A Codec is Required To Play This File???

Hello,

I am running Windows XP and I am using an up-to-date version of Windows
Media Player 11. I have a video file which I received from a friend about
three or four years ago now. I have played it and viewed it many times in
the past using Windows Media Player with no problems at all. I guess it has
been a little while since I've played it now, because when I went to open it
yesterday, Windows Media Player pops out an error message saying that "A
Codec is reguired to play this file..."

I now know what a codec is, but I have no idea how to get a hold of this
particular codec so that I can start viewing this video once again. I don't
even know how to go about searching for it online because I don't know what
to look for. I have also read that you need to be careful when downloading
codecs because if they are not from a good/trustable source, it could wreak
havoc on your computer. So I am concerned about this as well.

Is there somewhere online where I can download the specific codec that this
video file needs without doing harm to my computer?

Thanks much,
LJV

When seeing the codecs, it looks like the file should be playable by a
default WMP install, without needing any third-party codecs. Are you sure
that the file didn't get damaged? Would it be possible to re-download the
file?

Is WMP able to play other WMV files, or does it show the same error message
for all of them?

In the case that the error is caused by corrupted system files, reinstalling
WMP or rolling back to an earlier System Restore point could help.

Regards

--
Tim De Baets
http://www.bm-productions.tk

"LJV" wrote:

> Thank you for your post here. First, the video is a WMV file type. I
> downloaded the GSpot software from the website and I opened the video using
> this software. Here is what it stated:
>
> Codec (Audio) = 0x0161 [WMA v2]
> Codec (Video) = WMV1, Name = WMP v7
>
> Also, I noticed that when I downloaded this program it is not in my start
> programs list and/or there is no icon for it so I can just click on it. I
> seem to have to locate it everytime within my folder list, click on it and
> run it that way. Is there an easier way to do this? Sorry about this second
> question.
>
> LJV
>
> "Tim De Baets" wrote:
>
> > What's the file type (extension) of the file (AVI, WMV...)?
> >
> > Open the video in GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot , this
> > application will show the audio and video codec used in the file. You
> > can then report those codecs here, so we can point you to the
> > download(s) required to play the video.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > --
> > Tim De Baets
> > http://www.bm-productions.tk
> >
> >
> > "LJV" wrote:
> >
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > I am running Windows XP and I am using an up-to-date version of Windows
> > > Media Player 11. I have a video file which I received from a friend about
> > > three or four years ago now. I have played it and viewed it many times in
> > > the past using Windows Media Player with no problems at all. I guess it has
> > > been a little while since I've played it now, because when I went to open it
> > > yesterday, Windows Media Player pops out an error message saying that "A
> > > Codec is reguired to play this file..."
> > >
> > > I now know what a codec is, but I have no idea how to get a hold of this
> > > particular codec so that I can start viewing this video once again. I don't
> > > even know how to go about searching for it online because I don't know what
> > > to look for. I have also read that you need to be careful when downloading
> > > codecs because if they are not from a good/trustable source, it could wreak
> > > havoc on your computer. So I am concerned about this as well.
> > >
> > > Is there somewhere online where I can download the specific codec that this
> > > video file needs without doing harm to my computer?
> > >
> > > Thanks much,
> > > LJV

What's the file type (extension) of the file (AVI, WMV...)?

Open the video in GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot , this
application will show the audio and video codec used in the file. You
can then report those codecs here, so we can point you to the
download(s) required to play the video.

