Bizarre Video-File Issue

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2007-01-29 12:49am

So yesterday I discovered that none of the video files on my computer would work anymore, with Window's Media Player, Quicktime, or RealPlayer, even though some of these files had worked perfectly only days earlier, and all of them seemed fine at one time or another. The error message in WMP reads "Windows Media Player cannot play the file. One or more codecs required to play the file could not be found," despite the fact that I had downloaded the codecs already and had played some of these files only days before. Since I noticed the problem, I uninstalled and then reinstalled WMP and RealPlayer, and also attempted to redownload and reinstall the codec in question. That led to an error message, claiming that it couldn't find a compatible program. The problem coincided loosely with me updating Quicktime, but I have no idea if that is the cause of the issue. Files that I view on the internet (for instance, through YouTube) play correctly, so far as I can tell. Anyone have any idea what's going on, here, and (preferably) how to fix it?

Netko · Post by **Netko** » 2007-01-29 08:24am

A quick and dirty fix is getting VLC since it includes the codecs internally and isn't dependent on the system.

Youtube and similar have no issues since they are flash based (ie also not connected with system codecs).

As far as the actual problem, it sounds like either some files got damaged or you have a codec incompatibility problem. Try uninstalling all the codecs you can find, and then installing a codec pack (those are, in the case of the good ones, carefully selected so that there aren't any incompatibility problems).

A good one I personally use is the CCCP (Combined Comunity Codec Pack).

JLTucker · Post by **JLTucker** » 2007-01-29 08:50am

Like mmar pointed out, VLC Media Player is the best free player out there.

Also, try a system restore.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-01-29 09:25am

JLTucker wrote:Like mmar pointed out, VLC Media Player is the best free player out there.

Also, try a system restore.

Actually, VLC is pretty lousy. Its codecs don't always work the way they're supposed to and on some file types they're fairly worthless. (Such as h.264). It's decent to check and see if it actually is the codecs or another piece of software causing the trouble, but I'd personally recommend the CCCP and media player classic.

JLTucker · Post by **JLTucker** » 2007-01-29 10:56am

The only problem I have had with VLC is when I view DVDs. The picture looks blocky. h.264 videos work perfectly. I have never had problems.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-01-29 11:32am

JLTucker wrote:The only problem I have had with VLC is when I view DVDs. The picture looks blocky. h.264 videos work perfectly. I have never had problems.

Perhaps they've upgraded the codecs since the last I've tried it, but every single time I've tried using h.264 with VLC I get sound but no video. Wheras it works flawlessly with the CCCP. VLC also has issues rendering subtitles properly, which is another reason I tend to stay away from it.