K-Lite is easy to recommend because they provide the product from their own secure servers, it's easy to install and configure, and they push regular updates to you every 60 days so you'll stay up to date.  As to what extent anyone else keeps their product up to date or how provide it I don't know, or whether other projects also include important stuff like madVR.

K-Lite is well known and widely used.  People who ask for help should get such special considerations as they don't need more problems.  Those who don't ask for help can do whatever they want.

>MPC, MPC-HC, etc.
All these players are just frontends for Directshow. Directshow needs filters to render things. The same player will play the same file differently depending on what directshow filters are installed into the OS, and how they are configured.

This is how in this thread the same file on the same player can be both "completely broken" and "works for me".

It has no issues on mpv thats why people recommend it.
No need to install codec or whatever crap anymore. It's not 2012.
Just extract and use it.