Regards

--
Tim De Baets
http://www.bm-productions.tk


"LJV" wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am running Windows XP and I am using an up-to-date version of Windows
> Media Player 11. I have a video file which I received from a friend about
> three or four years ago now. I have played it and viewed it many times in
> the past using Windows Media Player with no problems at all. I guess it has
> been a little while since I've played it now, because when I went to open it
> yesterday, Windows Media Player pops out an error message saying that "A
> Codec is reguired to play this file..."
>
> I now know what a codec is, but I have no idea how to get a hold of this
> particular codec so that I can start viewing this video once again. I don't
> even know how to go about searching for it online because I don't know what
> to look for. I have also read that you need to be careful when downloading
> codecs because if they are not from a good/trustable source, it could wreak
> havoc on your computer. So I am concerned about this as well.
>
> Is there somewhere online where I can download the specific codec that this
> video file needs without doing harm to my computer?
>
> Thanks much,
> LJV

Thank you for your post here. First, the video is a WMV file type. I
downloaded the GSpot software from the website and I opened the video using
this software. Here is what it stated:

Codec (Audio) = 0x0161 [WMA v2]
Codec (Video) = WMV1, Name = WMP v7

Also, I noticed that when I downloaded this program it is not in my start
programs list and/or there is no icon for it so I can just click on it. I
seem to have to locate it everytime within my folder list, click on it and
run it that way. Is there an easier way to do this? Sorry about this second
question.

LJV

"Tim De Baets" wrote:

> What's the file type (extension) of the file (AVI, WMV...)?
>
> Open the video in GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot , this
> application will show the audio and video codec used in the file. You
> can then report those codecs here, so we can point you to the
> download(s) required to play the video.
>
> Regards
>
> --
> Tim De Baets
> http://www.bm-productions.tk
>
>
> "LJV" wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am running Windows XP and I am using an up-to-date version of Windows
> > Media Player 11. I have a video file which I received from a friend about
> > three or four years ago now. I have played it and viewed it many times in
> > the past using Windows Media Player with no problems at all. I guess it has
> > been a little while since I've played it now, because when I went to open it
> > yesterday, Windows Media Player pops out an error message saying that "A
> > Codec is reguired to play this file..."
> >
> > I now know what a codec is, but I have no idea how to get a hold of this
> > particular codec so that I can start viewing this video once again. I don't
> > even know how to go about searching for it online because I don't know what
> > to look for. I have also read that you need to be careful when downloading
> > codecs because if they are not from a good/trustable source, it could wreak
> > havoc on your computer. So I am concerned about this as well.
> >
> > Is there somewhere online where I can download the specific codec that this
> > video file needs without doing harm to my computer?
> >
> > Thanks much,
> > LJV

Hi Neil,

I have actually already downloaded the GSpot software and opened the
offending WMV file in GSpot and have listed the Audio and Video Codecs in my
first reply of this discussion. Please take a look at that reply. If you
could then direct me as to how to get this codec and then install it also
that would be great. I am a total newbie to this online media stuff and am a
little clueless as to how to go about remedying this problem.

Thanks,
LJV

"Neil Smith [MVP Digital Media]" wrote:

> On Mon, 24 May 2010 10:02:01 -0700, LJV
> <> wrote:
>
> >Hello,
> >
> >I am running Windows XP and I am using an up-to-date version of Windows
> >Media Player 11. I have a video file which I received from a friend about
> >three or four years ago now. I have played it and viewed it many times in
> >the past using Windows Media Player with no problems at all. I guess it has
> >been a little while since I've played it now, because when I went to open it
> >yesterday, Windows Media Player pops out an error message saying that "A
> >Codec is reguired to play this file..."
> >
> >I now know what a codec is, but I have no idea how to get a hold of this
> >particular codec so that I can start viewing this video once again. I don't
> >even know how to go about searching for it online because I don't know what
> >to look for. I have also read that you need to be careful when downloading
> >codecs because if they are not from a good/trustable source, it could wreak
> >havoc on your computer. So I am concerned about this as well.
> >
> >Is there somewhere online where I can download the specific codec that this
> >video file needs without doing harm to my computer?
>
> Hi - you're right to be cautious of codec packs in general, they can
> often produce a wide variety of undesirable side effects.
>
> Sometimes codecs can be removed by uninstalling apparently unrelated
> software, though that's most often something like a video editing
> package or similar.
>
> Media player allows for plug-ins (codecs) to decode video and/or audio
> which it doesn't have built in decoders for. To identify a video
> decoder needed by media player, the GSpot program can be helpful :
>
> http://www.headbands.com/gspot/
>
> After installing that, open the file in GSpot and click the Render [1]
> and [2] buttons, then inspect the Video Codec and/or Audio Codec
> listed which it finds from the file data.
>
> If you copy and post those values here, we can suggest a minimal but
> working decoder which should get you running.
>
> To save a little time, if the filename ends in .avi *and* happens to
> have 'divx' or 'xvid' somewhere in the filename (common from file
> sharing websites) then the DivX decoder should be enough to get it
> running : http://www.divx.com/en/software/divx-plus/codec-pack
> provides just DivX (MPEG4) and Matroska decoders, which are safe
> enough to install
>
> HTH
> Cheers - Neil
> ------------------------------------------------
> Digital Media MVP : 2004-2010
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/mvpfaqs
> .
>

