Related Pages
Help with Burning Audio CDs
Help with Burning Video DVDs (DVD-Video)

If Downloaded or Burned Media Don't Play Correctly on Your Computer

Please let me know if neither of the options below solves your playback problem. I'd like to troubleshoot further in order to be able to help you as well as others who may be having the same difficulty. I'm very interested in hearing whether you were able to download and play or burn and play the media files in the Downloads from Mary area and whether you needed to take either of the steps on this page in order to do so, so please let me know.

Page Menu
Introduction
Option 1: Easiest Option: Download and Install the VLC Media Player (Try this first.)
Option 2: Download and Install a K-Lite Codec Pack

Introduction

If audio or video downloaded from the Internet or burned to disc don't play properly on your computer, you may need additional codecs or filters. Codec is short for compressor-decompressor or coder-decoder. The type of codec I talk about on this page is a piece of software that is able to decode and encode a digital data stream or signal. Codecs, and sometimes DirectShow filters, are needed for playing audio and video formats. Downloadable codecs should always be free.

Just because a video that you downloaded from Downloads from Mary doesn't look as sharp as a movie from the video store looks, that doesn't mean that the video isn't playing properly or that you need additional codecs or filters. That video is probably one that I downloaded from a site like YouTube, and such videos are made for a small screen, so when you view them on a larger screen (full computer-monitor screen or TV screen) there's going to be some resolution loss. If you view such a video on your computer, you may notice how much sharper and smoother the video looks when you view it in a small display than when you view it in Full Screen. Still, when you play a DVD of the video in an external DVD player, you may be surprised how watchable it is. But if on your computer, your video doesn't display at all or if it's unwatchable or has other obvious problems, then it may help to try one of the two options on this page.

Also, just because you can play other WMV videos on your computer doesn't mean that you can play (without additional codecs or filters) WMV videos downloaded from Downloads from Mary. In order to convert a video to WMV for you, I may have used codecs that you need in order to play the video. Back to menu

Option 1: Easier Option: Download and Install the VLC Media Player

Although I don't have the VLC Player (because I don't need it), I've read and heard the following about it:

VLC media player (a.k.a. VideoLAN player) is a free, recommended audio and video player that supports almost every audio and video codec and format and plays almost everything, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, WMV, MP3, OGG and others, as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. This player doesn't use DirectShow filters to play files, but it has its own plug-ins. It also works great for previewing partially downloaded files. VLC includes a large number of popular audio and video encoding and decoding codecs, so you may not need any additional codecs.

To download and install the VLC media player, do the following:

Go to the following page, which is the software publisher's website:
http://www.videolan.org
Scroll down a bit to where you can see, in the right column of the page, the Download Now link;
Click on the appropriate link there; depending on whether or not you have a Windows operating system;
When you're asked whether you want to run or save the file, click on the Save button;
When you get to the Save As dialogue box, look near the top where it says, Save in;
Click on the little down arrow at the end of that Save in slot, and browse to a folder in which you want to save the file or in which you want to create a new folder for the file;
If you want to create a new folder for the download file, click on the Create New Folder icon (which is one of the little icons to the right of the Save in slot), and type a name for the new folder;
Click on the folder prepared for the download (to open the folder);
Click on the Save button;
After the download is complete, browse to the folder to which you downloaded the file;
Click on the folder to which you downloaded the file (to open the folder);
Click on the executable file that you downloaded;
Follow the installation wizard's prompts, clicking on the Next button when appropriate. During the installation, I recommend that you deselect any file associations (if there are any). And regarding any other setup or configuration settings, if you're not sure about any of them, just keep the default settings;
After you click on the Finish button, restart your computer to completely install all components.

After you've rebooted, try playing, in VLC media player, the video that was not playing properly on your computer.

