Help Playing .avi

Rallycat · Post by **Rallycat** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 4:44 pm

This is more a question about playing AMVs than making them, but I was hoping to get some help anyways.

I bought my computer a couple of years ago with the sole purpose to make and play AMVs. It makes them pretty well, but when I try to play them in Windows Media Player, it usually shuts down at the end of the video. I switched to RealPlayer and this helps with most of the videos, but I have an .avi file that just won't show up. It won't run in Media Player at all, it ran and crashed in the older version of RealPlayer I had and now that I updated, it runs with just the music and some pieces of graphics in the new version.

This isn't a video I made myself, and I'm not that computer savvy, so I'm having real trouble figuring what the issue is.

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 4:51 pm

sounds like you don't have a codec.
right-click the video file, click properties, go to the summary tab and click advanced (if it says simple then you're already in the avanced summary)

look near the bottom for "video compression" and google what it says.
(when looking for codecs this way, you don't want the source code)
if you don't see anything there then you'll have to get a program like GSpot to tell you what codec you need.

at any rate, post whatever info you find

Rallycat · Post by **Rallycat** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:31 pm

Thanks for the help. When I click on properties, I don't see anything. Have downloaded GSpot and am now fiddling around with it (I think that's the technical term), but haven't solved my video problem yet.

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:38 pm

not much to fiddle around with...drag and drop the file you want information about into the program and look near the top for "codec"

post what that says (and if it says codec not installed below it)

Rallycat · Post by **Rallycat** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:54 pm

Under status, it says, "Codecs are installed."

And the Codec is listed as, "DX50/xvid."

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:08 pm

then you need the xvid codec avaliable here
(get the .exe)

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:11 pm

bah...stupid homework...
codecs are installed eh?
you might have divx 5 (that file is supposed to be able to be played with either divx 5 or xvid)

getting the latest version of xvid shouldn't hurt though.

other than that, you may want to get a different media player like VLC player

Rallycat · Post by **Rallycat** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:49 pm

Getting VLC finally got it to work! Thanks so much!