder (needed for DVD playback)
ZoomPlayer
(and a few other small details)
As I mentioned though, K-Lite Standard does not include "good" support for DVD playback out of the box. I believe it uses FFDSHOW for DVD playback, but FFDSHOW's DVD playback handling is broken in current builds.
However, the K-Lite FULL Pack is quite dangerous to install. It installs a
whole pile of stuff that you don't need (including a bunch of things that fight with each other and can cause conflicts). I would strongly urge you not to use the Full (aka Mega) K-Lite codec pack, or the similar ACE Codec Pack. I don't even really understand the motivation for them to build such a pack. Why would you ever need five different MPEG 1/2 decoders, three Indeo decoders, and about a million demuxers which all do the same exact thing??
All in all, CCCP is quite stable and good. It includes what you need for the vast majority of playback types out-of-the-box, but doesn't include a bunch of "dreck" extras that aren't needed. It certainly is NOT perfect (Haali, I'm looking at you), but it works for most things quite well.