Vista - Revealing things Microsoft itself says about Media Player

Having trouble playing DVDs in Media Player? Try to get codecs and
Media Player comes back empty? Files stutter, only play either audio
or video, not both? See green, black bars, hear distored audio?

Well you're not alone. This is what MOST people experience using Media
Player. Maybe it would be fun to spend a few minutes reading what
Microsoft says about these issues.

I started by trying to play a DivX video I know Media Player won't
play. The first thing you see is "Windows Media Player can not play
the file. The player might not support the file type or a required
codec may no be installed on your computer."

What does this really mean?

Lets click on the web help button you also see in the above message.
You get taken to a Microsoft web page

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...nalid=8004022A

It basically says: "You've encountered error message C00D119A while
using Windows Media Player". "Typically, the Player automatically
downloads and installs required codecs as needed. However, the Player
was unable to download and install the required codec for this file,
most likely because a codec is not available for the content that you
want to play, or because the Internet security settings for your
browser are set too high and do not allow you to download the codec."

Microsoft further states: "To play DVDs, you must have a DVD-ROM drive
and a software or hardware DVD decoder installed on your computer. If
you do not have a compatible DVD decoder installed, DVD-related
commands, options, and controls do not appear in the Player and you
cannot play DVDs. By default, Some, but not all, versions of Windows
Vista include a DVD decoder. For more information about DVD decoders
for Windows Vista, see the DVD Playback Pack for Windows Vista Web
page at the Microsoft Web site."

To play .mp2v and .dvr-ms files, you must have a software or hardware
DVD decoder installed on your computer. For additional information
about .dvr-ms support in Windows XP, see the Microsoft Download
Center. For more information on supported file types, in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base, see article 316992, "Windows Media Player multimedia
file formats."

In short unless you have the Home Premium or Ultimate version of
Vista, Media Player will NOT play DVDs.

Near the bottom of the linked page it says additional assistance.
Clicking on that link you get taken to a web page titled
Troubleshooting Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...eshooting.aspx

This tells you how to do many common tasks and links to other web
pages. Going to the FAQ, in response to one of the questions takes you
to this Microsoft page:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...ing_files.mspx

Which is another FAQ, for more specific video questions. One such
question is one that comes up a lot in this newsgroup, why does Media
Player keep crashing. Answer and confirmation of what's been said here
many times. According to Microsoft:

"The Player interacts with many system components, including drivers,
codecs, and DirectShow filters. It is possible that the Player is not
responding because of a faulty or incompatible component from another
provider, such as a codec pack. (Examples include the DivXNetworks
Nimo, Tsunami, and K-Lite codec packs, the SoftRom.Net ACE Mega, and
the All in 1 codec packs.)"

"Incompatibilities are known to exist with some of the components in
the codec packs. The incompatibilities can cause serious playback
issues in Windows Media Player and other players, can lead to system
corruption, and can make it difficult for Microsoft Product Support
Services to diagnose and troubleshoot playback problems. For more
information about resolving this problem, see the Using codecs FAQ."

Going to the above FAQ the second question is "Why do I get a message
that says my computer is missing a codec?"

"You are probably trying to play a file that uses a codec that is not
on your computer. When you try to play a file that uses a codec that
is not on your computer, the Player tries to download the codec from a
Microsoft server. If the codec is available, the Player installs it on
your computer and then plays the file. If the codec is not available
on the server (for example, because the codec wasn't created by
Microsoft), the Player displays a message that your computer is
missing a codec. If you are connected to the Internet, the message
usually has a Web Help button that you can click for more information.
If the Player can determine which codec you are missing, when you
click that button, a Help topic is displayed that contains a link to
WMPlugins.com, a Web site that lists a number of codecs that are
available to download. The MPEG-2 and DivX video codecs and the
ACELP.net and Ogg Vorbis audio codecs are examples of codecs that are
not included in the operating system or the Player by default. For
more information, see How do I find a codec?

The next question addresses HOW do you find codecs?

answer:

"When trying to find the right codec for a particular file, you can
use WMPlugins.com or other Web sites. Typically, you should start with
WMPlugins.com first. Note that if you aren't able to find a codec on
WMPlugins.com, it is possible that the codec you are looking for is
not compatible with the Player, so you might not be able to use the
Player for this particular file.

We recommend that you use caution when installing codecs that aren't
listed on WMPlugins.com or Microsoft.com, such as the DivXNetworks
Nimo or Tsunami codec packs. Incompatibilities are known to exist with
some of the components in these codec packs that can cause serious
playback issues in the Player and other players, lead to system
corruption, and make it difficult for Microsoft Support to diagnose
and troubleshoot playback issues. For these reasons, we strongly
discourage you from installing these codec packs, and recommend that
you remove them if you have installed them and are having problems
with the Player. We recommend that you only install codecs, filters,
or plug-ins from trusted, authorized sources, such as the Web site of
the official supplier. Even then, we recommend that you use caution,
because many codec suppliers offer minimal customer support. If your
computer is running Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition or Windows
XP, we recommend that you set a system restore point before installing
any digital media components. This enables you to return to your
original system configuration, if necessary. To learn more about
security, see the Windows Media Player 11"