views may varry from one Windows version to another.
The most common codec problems asked are why can't I playback a type of file.
Audio and Video files are encoded in several different formats called CODEC's.
The term Codecs is short for compress - decompressor, or an algorithm, or
scheme used when recording digital audio or video. A codec is used, for
example, when video is compresed on the send end, and decompressed on the
receiving end. The reason
for this has to do with bandwidth considerations on transfer of any data over a
connection. There are needless to say several different audio and video codecs
in use and most are supported by Windows operation.
However some are not
installed or switched on by default. Generally most of the CODECs used for
audio play back are found in the l3codecx.exe file
(zipped version download here)
, or
unzipped download from here,
or it is already installed in Windows be default. In
most cases,
to play MP3s as well as some other files you will need this codec:
l3codecx.exe (227 kb). Unzip the codec with a program like Winzip, and run the
installer. Then to complete the install of the codec take the following steps:
go to Control Panel (Start - Settings - Control Panel) in Control Panel double
click Multimedia icon go to the Advanced tab in the opened window the
installed codec (Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec) must be present in Audio
codecs list Note: if there are two or more Fraunhofer codecs in the list,
remove them all, reboot and install the codec again.
If the codec is in the
list but files still do not play do the following: in Audio codecs list select
your one (Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec) and press Properties button be
sure that Use this audio codec option is on (otherwise turn it on) increase
the codec priority in Change priority field. ( if it is set to 8 set it to 4
or something like that. ) Final thoughts above Audio playback. Not all
programs support all Codecs when used within the program. If you are unable to
play back say a WAV format file within a given program, you may wish to open
the file with
SOUND RECORDER in Windows
( START, PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES,
ENTERTAINMENT, SOUND RECORDER, in most Windows Versions, ) and open the file to
see what CODEC is used. It is VERY possible to convert most common codecs to
another format. For example it is possible to change a Lernout & Hauspie
16kb/Sec mono format to a PCM 16 bit 24,000 hz Stereo format if you need to so
it would play back within the software you are using. To do this you simply
need to open the file with Sound Recorder then after checking to insure you
have opened the correct file, click on File, then Properties, and then Convert
Now. Select from one of the other choices offered by the dialog box. After the
conversion process is done select SAVE or SAVE AS to save a copy of the file in
the new format. This is not to say Sound Recorder will correct for a poor
recording you get in a small format, and make it sound like a studio grade
recording. It will just allow the sound file to be changed to use a CODEC your
system normally plays well.
Video playback also uses CODECs to compress the information. If you have
problems playing back a video format it is likely either your video player does
not support the format, or you lack the correct codec to play it back. In most
cases I just suggest you download and install
Windows Media Player.
There are also some sites listed at the bottom of this page that have
additional codec downloads for other formats such as Quicktime, RealPlayer, and
other less used AVI formats. As far as the use other software, I have found
that in most cases the Windows Media Player with all it's possible faults still
is the best player for most people.
The version of Windows Media Player you get to work well for you however is
pretty much a role of the dice. Some of this most likely is due to processor
speed, memory avaiIable, and perhaps even sound and video cards used.
Personally never had any luck with Windows Media Player 7.0 for web based
Playback but version 6.4 worked without
fault in this area. Given the fact uninstalling Windows Media Player is hard,
in some cases requiring registry edits, I suggest if you do not have Windows
Media Player installed already to try to work from Version 6.4 if you have
Windows 95 or 98 first and move up from there if you do not have good results.
If you have problems with Windows Media Player 6.4 then download the 7.0 or 7.1
version. If you are using Windows 98SE/ME/2000 I believe you need to use the
7.0 or higher version anyway. The reason why I suggest the Windows Media
Player is that it supports the widest range of formats from what I have seen,
and supplies the needed Codecs as well with the install. It is also a good
fall back player to have on your system. You can work our from that point on
which files you wish it to play back with the OPTIONs setting in Windows Media
Player and if you do not select any files for it to attempt to play back it
will only be used when other media player fail to play something back.
Which ever version
of Windows Media Player you decide upon make sure you check for security
updates.
