.AVI Codec Problems.....

[jimhannon]

Hi all,
A friend sent me a video clip that came from an internet cam on her computer. The problem is, I can't view it. I can hear the sound but not the video. There was an error message that said something to the effect of "error #80040200 couldn' find the correct codec" I've been to microsoft pages and can't seem to find what codec I am missing. I've checked the settings for Internet explorer that microcrap told me to check. I've already tried Winamp and some other avi players but with no results. I've also tried converting the file to other media types, but it would not work.
I am running WinMe with windows media 7, when I launch the file .avi windows media 7 looks for a codec file but can't find it.
Can anyone tell me where to find the correct codec file? I'm not sure which one it is.
thanks Jim

[audiyoda]

It's not a problem with your system. Your friend encoded the video witha codec you do not have, that's all. With MP7, you've got all the recent codecs EXCEPT MPEG-4 codecs -- which can be used to encode AVI's. Do a search for the DiVX codec and GDiVX PLayer (best of the bunch). I suspect that's your problem.

-Craig

[jimhannon]

Audiyoda,
Thanks for the response. I downloaded and installed the divx codec and the gdivx player. It did not work, The screen was black but I could hear the voice.
Any more thoughts. I talked to her and she said that she can't save the file as any other than the .avi. Others she has sent to have the same problem. Maybe it is her program and or computer...
thanks Jim

[RJ]

What program does she use ?

Anyway, she can try converting the AVIs to MPEG, either MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. The best freeware MPEG encoder is the Tsunami MPEG encoder 12a, found here:

http://www.jamsoft.com/tmpgenc/

BTW, Windows Media Player 7 has the MPEG-4 codec. I have Win98SE, and downloaded WMP7 some time ago, and when I install it I can choose in the select list whether I want to install the MPEG-4 codec or not.

RJ

[audiyoda]

The WMP7 MPEG-4 codec is not industry compliant. Not even close. Hell, there really isn't any standards yet, but the DiVX MPEG-4 codec is the closest there is.

Jim, do you have a previous version of Media Player on your system? I've read numerous issues with WMP describing exactly what you have. Unfortunatly, the only 'fix' I've read about is uninstalling WMP7 and the everything associated with it. And then, that's not a sure thing.

And I agree with RJ -- what program was used to encode the video? Many times, people encode a video at home and don't realize they have used an old codec or used settings that codec does not support. For example, if the AVI was encoded using an old indeo codec, you may be SOL. Indeo is no longer supported as a AVI codec -- the codec was 'bought' last year by Ligos and they do not support older versions. So when your player goes to download the correct codec, it cannot find it because it's just not available any longer. But the codec was originally bundled with your friend's software which is why they can see the video no problems. That's just a hypothetical, but it may also be very true.

If your friend does have control over what codecs are used to encode, have them use something from Cinepak or Microsoft. Those are always apart of the WMP bundle.

-Craig

-Craig

[jimhannon]

Audiyoda,
thanks for the reply. I have win2000 on a seperate partition, and it has wondows media 6, I believe. Anyway, it did not work on it either. I'm not sure what program she is using, she is going to check for me. I will try to find a program that will work for her. I think you are correct, when I open the file, win media searches online for the correct codec and is unable to find it.
Thanks for all the help, I think it is her software program and we will go from there.
Thanks again
Jim

[AndyG61]

I have had the same problem with .avi files I downloaded from some newsgroups. I could never get them to work, and WMP searched for it online with no results.