about 60% of the time I get a clip that Windows Media Player should be
able to play, it can't, or can't completely (like just audio ir just
video).  Surely codecs are to blame - aften WMP says so, even making
the effort to download the appropriate codec on its own.  It has never
succeeded.  I can only assume that WMP thought that it new what it was
looking for, so why not tell me?

So, my question is this: how can I determine what codec I lack?  Is
there a way to get this info from the file itself?  I'm savvy enough,
just tell me what I need to look for and I'll do all the footwork.  It
seems like I have run into this a thousand times with a thousand clips
all the while coming accross a thousand websites each with a thousand
codecs available for download or purchase.  Seems like there should be
some way of identifying the demanded codec so that I can then avail
myself of the copious codec supply out there on the web.  Is this
doable?