A request to decode media data is received from an application running on a computing device. A decoder decision module in media processing software also running on the computing device receives the request and intelligently determines which of a plurality of media decoders to route the media data to for decompression. The plurality of media decoders may include a hardware media decoder and a software media decoder. The decoder decision module may consider a number of factors that may affect the efficiency of the decompression. These factors include the file format of the media data, limitations of the hardware decoder(s), the size of the media data, a state of the requesting application, load balancing considerations, and other factors.