To play an audio or video file in VLC player, do the following (steps may not be exact):

Open VLC player;
Click on File;
Click on Open File;
Click on the Browse button;
Navigate through your hard drive to get to the file that you want to play;
Highlight the file that you want to play;
Click on the OK button;
VLC will start playing the audio or video file. Back to menu

Option 2: Download and Install a K-Lite Codec Pack

While I don't want to be responsible for any consequences of your installing codecs, I've installed helpful codecs on my system, and I'd install a K-Lite Codec Pack if installing the VLC Player didn't solve a playback problem on my computer. K-Lite can be uninstalled. And, if I were going to install a K-Lite Codec Pack, I'd install either the Full or the Mega package. The only difference between K-Lite Full and K-Lite Mega is that Mega also includes Real Alternative, which is a codec pack that I have installed but for a different purpose. To see the four K-Lite packages, go to the following page, and scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you can click on Standard, Full, Corporate Edition, or Mega:
http://codecguide.com/about_kl.htm

K-Lite Codec Pack is one of the most popular and recommended codec packs. CodecGuide.com seems to be the official site of this codec pack (and of Real Alternative and other codecs there). I think that CodecGuide.com is the publisher of this software.

Although I haven't installed K-Lite Codec Pack (because I don't need it), I've read and heard the following about it:

This Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. You should be able to play all the popular movie formats and even some rare formats. The K-Lite Codec Pack has a couple of major advantages compared to other codec packs: It it always very up-to-date with the latest versions of the codecs; It is very user-friendly and the installation is fully customizable, meaning that you can install only those components that you really want; It has been very well tested, so that the package doesn't contain any conflicting codecs; It is a very complete package, containing everything you need to play your movies.

To download and install the Full or Mega K-Lite Codec Pack, do the following:

Consider the following if they apply:
- If you plan to use Real Alternative (which is included in the K-Lite Mega package), before you install the K-Lite Mega package, you should uninstall RealPlayer 11, if you have that version of RealPlayer. Note: Unless you're planning to convert RM (Real Movie) files, you don't need Real Alternative, in which case you might as well get the Full rather than the Mega package of K-Lite. Note: If you plan to use Real Alternative, and if you plan to convert RM files, then in order to have better success using some converting software, if you want to re-install RealPlayer, install RealPlayer 10.5 rather than version 11. You can get Real Player 10.5 here: http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=real
- It is always recommended that, before you install K-Lite, you uninstall any old version of K-Lite. However, uninstalling an old version is not a requirement. If there have been only a few small changes between your old version and the new version, then you can just install the new version on top of the old one. If there have been major changes, then the installer will automatically prompt you that you should first uninstall;
- It is highly recommended that, before you install K-Lite, you uninstall other codec packs. This to avoid problems and keep your system as clean as possible. Go to Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. When you get there, go through your entire list of installed programs, and uninstall anything codec related (including Xvid, FFDShow, DivX, and just about anything with the word codec).
Go to http://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm and click on one of the download locations under Version 4.1.7 Full, or for the Mega package, go to http://codecguide.com/download_mega.htm and click on one of the download locations there;
When you're asked whether you want to run or save the file, click on the Save button;
When you get to the Save As dialogue box, look near the top where it says, Save in;
Click on the little down arrow at the end of that Save in slot, and browse to a folder in which you want to save the file or in which you want to create a new folder for the file;
If you want to create a new folder for the download file, click on the Create New Folder icon (which is one of the little icons to the right of the Save in slot), and type a name for the new folder;
Click on the folder prepared for the download (to open the folder);
Click on the Save button;
After the download is complete, browse to the folder to which you downloaded the file;
Click on the folder to which you downloaded the file (to open the folder);
Click on the executable file that you downloaded;
Follow the installation wizard's prompts, clicking on the Next button when appropriate. During the installation, I recommend that you deselect any file associations (if there are any). And regarding any other setup or configuration settings, if you're not sure about any of them, just keep the default settings;
After you click on the Finish button, restart your computer to completely install all components.

After you've rebooted, try playing, in Windows Media Player, the video that was not playing properly on your computer. Back to menu

Home and Main Menu - Resources - More - Search - About - Help - Contact

CatholicAnew.com