why cant i play video files with .avi extension with windows media player

---

Request for Question Clarification by joseleon-ga on 12 Dec 2003 23:14 PST

Hello, sageworks:
  That depends of the codec used to encode those avi files. I will
provide a tool for you to discover which codecs do you need and what
do you need to get them. Is that information enough for you so I can
answer this question?

Regards.

Hello, sageworksinc:

AVI files can be encoded to reduce size, to reproduce them in Windows
Media Player you will need to install the right "codecs", so it can
decode the file and play it. There are two kind of codecs: video
codecs and sound codecs.

To get the codecs, the easiest way is to install a "codec pack", which
include most of the codecs you will need:

Nimo Codec Pack
http://www.divx-digest.com/software/nimo_pack.html

Elisoft Codec Pack
http://www.divx-digest.com/software/elisoft_codec_pack.html

It's just a matter to install one codec pack and try to reproduce your
.avi file, if it still doesn't work, install the other and try again.

There is a handy utility that lets you know which codecs do you need
to reproduce an .avi file and test whether you have them already
installed or not, please, check out:

GSpot
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

These are the main features:

  - Establishes what video codecs (audio and video) are required to
play an AVI file.
  - Determines whether these codecs are installed on your system. 
  - Isolates problems associated with these codecs. 
  - Simple operation - Basic use: "File > Open", then read results 

-----------------------------------------------------------
 
  - Identifies download induced problems (truncated files, "cooked" files, etc.) 
  - Shows framerate, duration, aspect ratio, bitrates, AVI structure
info, and more.
  - Displays and allows editing of  RIFF info (title, etc); displays
"hidden" ASCII info.

-----------------------------------------------------------
 
  - Drag and Drop and "Send To" support, multi-file (batch) processing support 
  - Copy/Paste or text export GSpot information - format is user configurable. 
  - Built-in database of 350 video and 150 audio codec types 
  - Advanced UI including "dual-mode" and hyperlinked "persistent" tool tips 

-----------------------------------------------------------
 
  - Full support for OGG media files as well as AVI stream formats 
  - Identification (only) of non-AVI files (.mpg, .mov, .qt, .rm,
.swf, .wmv, .asf, etc.)
  - Supports VFW, ACM, DirectShow and DMO codec types (audio and video) 

-----------------------------------------------------------
 
  - Win95/98/ME/NT/2K/XP 
  - No Install (optional), No spyware, No advertising, No registration 
  - Free 

You can download it from here:

GSpot Downloads
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/download.html

Sometimes can be very frustrating to reproduce an encoded .avi file
because you need the right codec, so if still doesn't work, please,
don't hesitate to request for any clarification until we find a
solution to your problem.

Regards.

Thanks Joe, Deeply i say thanks.

Hello sageworksinc, I have quite a bit of experience playing different
video formats on my pc, and sympathize with your frustration - I have
been there. For your future enjoyment, I would recommend trying a
video player called BSPlayer (http://www.bsplayer.org). It has many
useful features, the most enjoyable of which is the possibility to
modify the aspect ratio of the video file. That means, for example,
that instead of having a very wide but thin strip of video, in some
instances, you can change that to a 16:9 ratio (dvd style) or 4:3 (tv
style) if you prefer. That is the main reason I changed video player
from Windows media player. Playing different types of video files on a
pc can be a tricky and frustrating operation because of the different
number of codecs used and the muscle of your computer. Before changing
video player I did quite a bit of research on the web, and this is the
best I have found. According to the info I have found in usergroups
and with the program "Spybot Search and Destroy", this video player
does not contain spyware. I recently updgraded my pc to enable the
play of most all video files with higher bitrates. In the past, when
my pc was lacking in muscle, I used to use a program called
VirtualDub. This did exactly what the title implies, in that it took
the file that was too "heavy" for my pc and put it on a diet so I
could play it. I wish you many hours of viewing pleasure.

Fij.