Windows Media Player

[bkdraft]

running Vista Ultimate
We have a security camera that takes a short video when motion activated. The file is then emailed to the tech guys. I cannot view the video. It opens Windows Media player and then just sits there with a blank screen. I can use XP and the file plays just fine, just not on my Ultimate computer.

 

[Pbb321]

May want to try downloading a codec pack

 

[bkdraft]

Well I did download a codec player and I can view the videos now, but that still does not explain why they will not work in Media Player.

 

[Pbb321]

When you try to open them in media player, what error message do you get?

 

[bkdraft]

No error message, just sits there and does nothing

 

[Pbb321]

When you play the file, in the bottom left hand corner, do you see any status updates or in the now playing area do you see anything, a filename with a red exclamation mark or triangle?

Also, which codec pack are you using and what format is the video?

 

[bkdraft]

Video is a .asf

 

[Pbb321]

.asf is a weblink to another file, like on a media server for instance. If the file has been moved from the location, then media player will do nothing. Open the asf file properties (right click, properties) and see where the link leads. if its a web address, put it into a web browser and see what comes up.

 

[bkdraft]

Not a web link, its a file, size is 205KB

 

[Pbb321]

205KB is pretty small for a video

 

[bkdraft]

ya, its just a short 3 second clip

 

[Pbb321]

Will it allow you to save in a different format?

 

[bkdraft]

I dont think so, I did download a codec player and can view the video using it, but still wonder about the Media Player. I can veiw the files on a XP machine, just not this Vista Ultimate I am running.

 

[glatzfront]

Does the Ultimate media player work with other videos?

 

[bkdraft]

ya, I use it all the time, just this one format does not work for some reason.

 

[CodyG [Windows Team]]

Bkdraft-
Hi, my name’s Cody, and I’m working with the Windows Media Outreach Team to answer questions and assist with issues that users might have regarding their copies of Windows Media Player.
The problems you are describing certainly sound like you’ve got an issue with codecs on your system. The easiest thing to do will be to use a codec tool to figure out exactly what codecs you may need to play the file.
Here are a couple of free tools that will do this for you: Gspot (GSpot Codec Information Appliance) and Sherlock (SHERLOCK - The Codec Detective - FREE Codec Check Checking Utility!) Both of these work great, and using these on your file will tell you what codecs you need to get a file running properly, without making you download anything that you don’t need.
If you have the codecs listed, you might just have a problem with two codecs conflicting with one another.
Let me know if this helps! If not, we can try and figure out some other ways to fix the issue!
Thanks,
Cody

 

[bkdraft]

I tried the Gspot but it could not figure out the codec. So, I for now will continue to use the geneic player for these files.

 

[CodyG [Windows Team]]

Bkdraft-
Sorry that wasn't helpful! If you've got the latest version of Windows Media Player, it should be able to play that .asf file. There definitely could be a problem with codecs conflicting on your system (if you've installed a lot of them) that is leading to this isolated problem. If you really want to use Media Player for this file, your best bet might be uninstalling all these codecs and reinstalling WMP.
Cheers,
Cody
Windows Media Outreach Team
Thanks,
Cody

 

[bkdraft]

Well actually, I was having some other problems with Vista a I just did a compete reinstall from scratch of Vista Ultimate. I have not downloaded ANYother codecs.
It still does not work. Not sure why, but no big deal I guess. I give up.