Having problems playing video files

[philly33flyers]

Hey everyone. I have a problem where I can play a video file on my desktop computer. It'll be like 20 minutes long or whatever and it plays fine the whole thing. But then, when i try to play the video on my laptop either by streaming it over the network or actually copying the file to the laptop hard drive and play it there the video is only about 1 minute long. The file size is the same and all the codecs on both computers are the same. I am using windows media player to play these. If you're just going to say that wmp sucks don't use it then don't even bother to reply bedause obviously if it plays on one computer fine then it's not that wmp sucks. But if someone could please help me out it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Tommyknocker]

Have you at least tried another player. The reason Movie Maker gets such bad reviews here is that it never gives the same performance from system to system.

[jimmalenko]

Have you at least tried another player. The reason Movie Maker gets such bad reviews here is that it never gives the same performance from system to system.

ummmm ..... Movie Maker ....... Media Player ......

It obviously sounds like something is amiss on your laptop ... maybe try a different player just to confirm that it is or isn't Windows Media Player causing the issue. At least then you could rule it out.

[philly33flyers]

I just tried ZoomPlayer and BSPlayer which both seem to be very popular around here and get the same results. So does anyone have any idea why it does this or how i can correct it?

[jimmalenko]

I just tried ZoomPlayer and BSPlayer which both seem to be very popular around here and get the same results. So does anyone have any idea why it does this or how i can correct it?

Well, that rules out Windows Media Player

Sounds like a codec issue, or some other OS-related issue to me.

[philly33flyers]

both systems are running windows xp...codecs are the same...some of the files are mpg so no codec is needed...some of them are xvid or divx and the proper codecs are installed on both computers since i am able to play some other files of the same format

[jimmalenko]

codecs are the same

Codecs can get corrupted

some of the files are mpg so no codec is needed

A codec is still required, it's just that Windows Media Player has it's own MPEG-1 codec

some of them are xvid or divx and the proper codecs are installed on both computers since i am able to play some other files of the same format

So is it happening on just the one file, or multiple files ? If it's just the one file, then there's something wrong with that file

[philly33flyers]

no it's happening with multiple files...but like i said i'm able to play every single file on my desktop computer no matter what....now on my laptop when i stream it over the network or even play it off the hard drive the same file will only play for about 1 minute even though it's a 20 minute video

now although this is happening with multiple files...if i randomly go find another file of the same format that'll play just fine...i find it hard to believe it's a problem with the files when there's so many of them and when i can play them just fine on the desktop without any problems.

[jimmalenko]

Let's leave the desktop out of this for a second, since there's no funky behaviour going on there ...

Please correct any bits I get wrong:
Many files (all using the same codec ? or various codecs ?) when played using either Windows Media Player, ZoomPlayer of BSPlayer all exhibit the same behaviour, yet there are some files using the same codec that play fine ?

[philly33flyers]

many files using various codecs (mpeg, xvid, divx) when played in any of the video players you mentioned exhibit the same behavior yet some files that use the same codecs work just fine. that is correct.

[jimmalenko]

many files using various codecs (mpeg, xvid, divx) when played in any of the video players you mentioned exhibit the same behavior yet some files that use the same codecs work just fine. that is correct.

IMO the laptop's Windows install must be fooked up. It's gotta be. That's the only common factor.

Codecs are ruled out because it's happening to all codecs, yet some files play fine
Files are ruled out because they all play fine on the desktop machine
Players are ruled out because they all exhibit the same behaviour

It's gotta be the OS

[philly33flyers]

yeah i'm not going to reinstall the os...there's got to be something else.

[deadpac]

Why don't you give VLC a try. I know this player doesn't rely on any codecs being installed; I have used it plenty of times on various computers at work. Even though VLC was installed none of the computers would play any of the xvid avi's I kept on every one of them, when I tried to use wmp on them.

[live4ever]

I didn't see you mention what the file is or how it is encoded. If it's an mpeg1 it might have timecode breaks in it.

But definitely get VLC from videolan.org and try it (I really like it for any kind of network video).

[philly33flyers]

again...if there was a problem with the video itself...then it wouldn't play on the other computer. the main thing here is why is it playing on one computer whereas it's not playing on another. the codecs and everything are exactly the same. if it's a problem with timecode breaks then it shouldn't play on the first computer either.

[bazooka]

Jim gave you the answer earlier.

That is not going to change.

You can do all the hoping in the world, but it is not going to change the fact that it is reinstall time.

[philly33flyers]

Reinstalling isn't an acceptable option. It's also not logical. While it may be the easiest solution to give someone when they have a problem, it doesn't answer the question.

If infact the drivers are corrupt or the codecs are corrupt or there's something wrong with the windows installation then why (if we eliminate the desktop computer completely) does this computer play SOME xvid and mpg files perfectly fine?

I know that reinstalling would most likely solve the problem but it doesn't answer the question. It's just the quick answer and not a real solution.

[bazooka]

Reinstalling isn't an acceptable option. It's also not logical. While it may be the easiest solution to give someone when they have a problem, it doesn't answer the question.

If infact the drivers are corrupt or the codecs are corrupt or there's something wrong with the windows installation then why (if we eliminate the desktop computer completely) does this computer play SOME xvid and mpg files perfectly fine?

I know that reinstalling would most likely solve the problem but it doesn't answer the question. It's just the quick answer and not a real solution.

It is logical.

[philly33flyers]

And that's your opinion since you are obviously close minded to the issue. So I will wait for other responses

[junkmalle]

Maybe it's an audio codec that's causing the problem, not a video codec. That could be the common factor between the different file types.

If you installed a codec pack that could be the source of your problem. They are notorious for conflicts.

Just because you have the same codecs installed doesn't mean the same codecs are being used to play the files. For example, Divx and Xvid can play each others files. Which one you installed last usually ends up being the one that's used.

You should try removing all "optional" codecs from your laptop and reinstalling the ones you need.