Windows Media player

Q:

How can I play DVDs in Windows Media Player?

A:

To play DVDs in Windows Media Player you need a MPEG-2 decoder that is capable of decoding DVD video and is also compatible with WMP. The K-Lite Codec Pack contains a compatible decoder. Some examples of compatible decoders are: Cyberlink, DScaler5, InterVideo, MainConcept and NVIDIA PureVideo. Most versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 come bundled with a MPEG-2 decoder from Microsoft. You don't need to install an additional decoder in that case.

Q:	Windows Media Player shows no video when a subtitle file is present
A:	A solution for this problem is to use an older version of DirectVobSub. You need to install version 2.33. Alternatively you can disable the DirectVobSub filter and use the internal subtitle filter in ffdshow video decoder instead.

Q:	WMV HD videos play slow and without sound in Windows Media Player
A:	If one or more of the following filters is installed on your computer, then disable or uninstall them: - Matrix Mixer - Morgan Multimedia Stream Switcher - DC-DSP

Q:

I get the following error message when trying to play a DVD: "Windows Media Player cannot play DVD video. You might need to adjust your Windows display settings. Open display settings in Control Panel, and then try lowering your screen resolution and color quality settings."

A:

This is a generic error message that WMP displays when it fails to play a DVD. Ignore the remark about display settings and resolution. Those usually have nothing to do with the actual cause of the problem. This error message is usually displayed when there is no MPEG-2 video decoder installed that is compatible with WMP. Another cause can be a buggy or old graphics driver. The K-Lite Codec Pack contains a compatible decoder. Make sure you have that enabled during installation of the pack.

Q:

Why isn't ffdshow getting used by WMP and WMC on Windows 7?

A:

Windows 7 comes bundled with decoders for several video formats, including H.264 and Xvid. These decoders from Microsoft are used by default by most DirectShow application, including Windows Media Player and Media Center. If you prefer using ffdshow or some other third party decoder, then you can use the Win7DSFilterTweaker tool to adjust the preferred decoder settings in Windows 7. Sometimes it is also needed to disable the Microsoft audio and video decoders. The Microsoft players use the new Media Foundation playback framework for playing certain file types, such as AVI, MP4, M4V, MOV, M2TS, and WMV. To force the use of DirectShow filters such as ffdshow, you need to disable Media Foundation with Win7DSFilterTweaker.

Q:	Some videos play very pixelated on Windows 7
A:	This is a bug in your graphics driver. Updating the driver usually fixes this problem. A workaround is to change the preferred H.264 from Microsoft to ffdshow. You can do that with the Win7DSFilterTweaker tool. You may also need to disable Media Foundation.

Q:	I am unable to seek within .ts files with WMP12
A:	Disable Media Foundation using the Win7DSFilterTweaker tool.

Q:	.m2ts files that contain VC-1 video do not play with WMP12
A:	Disable Media Foundation using the Win7DSFilterTweaker tool.

Q:	AVI files that contain AC3 audio give noise in WMP12
A:	Disable the Microsoft DTV-DVD Audio Decoder using the Win7DSFilterTweaker tool.

Q:

I am unable to seek within files when played from the WMP library

A:

This is a bug in WMP. It may happen with any file type that WMP does not support natively. There are two workarounds: Play the file by clicking on it in Windows Explorer instead of opening it through the WMP library. Add the file to a playlist in the library. When played from a playlist, the duration of the file is shown correctly and seeking works normally. Note that with a playlist we mean an actual playlist, not the Now Playing list of WMP. Back to FAQ index