Craig asks:
When I burn recordings from my CCTV system to CD it burns the video in MPEG-4 format. The MPEG-4 does not open with Windows Media Player.
Problem is I have to provide a CD to a third party which must play the recording back in Windows Media Player!
What is the best way to do this?
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The reason Windows Media Player doesn’t play your videos files is because MPEG-4 is not one of the video formats supported by Windows Media Player.
What you can do to make sure that recordings are viewable in Windows Media Player is to convert them to .AVI or other support video format. For conversion you would need a video converter. There are plenty of free ones that you can download and use.
See: 5 Easy-to-use Freeware Video Converters
Here is a link that I used for .FLV files. I also did it for MPEG-4 and it worked fine. In addition I did download and install the free K-Lite codec pack. Now all formats I have run into view and play just like .wmv or .avi.
Make sure you back up before you do this incase you make a mistake.
http://techsalsa.com/view-flv-3gp-and-other-video-thumbnails-in-explorer/
His concern was that he needs to provide the CD with burned videos to a third party. If it was just for himself then installing KLite codec pack would do.
In his case converting videos to more popular/default format and burning them afterwards is the only option in my opinion.
Thanks for the comments, ive tried the above but with no luck, i get the following errors:
Anyvideo Converter – Insert Failed
Format Factory – Failed to decode
I didnt realise how hard it would be to convert mpeg-4 to mpeg!!
Anybody have any final suggestions? If i cant provide the disk in windows media format i will need to purchase a new dvr!!!
Windows media player can support wmv format video, so you can use a video converter to convert your mpeg4 video to wmv format to import it to windows media player. Now I know a converter here http://www.useesoft.com/video-converters/video-to-wmv-converter.html
You can use the converter to convert your movie to wmv format. It can convert many different video files to wmv format, such as converting avi, mov, mkv, mp4, mpg, etc. to wmv format. You can have a try.
Try Klite Codec. It’s free and takes less computer resources. After installation, configure it to play winows media player to play any kind of media files. Check out at http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_lite_codec_pack.htm
Hope it will help you.
Well,
If The main Solution Is To Change The Format Than I Would Recommend A Great Software Which Is Free And 100% Would Help You To Convert Your Videos Into Any Format You Like…
Software Name – Format Factory
HomePage – http://www.formatoz.com
Download Link – http://www.brothersoft.com/download-formatfactory-98431.html
I Hope It Helped You….
And The Software Is 100% Virus-Free.
If Detected, They Are False Positive.
This doesn’t actually answer the question about playing the file in WMP, but as an alternative, you may want to consider using VLC (http://videolan.org).
It has all those codecs built into it. I’ve decided that it’s my media player of choice–both video and audio.
His Problem is He Wants To Play Videos Of Format MPEG-4 with WMP.
But WMP Dosn’t Support MPEG-4 Format.
So The Correct Solution Would Be Just Convert The Video Into Some Other Format Supported By WMP.
That’s why I prefaced my comment with what I did.
But if the real question is how do I play the files, then VLC is a very good solution. If the the OP really has to play it in WMP, then using the correct CODEC seems much better than converting the file.
ps. VLC doesn’t play Blu-Ray (yet).
my windows media player has no problem playing mpeg-4 files. however, i am not sure what i did to make it so.
i have ffdshow installed as my codec (and am surprised that no one has mentioned it yet). also, it’s windows media player on windows 7, so it is possible that they changed something in the windows 7 release.
The ffdshow codec isincluded in KLite codec pack.
Well,
Just Want To Say That, There Are Two Ways Playing A MPEG-4 Video Format.
1) Changing Format ( Using Format Factory – http://www.formatoz.com )
2) Using Codecs – KLite Codec Pack (Best)
There’s None Other Way To Play MPEG-4 Format In WMP.
Love to read the various answers which clue me into other resources. This is one of my grrr!!! MSFT issues, WMP not taking MP4, I always end up going to Microsoft, which, believe it or not, has IMHO the best answer – bottom line answer:
You CAN PLAY BACK .mp4 media files in Windows Media Player when you install DirectShow-compatible MPEG-4 decoder packs.
Here’s the poop:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316992
MPEG-4 (.mp4)
MPEG-4 is an International Standards Organization (ISO) specification that covers many aspects of multimedia presentation including compression, authoring and delivery. Although video compression and file container definition are two separate and independent entities of the MPEG-4 specification, many people incorrectly believe that the two are interchangeable. You can implement only portions of the MPEG-4 specification and remain compliant with the standard.
The MPEG-4 file format, as defined by the MPEG-4 specification, contains MPEG-4 encoded video and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)-encoded audio content. It typically uses the .mp4 extension. Windows Media Player does not support the playback of the .mp4 file format.
You can play back .mp4 media files in Windows Media Player when you install DirectShow-compatible MPEG-4 decoder packs. DirectShow-compatible MPEG-4 decoder packs include the Ligos LSX-MPEG Player and the EnvivioTV.
For more information about the Ligos LSX-MPEG Player, visit the following Ligos Web site:
http://www.ligos.com (http://www.ligos.com)
For more information about EnvivioTV , visit the following Envivio Web site:
http://www.envivio.com/products/ (http://www.envivio.com/products)
Microsoft has chosen to implement the video compression portion of the MPEG-4 standard. Microsoft has currently produced the following MPEG-4-based video codecs:
* Microsoft MPEG-4 v1
* Microsoft MPEG-4 v2
* Microsoft MPEG-4 v3
* ISO MPEG-4 v1
MPEG-4 video content can be encoded and stored in an .asf file container by using Windows Media Tools and Windows Media Encoder. You can then play these files in Windows Media Player. For more information about Microsoft and MPEG-4 support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/format/codecdownload.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/format/codecdownload.aspx)
I think Latest version of Windows Media Player support MP4 format.
You can update your WMP.
Now Latest version of WMP is WMP 11 for XP and 12 for Windows 7.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx
You can try this freeware: http://www.aneesoft.com/win-free-mp4-video-converter.html
or http://www.aneesoft.com/win-dvd-ripper.html
Hi,
I had the same difficulty but found a very small and free download,called DS decoder from mpegable.com which installed very easily and which then allowed me to play my MP4 video with sound files in Windows Media Player without any hassle. Alternately, MP4 files also play in a DivX player but, in mine, without sound, lower picture quality and less controllability. Good luck
ehm,, may i ask u a question? why it came this page http://www.dolby.com/us/en/index.html when i click mpegable.com the page you shown ?
indeed, the link takes user to another site which has nothing to do with the program it mention. here is the correct link
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/mpegable_ds_decoder.htm
mpegable.com redirects to another website. I was able to find mpegable ds decoder on free-codecs. com though. here is the link,
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/mpegable_ds_decoder.htm
Klite Codec did the job thank you!