[stifler]

hi guys
i was trying to play a movie on my new laptop which has vista.
the file is an .avi file and only the sound plays, with no actual video.
i have looked on the internet for a divx/xvid codec, but every time i come across something, it asks me to install a useless application or codec package which i feel is unnecessary as i only need the divx/xvid codec.
sometimes its even like a trial version and then you need to buy pro like the one on the divx.com website which is pointless.

so i was wondering, is there not some sort of actual .dll file that i can copy into like the WINDOWS folder and get the video playing properly.
or do i have to install a pointless application just so i can watch a movie.

ps: i dont understand why WMP 11 didnt already come with divx/xvid codecs anyway?

 

[McNinja]

you don't need codecs those are junk just use vlc player
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

I used to to try to find random codecs that would play different formats until a friend told me about vlc player. ohh yea you have a pretty good chance of getting a virus while trying find a correct codec. VLC player has everything built and can play any sound or video file (I think) you throw at it

 

[blah789]

AVI (audio-video interleave) is a container. Inside of it, you can have audio and video streams encoded in various codecs (compressor-decompressor).
Because of how open the container is, anyone can make their own codec, which is why you have the codec alphabet soup you have today. Different codecs are good for different purposes.

There's two ways to approach this. My preferred one is to download codecs on an as-needed basis. Google for MediaInfo or gspot or avicodec, and whenever there's a video you can't play, feed it into those apps. The video codec is usually identified by its fourcc (four character codec), which you can google and find a codec for.
The alternate method is for lazy people who don't want to do the searching. It involves downloading and installing codec packs (just various compilations of known codecs bundled together). There's tons of them out there. Here's a list: http://www.moviecodec.com/codecpacks.html (probably not complete). Codec packs have their problems though: if you run into a problem it's hard to pinpoint the exact cause. Also they sometimes don't uninstall fully. The only thing close to a codec pack I can recommend is ffdshow-tryouts (google it - it's an open source package of decoders).

As for why DivX/Xvid aren't bundled with Windows: they're not Microsoft products!

 

[McNinja]

why bother with finding more codecs when you can just use vlc player? its one download and can play everything. I used to download separate codecs man what a freaking hassle

 

[blah789]

VLC doesn't play everything. Try feeding it an avi encoded in Indeo 4 or 5, or even Microsoft Video 1.

 

[christopher2405]

I would just like to recommend K-Lite Codec pack. This includes the previously mentioned ffdshow, as well as Media Player Classic (an excellent program, in my opinion) and support for AVI files. Details of the latest version can be found here:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_lite_codec_pack.htm

I have had this since December (as Windows Vista Home Basic doesn't play DVDs out of the box), and have run into no problems. I scanned the pack for viruses, and it had none.

Hope this helps!