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Hi, I'm having some trouble watching videos on Windows Media Player, and wondered if someone could help me out! The video does play, and there is sound, but NO picture. I have Windows Vista, and Windows Media Player 11.
Any help would be great!
Thanks
Hi, I'm having some trouble watching videos on Windows Media Player, and wondered if someone could help me out! The video does play, and there is sound, but NO picture. I have Windows Vista, and Windows Media Player 11.
Any help would be great!
Thanks
You have a missing video codec.
Download GSpot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/), run it and open the video you are trying to watch. Look at the top right hand side of the window and look for the Codec. Then go to CodecGuide (http://www.codecguide.com/) and see if you can find it.
If it's not on there you can Google for it HOWEVER you need to be aware that Codec sites now a primary method of distributing malware so be very careful where you get the Codec from. Make sure it's a legitimate site and scan the codec after you download it and before you install it.
If your worried about installing codecs etc then download this free player called VLC player
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
It can play almost any video file you can throw at it.
There are codec packages available on the net, some people swear by them and some stay clear. Never install more than one codec pack as this can cause instability/corruption of the registry and give you serious problems.
This site has various codec packs but do a little research on them if your thinking of downloading one.
http://www.free-codecs.com/
If your worried about installing codecs etc then download this free player called VLC player
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
It can play almost any video file you can throw at it.
I can second VLC - it just works without a lot of hassle. It is fairly basic in the GUI department though and it's not for the newbie user (it comes from the Linux world where things work a little different).
It is a lot lighter on the PC, memory and CPU wise, than Media Player too which may be a consideration.
Hi, I'm afraid I haven't been able to fix the problem with your advice! I'm sure its me doing something wrong! I downloaded gspot, and opened it while trying to watch a video; in the status box it says 'ready (244 codecs loaded)', but I'm not really sure where to go from here!
Hi, I'm afraid I haven't been able to fix the problem with your advice! I'm sure its me doing something wrong! I downloaded gspot, and opened it while trying to watch a video; in the status box it says 'ready (244 codecs loaded)', but I'm not really sure where to go from here! What you need to do is close Media Player and the video you're trying to watch and run GSpot. Then, in GSpot, go to File->Open and then select the video. It will then show you details of the video. Check on the right hand side of the GSpot window, at the top there is a Codec field. Underneath is information on whether the Codec it needs is loaded. If it's not, then search for the Codec you need (as shown by the Codec field). Is that any clearer?
Hi, I'm sorry to be such a nuisance, but I'm so un-technical, and still haven't got anywhere with your advice! My main problem is that I am unable to watch videos on the internet, such as the catch up on itv.com, and the video news clips on stv.com and bbc.com (i dont use the media player any other time) Does this then indicate a problem with my media player, or is it something else?
Hi, I'm sorry to be such a nuisance, but I'm so un-technical, and still haven't got anywhere with your advice! My main problem is that I am unable to watch videos on the internet, such as the catch up on itv.com, and the video news clips on stv.com and bbc.com (i dont use the media player any other time) Does this then indicate a problem with my media player, or is it something else?
AHHHHHHH ... that's different. I assumed from what you had said you were watching a normal video that you had on your PC.
Is it this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7403582.stm) type of clip you're watching (the one where the judge is speaking) or something else? If it's something else, then we need a link for it.
The clips on the sites you mention normally need Flash Player (http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer) and Javascript turned on. The BBC website needs BBC player which it will tell you how to install when you got onto the site.
The problem I have with this is that you say you can get audio but not video. If Flash / Javascript wasn't installed you'd get nothing.
Well, for clips on the BBC website (like the one with the judge) it does not play at all, but for clips like http://www.stv.tv/news/ (http://www.stv.tv/news/Luke_Mitchell_fails_to_have_murder_conv_0805161041 04408) , there is sound but no picture!
However, I have no trouble at all watching BBC iplayer - it plays perfectly!
Well, for clips on the BBC website (like the one with the judge) it does not play at all, but for clips like http://www.stv.tv/news/ (http://www.stv.tv/news/Luke_Mitchell_fails_to_have_murder_conv_0805161041 04408) , there is sound but no picture!
However, I have no trouble at all watching BBC iplayer - it plays perfectly!
The plot thickens.
For the BBC website I doubt you have Flash Player installed - go here (http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/) to check it.
The sound issue is weird but I'm still sure it's a Codec thing.
Can you download this video from here (http://home.cvc.org/wmv/advcomp.wmv), save it onto your PC and then double-click it to open in Windows Media Player. Does it play the video and audio? (Note that I just Googled for this video, I know nothing about it other than having watched it briefly to make sure I'm not posting a link to something unsuitable!)
Checked flash player and it IS installed!
Downloaded the video clip, and audio and video both play fine!
But, clips on BBC and STV websites are still not working!
Checked flash player and it IS installed!
Downloaded the video clip, and audio and video both play fine!
But, clips on BBC and STV websites are still not working!
Which browser are you using?
There is something wrong with either the browser or the browser plugins. I'd uninstall Flash Player completely and reboot. Then I'd go back to the BBC website link I sent and see if it asks you to install Flash Player again. If it does, do so and see if that works. If it doesn't, go tot he Flash Player link I sent in my last email and install it from there.
This doesn't help with the STV videos just now but it will prove that the plugins for the browser are not working.
The STV site uses WMV streams I believe and the video I got you to download was WMV. Media Player installs WMV by default but I thought perhaps it was broken.
When you go to the STV site what do you see (rather than hear) - is it just a black box? Any text?
When you go to the BBC site what do you see in the box where the video should be?
I'm using internet explorer 7.
I uninstalled Flash Player, then downloaded again through the link on the BBC website.
The BBC website says 'sorry this content is not available at the moment' (but I know it works on my friends computers)
The STV website plays sound, but the screen is black.
I'm using internet explorer 7.
I uninstalled Flash Player, then downloaded again through the link on the BBC website.
The BBC website says 'sorry this content is not available at the moment' (but I know it works on my friends computers)
The STV website plays sound, but the screen is black.
Do you have a firewall or antivirus / antispyware software installed? Are you able to safely stop it? It could be a firewall issue ...
Can you watch videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com)?
I managed to temporarily disable Windows Firewall, but this did not help!
Yes, youtube works perfectly.
I managed to temporarily disable Windows Firewall, but this did not help!
Yes, youtube works perfectly.
Okay ... scratching head ...
Can you go into Windows Media Player->File->Open URL and type this URL: http://wm.stv.tv/160508mitchell2.wmv
Does this work?
Can you also go into IE and open Tools->Options->Security (tab) and select Internet and tell me what the 'Security level for this zone' is?
No, the video doesnt work (there is sound but no picture).
The security level is medium-high.
No, the video doesnt work (there is sound but no picture).
The security level is medium-high.
Can you reinstall Windows Media Player (go here (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx) for more info)?
I tried reinstalling Windows Media Player through the link, but a message appeared saying
"there is a more recent version of Windows Media Player (11.0.6000.6344) installed on your computer. It is not possible to use an older installation package (11.0.5721.5146) to install files or to repair your current version of the player.
Because when you tried to play the file using the link and the video wasnt available, it is definately a problem with windows media player. If you save that file to your computer and try and play it with a different media player does it work?
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