Windows 10 video playback broken after the Anniversary update - solution

Sometime last year I got frustrated by my system’s apparent inability to play web videos. Back then, it had turned out to be my fault (no surprise there) – I hadn’t realized I’d been using Windows N (also should be the same for KN), which comes without the Media Feature Pack, which all the browsers use to render some video formats. Installing it fixed my issues.

But after the recent Windows 10 Anniversary Update, things broke again. I’ve tried re-installing the MFP and the related update that googling yielded, but to no avail.

Turns out all the articles in the top parts of the search results are outdated and no longer work. After it had occurred to me to search for the MFP specifically for my exact Windows version, which at the moment is 1607, I’ve found the update that finally solved the problem. Download it here.

An aside: if you’re unsure about your Windows version/build number, quickest way to find out is by opening Settings (by pressing Win + I), clicking System, then About.

If you want to quickly check what formats your browser currently handles, you can use the Youtube’s test page, or this, more detailed one, at Quirksmode.

I find it really annoying that the feature pack quietly broke and no fix was downloaded, even though I’ve tried to force the Windows update several times.