Hi Tim,

I read your reply that you wrote below a few more times and realized that it
was making a lot of sense. So I just downloaded a fresh version of WMP,
version 11 and the offending video plays now without a hitch. As you had
mentioned below, some of the system files had probably gotten corrupted at
some point and the download corrected all of that. Thanks so much!

LJV

"Tim De Baets" wrote:

> When seeing the codecs, it looks like the file should be playable by a
> default WMP install, without needing any third-party codecs. Are you sure
> that the file didn't get damaged? Would it be possible to re-download the
> file?
>
> Is WMP able to play other WMV files, or does it show the same error message
> for all of them?
>
> In the case that the error is caused by corrupted system files, reinstalling
> WMP or rolling back to an earlier System Restore point could help.
>
> Regards
>
> --
> Tim De Baets
> http://www.bm-productions.tk
>
> "LJV" wrote:
>
> > Thank you for your post here. First, the video is a WMV file type. I
> > downloaded the GSpot software from the website and I opened the video using
> > this software. Here is what it stated:
> >
> > Codec (Audio) = 0x0161 [WMA v2]
> > Codec (Video) = WMV1, Name = WMP v7
> >
> > Also, I noticed that when I downloaded this program it is not in my start
> > programs list and/or there is no icon for it so I can just click on it. I
> > seem to have to locate it everytime within my folder list, click on it and
> > run it that way. Is there an easier way to do this? Sorry about this second
> > question.
> >
> > LJV
> >
> > "Tim De Baets" wrote:
> >
> > > What's the file type (extension) of the file (AVI, WMV...)?
> > >
> > > Open the video in GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot , this
> > > application will show the audio and video codec used in the file. You
> > > can then report those codecs here, so we can point you to the
> > > download(s) required to play the video.
> > >
> > > Regards
> > >
> > > --
> > > Tim De Baets
> > > http://www.bm-productions.tk
> > >
> > >
> > > "LJV" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello,
> > > >
> > > > I am running Windows XP and I am using an up-to-date version of Windows
> > > > Media Player 11. I have a video file which I received from a friend about
> > > > three or four years ago now. I have played it and viewed it many times in
> > > > the past using Windows Media Player with no problems at all. I guess it has
> > > > been a little while since I've played it now, because when I went to open it
> > > > yesterday, Windows Media Player pops out an error message saying that "A
> > > > Codec is reguired to play this file..."
> > > >
> > > > I now know what a codec is, but I have no idea how to get a hold of this
> > > > particular codec so that I can start viewing this video once again. I don't
> > > > even know how to go about searching for it online because I don't know what
> > > > to look for. I have also read that you need to be careful when downloading
> > > > codecs because if they are not from a good/trustable source, it could wreak
> > > > havoc on your computer. So I am concerned about this as well.
> > > >
> > > > Is there somewhere online where I can download the specific codec that this
> > > > video file needs without doing harm to my computer?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks much,
> > > > LJV