Both 6.4 and 7.0 versions have security issues to be considered and patches
that should be applied. The pages listed below deal with the security issues
and are Microsoft page links.
If the link does not work try going to the search function at
Microsoft.com
and trying the file names or the Release ID numbers in the search function.
Links open in new Browser Windows and you should be able to see the URL you are
being sent to on the bottom of your browser screen.
Windows Update
is where you can download Windows Media Player 7.1
All the above good links as of 7.-20-2001 @12:00 noon EDT. After that who
knows? Windows Media Player 7.1 I do not believe has updates required as of
this time but again who knows when that will change.
If you already have the player(s) you may in some cases just lack the
MP4 Codec (divx_31alpha.exe)
or one of the other versions available on the links below. The link supplied
here is to a zipped version, from another website of mine. To make use of it :
Download divx_31alpha.zip (561 kb), then unzip with something like Winzip.
After the codec has been installed: go to Control Panel (Start - Settings -
Control Panel) in Control Panel double click Multimedia icon go to the
Advanced tab in the opened window the installed codecs (DiVX ;-) MPEG-4 Video
Codec (Fast and Low motion)) must be present in Video codecs list If the
codecs are present but video playback is still incorrect do the following: in
Video codecs list select your codecs (DiVX ;-) MPEG-4 Video Codec (Fast/Low
motion)) and press Properties button be sure that Don't play sound for this
device option is off (uncheck it) repeat this for both Fast and Low motion
codecs. This should allow you to play back the most common video format files.
But I am limited on memory and many audio/video files play poorly when I
attempt to play them. Like all software on your computer, audio and video
compression or decompression takes processing time and memory. If you are
limited on memory you can try a few common sence things to correct the problem.
First off, limit how many programs you have running. This includes programs on
the System Tray and running in the background. If you cut down on the ones you
are not using, you should free up both memory and processor time. If you are
still not seeing what you want, you can adjust some settings slightly in the
control panel on Windows ( START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL, SOUND or SOUND AND
MULTIMEDIA ) then select audio on most versions of Windows or hardware and
perhaps then advanced settings. It should have a slide about hardware
acceleration, which you can try moving one why or the other as well as sampling
which you can also adjust. Try to select a new setting that may not be so
demanding on your processor. You may also have some success by reducing the
video resolution/color depth on some systems if you are using the processor for
video ( not AGP video cards ). If you are using Windows Media Player 7.0 or
7.1 you may also wish to select a player without the visualizations showing on
the screen. If all that has not corrected your problems you may wish to try
MagicPlayer on my Helps and Links page as it is a far smaller media player
than Windows Media Player. ( I do not suggest using it for a default player
but it works well for playing the more common video and audio formats on
systems strapped for memory or processor power. ) You can find the link for
the Helps and Links page at the bottom of this screen.
FILES ON THIS SITE WERE SCANNED WITH TWO ANTI-VIRUS SCANNERS BEFORE THEY WERE
UPLOADED TO THE SERVER AND WORKED FINE FOR ME WITH WINDOWS 98.
Close this window to return to the main index page.
Files only available in zipped format from this site. If you need an unzip
utility I suggest
Winzip
(link opens in new browser window ).
The most common codec problems asked are why can't I playback a type of file.
Audio and Video files are encoded in several different formats called CODEC's.
The term Codecs is short for compress - decompressor, or an algorithm, or
scheme used when recording digital audio or video. A codec is used, for
example, when video is compresed on the send end, and decompressed on the
receiving end. The reason
for this has to do with bandwidth considerations on transfer of any data over a
connection. There are needless to say several different audio and video codecs
in use and most are supported by Windows operation.
However some are not
installed or switched on by default. Generally most of the CODECs used for
audio play back are found in the l3codecx.exe file
If the codec is in the
list but files still do not play do the following: in Audio codecs list select
your one (Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec) and press Properties button be
sure that Use this audio codec option is on (otherwise turn it on) increase
the codec priority in Change priority field. ( if it is set to 8 set it to 4
or something like that. ) Final thoughts above Audio playback. Not all
programs support all Codecs when used within the program. If you are unable to
play back say a WAV format file within a given program, you may wish to open
the file with