Working with Media in Vista
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If you're wrestling with the way Windows Vista handles media on your computer, keep reading. This article, the first part of a five-part series, will help you troubleshoot any problems you have playing video. It is excerpted from chapter four of the book
Windows Vista Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Hacks for the Cranky Consumer, written by David A. Karp (O'Reilly, 2008; ISBN: 0596527624). Copyright © 2008 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O'Reilly Media.
In the old days, media problems meant using a butter knife to pry a tape out of your VCR. Today, it means tracking down obscure drivers, repairing corrupt media files, hassling with overblown media players, and deciphering incoherent CD burning errors.
Microsoft wants you to think that Vista handles videos, pictures, music, and other media better than any previous version of Windows, and in some ways, it does. For one, Vista’s hefty hardware requirements mean that your PC—should it be capable of running Vista—will have the power to handle any media task you throw at it. Windows Explorer recognizes photo, video, and audio files, and displays their embedded information alongside other details, like the file size and date. And Vista recognizes more media file formats and graphics hardware out of the box than, say, Windows XP. But as they say, the devil is in the details, and, as it turns out, in the codecs as well.
Playing Video Ever encounter a video file Windows won’t play? Unlike most other types of files, the filename extension alone doesn’t dictate the encoding scheme. All .jpg image files use standard JPEG compression, but a given .mpg movie file may employ any one of dozens of available compression standards, called codecs. Without the proper codec for a video file, you won’t be able to play the video or even convert it into another format.
A codec (which stands for compressor/decompressor) is software installed on your PC, akin to a device driver, with all the pitfalls and frustrations that implies. Codecs are frequently buggy, causing video distortion or even crashes. Vista only includes codecs for a few common standards; need anything else, and you’re on your own. And, of course, the More Information link Media Player shows you when it can’t play a video doesn’t provide anything one would recognize as useful information.
To play a particular video, you need to install the same codec that was used to create (compress) the video in the first place, regardless of the player application you’re using. To determine which codec was used, you’ll need a program like GSpot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/) or AVIcodec (http:// avicodec.duby.info), both of which are free. Just drag-drop the video file onto GSpot (Figure 4-1) or AVIcodec, and the program will display the file’s video codec, audio codec, and other statistics.
Figure 4-1. Use GSpot to find the software necessary to play a given video clip
The codec utility may indicate that the required codec is already installed. As comforting as that may be, you might still need to download and install the latest version of the codec to play the troublesome video. Otherwise, you may not have all the latest bugs...er, fixes.
If one of these tools can’t identify the codec, the file is probably corrupted or encoded with a nonstandard scheme. Provided you’re not able to ask who-ever created the file for information about the software used, the easiest trick is to open the file in a standard text editor and look for the four-digit 4CC code near the beginning. Figure 4-2 shows the code buried in a file,DIVXin this case, which indicates that the DivX decompressor is needed to play this video.
Figure 4-2. A hex editor or text editor will show you the 4CC code embedded in the beginning of most movie files
Armed with the name (or 4CC code) of the codec, proceed to http://www.fourcc.org/fcccodec.htm, and download the codec installer from the list. If the 4CC code isn’t there, a quick Google search (along with the word “codec”) should turn up some useful leads.
Installing and Managing AX Codecs
In an attempt to find the right codec to play a video, you might come across a lone .ax file with no installer. This is indeed a codec, albeit not a friendly one.
To install the codec, just copy the .ax file to your \Windows\System32 folder. Next, right-click the .ax file, select Properties, and then click the Change button (under the General tab). Click Browse, navigate to your \Windows\System32 folder, select regsvr32.exe, click Open, and then click OK. Thereafter, you can simply double-click .ax files to register them.
Alternatively, you can open a Command Prompt window (cmd.exe), typecd\Windows\System32to change to that folder, and then typeregsvr32FLVSplitter.axto register the file. (Or, typeregsvr32 /uFLVSplitter.axto unregister/uninstall it.)
If you see a message like “DLLRegisterServer in C:\Windows\System32\FLVSplitter.ax succeeded,” then the new codec is installed and ready to use.
The SLD Active Codec Selector (free, www.skynet4ever.tk) is a handy tool you can use to list registered codecs on your PC and even selectively disable codecs you suspect might be causing problems.
Once you’ve installed the codec, try playing the video again. Keep in mind that there are often multiple versions of a single codec available—sometimes from different vendors—so you may need to install several codecs before you find the one that works.
After a bit of searching, you’ll probably figure out how widespread this video codec problem really is. Fortunately, some enterprising individuals have created codec packages, large installers that include several, if not dozens, of the codecs that people seem to need most. One good example, known simply as the Vista Codec Package, is available for free from http:// www.jtow.net/users/triess/.
Some of these packages are better than others, and depending on what’s included (or what isn’t), some may cause more problems than they solve. For best results, remove any separate, standalone codecs you’ve installed before trying out a codec package.
If, after installing an individual codec or codec package, some of your videos no longer play (or their thumbnails no longer show up), there’s a little trick you can try before you uninstall and give up. The FFDShow Video Decoder Configuration tool, included with many codec packages and shown in Figure4-3, helps you troubleshoot specific codec problems.
For instance, on one PC, Vista lost the ability to play back .avi files: Media Player crashed each time one was opened, and Windows Explorer displayed an error message whenever it attempted to render thumbnails for the videos. To fix a problem like this, open the FFDShow Video Decoder Configuration tool, select Codecs on the left, and then find the codec that’s causing the problem in the right pane. Then, in the Decoder column, use the drop-down listbox to choose a different decoder from the list. Click OK when you’re done; the change should take effect immediately.
Next: Repair Broken and Incomplete Videos >>
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 This article is excerpted from chapter four of the book Windows Vista Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Hacks for the Cranky Consumer, written by David A. Karp (O'Reilly, 2008; ISBN: 0596527624). Check it out today at your favorite bookstore. Buy this book now.
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