What is Component Package Support Server?

desbest said:

Not even they know what it does. It might have something do to with image formats, HEIC images, RAW images, and video codecs. Someone said it only appears when they’re watching videos on YouTube. What is that software in the image?

I think it might have something to do with the .heif .heic .webm and .webp file types.

By the way, WEBP (for pictures) and WEBM (for videos) are made by Google along with HEIC and HEIF is made by Apple. These media containers and codecs are a work in progress, hence the constant updates for them in Microsoft Store. For example Google replaced the VP8 codec for WEBM with VP9. WebM Project has joined Alliance for Open Media, to collaborate with Apple, Microsoft and Netflix on a newer video codec called AV1.



Further Watching
Introducing HEIF and HEVC from WWDC2017
High Efficiency Image File Format from WWDC2017

It's interesting you mention these 3 extensions. Do you reckon if you uninstall them (as an experiment) does that stop triggering Component Package Support Server from being triggered when watching YouTube?

I also have to admit that Facebook is no longer triggering Component Package Support Server any more. But that's with me using Edge Chromium, I don't know if Google Chrome or Opera/GX will trigger these as I haven't installed them yet to test.

But 4 months ago when I reinstalled Windows 10 again and so far at least with the new Edge Chromium, Facebook no longer triggers "CompPkgSrv.exe".

I have watched Amazon Prime, Dailymotion, My5 videos and videos from all other streaming websites. None of them ever trigger "CompPkgSrv.exe". It makes me wonder why only YouTube and Youtube Music sites trigger this process?

Also, how comes with Waterfox Classic Web Browser or any non-chromium Web Browser this process never gets triggered using YouTube?

I can verify that this Web Media Extension is used under Waterfox because when I uninstalled it using O&O Appbuster then YouTube videos at 4K 50 or 60fps videos were stuttering. Reinstalling it fixed that. Of-course now with latest Waterfox update it ruined 4K and it started stuttering regardless of it. But that's browser update that caused it.

But Edge or any Chromium browser no stuttering at all at 4K 60fps videos. Only issue is that it triggers "CompPkgSrv.exe" and an extra (third) RuntimeBroker.exe process that of-course comes along with CompPkgSrv.exe.

BLaZiNgSPEED said:

Also, how comes with Waterfox Classic Web Browser or any non-chromium Web Browser this process never gets triggered using YouTube?

If the VP8/VP9/AV1 codec is not found on your computer, then Youtube will revert to a more popular and standardised codec of H264 or H265.

desbest said:

If the VP8/VP9/AV1 codec is not found on your computer, then Youtube will revert to a more popular and standardised codec of H264 or H265.

But it does get used. Here's my screenshot.
As you can see Codec VP9 is present. You can verify this by right clicking on a YouTube video and clicking "Stats for nerds".

Video stats is displaying VP9 (315). But as you can see my Task Manager remains without Component Package Support Server on Waterfox Classic Web Browser. I have been using this browser for 3 years now and it has never ever triggered Component Package Support Server to run in the background with YouTube or Facebook.

You're saying if VP9 wasn't found on the computer then YouTube will revert to standardized codec. That doesn't explain why with a Chromium Web Browser CompPkgSrv.exe always gets triggered. Although I have not made the experiment to test this by uninstalling the Web Media Extension codes.

I still have my doubts though, I think it is something else that triggers it. Maybe another test would be to watch a Youtube video that doesn't use VP8/VP9/AV1 codec and see if that doesn't trigger it.

But so far my experience shows with non-chromium web browsers it doesn't get triggered, ever.

BLaZiNgSPEED said:

But it does get used. Here's my screenshot.

As you can see Codec VP9 is present. You can verify this by right clicking on a YouTube video and clicking "Stats for nerds".

You're saying if VP9 wasn't found on the computer then YouTube will revert to standardized codec. That doesn't explain why with a Chromium Web Browser CompPkgSrv.exe always gets triggered. Although I have not made the experiment to test this by uninstalling the Web Media Extension codes.

It is highly likely that the Alexa Top 100 websites you are using, that they are doing A/B Testing. That's when a website will distribute experimental changes to a small percentage of their users (5% or less), that everyone else doesn't see. That's why it's common for people to see minute changes to a website then seemingly disappear upon the second glance or the next day or week.

Youtube and Facebook does A/B testing all the time. Visual Web Optimiser is the best service for running this. I've used it before and it's amazing and world class.

So it's not related to Windows Updates?

I finally forced myself to update my 2017 v1703 install of Windows (to 1909) as I kept getting sick of booting over to an updated 2xHx install to run certain games and have since been dealing with daily issues of Windows trying to be Windows. Disabling updates was easy in v1703, but after I think 18xx they introduced the 'medic' service and kept trying more and more ways every version to undo anything a user does to disable updates.

This CompPkgSvr has been a thorn in my side the entire time, and now finally looking it up and finding this thread I see it's not related to updates, but some container service for certain extension/encoder formats?

I still don't know what it does, but now that I've seen this thread, I'll try to keep more notice. I opened a Youtube video right after reading this, but the process didn't start. Might have to restart the browser (which is v3.0.4 of Cent built on Chromium 62).

Regardless, I haven't found any negative effect from terminating the process (which runs indefinitely despite the content 'required' by it long being closed). Might test what happens when the file doesn't exist..

I entered about:flags into edge to find vp9 codec , no vp9 codec, no Media Source Extensions. I get the same error The server {38E441FB-3D16-422F-8750-B2DACEC5CEFC} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.