Help! I cant view videos on my computer

[Tinker Gnome]

Ok, the thingy that plays my vidoes is Windows Media player. I am using WOndows XP and my computer is an HP Pavillion mx703. I can hear sound on the vidoes, but I can not see the video itself. I can still play music using Windows Media Player, but could someone help me figure out what is wrong. I would prefer to have it fixed without using any external sources, due to the fact that it would involve informing my family of what is wrong, and two certain people get VERY angry at me when ever something goes wrong with my computer(Which happens a lot).

 

[Krieg]

The most common problem is that WMP is missing the proper codecs.

What version of WMP are you using? And is the file extension on the video you are trying to play?

Open WMP, select "tools" and then "options". You should see an option to "download codecs automatically". Make sure the box in front of it is checked.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

The most common problem is that WMP is missing the proper codecs.

What version of WMP are you using? And is the file extension on the video you are trying to play?

Open WMP, select "tools" and then "options". You should see an option to "download codecs automatically". Make sure the box in front of it is checked.

It is every video I try to play. And that box is already checked.

Ummm, my version is 9.00.00.3008

My AOl Media Player( I think that is what it is called) will not play videos either.

I have the worst luck with computers, all I do is download music and some videos and it does nto even let me do that.

Wait, I can still play music, but still...

 

[Ranger REG]

The most common problem is that WMP is missing the proper codecs.

What version of WMP are you using? And is the file extension on the video you are trying to play?

Open WMP, select "tools" and then "options". You should see an option to "download codecs automatically". Make sure the box in front of it is checked.

What if WMP can't download the codec for viewing AVI?

 

[Tinker Gnome]

What if WMP can't download the codec for viewing AVI?

I have no clue what you just said. What is AVI?

 

[Ranger REG]

I have no clue what you just said. What is AVI?

A video file format, older than MPEG (*.MPG, *.MPEG).

*.RAM or *.RM is Real format, viewed through RealPlayer
*.MOV or *.QT is QuickTime format, viewed through Apple QuickTime Player.
*.WMV is Windows Media format, viewed through Microsoft Windows Media Player.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

You could try installing the new version of Windows Media Player. That should overwrite anything that's messed up, or replace files that may have gone missing. (Here's the link for version 9, although it may not let you install it -- it may force you to upgrade to 10).

What type of file(s) are you trying to play? If you right-click on the file, select 'Properties' it will tell you under 'Type of File'. Standard Windows Video files (.wmv) should play without too much trouble, but lots of MPEG and AVI files from the internet use different encoding schemes that Windows doesn't support without downloading additional software called codecs. A common symptom of this is hearing audio with no video, and a lot of the more popular formats on the internet won't be downloaded automatically by Windows Media Player.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Look to a third party site such as www.cnet.com download section under media players, there are a number of free players that MAY help you out. Read the reviews for other information.

 

[Psionicist]

Is it AVI-files? Then I suggest you install ffdshow.

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ffdshow/ffdshow-20041012.exe?download