A distributed codec engine is a type of software that makes it possible for different computers to be connected together and understand the same kinds of coded information (sometimes called codecs). It works like this: the distributed codec engine allows different computers to talk to each other by turning the data into a format that all the computers can understand. For example, if one computer is using a different codec than another computer, the distributed codec engine can take the data from one computer and turn it into the same format as the other computer, so they can both understand it. The distributed codec engine is like a special type of translator that helps computers talk to each other!