playing H.264 and mp4

Hello:

I\'m hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I\'m operating on Windows XP and use Windows Media Player to view most video files. However, I\'m not able to play any of the mp4 files.

What codec do I need to make this work? What site would you recommend for a download?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
wedroy1923
 
Do a search for the K-Lite codec and install the standard or full package.
Just watch the options and select what you want. You are mainly needing the FFDSHOW package and this one seems to work for most people better than the others.

I hesitate to point to a specific site for reasons of blame :lol:

There is a place I get most of my stuff and have no problems

If you can\'t find it, PM me and I will assist you the best I can.
 
bree keep away from codec packs ... just choose your codecs ...

ffdshow and mediaplayer classic for playback ;)
 
That\'s what I was telling everyone (numerous PMs) and many still could not play the files with just the FFDSHOW package.
The only reason I suggested the K-Lite is because it worked for so many I was communicating with.
I agree that you should keep it to the bare minimum, but Windows MP seems to be picky about the version of FFDSHOW for some reason and many refuse to install another player.

Media Player Classic is my preferred player. I will not even open WMP. It is just too bloated and slow for me.

I\'m just talking from past experience. If I tell them to go to sourceforge and install FFDSHOW, I know I am going to get another PM ;)

Maybe they could uncheck everything but the FFDSHOW when they install? :-/

Just trying to help! :)
 
was just a tip from my experience .. many people wrecked their windows install with codec packs ... depeining if you install it over a fresh windows or if other codecs are already on there :D
 
I just use VLC Media Player. It is much easier than installing a bunch of codecs, and it works great!!! VLC will play almost any video file by default.

I just set my mp4 files to automatically open in VLC, and I have no problems at all with them!

Hope that helps!
 
dolbyman said:
was just a tip from my experience .. many people wrecked their windows install with codec packs ... depeining if you install it over a fresh windows or if other codecs are already on there :D

I agree completely. The last thing I want to do is have someone hose their computer :(

I did not mean to disagree. I was just hoping to find a way to fix it the first time without numerous PMs.

I thought there was only one FFDSHOW package and it turns out there are a few versions. Like you said, it will depend on how the computer has been configured and previous installs.

The simple answer is another player like nelsonj3 and you suggested. I am not sure why people refuse to move away from Windows Media Player or Quicktime. They are just not efficient, lean players for anything other than their native formats.

I know people would prefer I encode in Xvid or Divx, but I can\'t get the same quality I am getting with the h.264 encoder.
 
Thank you so much for the information! I will probably try and switch players - I\'m not a huge fan of WMP. I will update you on how things turn out.

wedroy1923
 
nelsonj3 said:
I just use VLC Media Player. It is much easier than installing a bunch of codecs, and it works great!!! VLC will play almost any video file by default.

I just set my mp4 files to automatically open in VLC, and I have no problems at all with them!

Hope that helps!

I am with nelsonj3... VLC has been able to play everything I have thrown at it.

nowisthetime
 
I have heard that NeroVision Express works if you have the DVD Video Plug-in.

I use ConvertXtoDVD. It takes anything I throw at it without hurting the quality in most cases. Works great with the MP4s.
 
What program would you recommend to convert mp4 files to avi or mpeg so that I can burn them to a DVD? My DVD burner software (Sony DVD architect) doesn\'t recognize mp4 files and TMPGEnc - the program I use for most file conversions - doesn\'t either. I\'m sure ConvertXtoDVD works just fine but I want to be able to use DVD authoring software (like DVD architect) that has more control over the output. So what I really want is something that will convert the mp4 files into something readable by the programs I currently use.

The only program I found on the web was IMToo\'s utility, but it was awful.
 
Many programs will synthetically create an AVI file from any video stream with an ActiveX codec installed. One such program is called AviSynth, but it\'s a command line interface. These programs create a file with a .avs extension, which is not a video file but actually a small text file which includes information for the translation, a process which is done in real-time by the AVI synthesizer. Most programs which work with AVIs will also accept a .avs script, which allows the program to work with an MP4 or some other video stream as it would with an AVI. This is a likely solution to your problem and will avoid quality degredation resulting from transcoding multiple times.
 
nowisthetime said:
nelsonj3 said:
I just use VLC Media Player. It is much easier than installing a bunch of codecs, and it works great!!! VLC will play almost any video file by default.

I just set my mp4 files to automatically open in VLC, and I have no problems at all with them!

Hope that helps!

I am with nelsonj3... VLC has been able to play everything I have thrown at it.

nowisthetime

I third the VLC media player. Every file I have opened with it plays + I could not get any of the MP4s to play using anything else.
 
nelsonj3 said:
Here is a guide that I found on using mp4 files. I haven\'t had time to read it all, but I think there\'s some great information in here for anyone wanting to use mp4 files for any purpose.

http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/MP4_Usage_Guide_page1.html

Edit: Also it appears that \"Super,\" a FREE multi-conversion too will convert mp4 files to avi. Here is a link to \"Super\"
http://www.erightsoft.com/S7f01.html

I tried Super - it works like a charm. Thanks!!
 
I love Media Player Classic + some of the codecs I talk about in the instructional guide.

It may be a \"daring\" statement, but I think Windows Media Player and Quicktime suck. They will not be able to play nearly as many formats as MPC (or VLC probably).

I do however install the newest WMP just so I can have the latest codecs, and I won\'t touch the real Quicktime.
 
I agree completely about WMP and QT. (You can\'t say I am taking sides with MAC or PC that way!) They are VERY bloated and slow.
I like a lean, mean player like Media Player Classic or VLC.

TheBeets said:
I love Media Player Classic + some of the codecs I talk about in the instructional guide.

It may be a \"daring\" statement, but I think Windows Media Player and Quicktime suck. They will not be able to play nearly as many formats as MPC (or VLC probably).

I do however install the newest WMP just so I can have the latest codecs, and I won\'t touch the real Quicktime.
 
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