WMP11 - Add codecs for non-admin users in XP Pro?

I have an AVI file (DVD-PAL) which the administrator account can view, but no
other users can play.

WMP playback freezes just after "connecting..." briefly appears.

How can I install codecs (on the 100+ machines I have here!) such that all
users can open these files?

<-scratches head->

I should also add this additional info:

When the administrator views the video, the codec may be being downloaded
automatically. However, no other users can view the video on that machine
thereafter.

So, codecs are not being installed for all users when the administrator
views the video. Where are codecs getting loaded to?


"hy-studio" wrote:

> I have an AVI file (DVD-PAL) which the administrator account can view, but no
> other users can play.
>
> WMP playback freezes just after "connecting..." briefly appears.
>
> How can I install codecs (on the 100+ machines I have here!) such that all
> users can open these files?
>
> <-scratches head->

What video codec does the file use?

You might have slightly better luck using a built-in video codec. AVI is
kind of a random file type. =\

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AD01D481-5F67-497B-BB86-607F31950142@microsoft.com...
>I have an AVI file (DVD-PAL) which the administrator account can view, but
>no
> other users can play.
>
> WMP playback freezes just after "connecting..." briefly appears.
>
> How can I install codecs (on the 100+ machines I have here!) such that all
> users can open these files?
>
> <-scratches head->

Hi zachd

Our AVI files have the following format:
"DV Video Decoder" codec
DV-PAL, 768 x 576
DV, Stereo 48kHz
25FPS
57.6Mbps

We cannot dictate the format produced and we have many clients who need to
be able to access them.

I would think that once the administrator has loaded a codec that other
users could use it, but that doesn't seem to be the case!?

Mike

Hi zachd

File format is as follows:
"DV Video Decoder" codec
DV-PAL, 768 x 576
DV, Stereo 48kHz
25FPS
57.6Mbps

We cannot dictate the format used unfortunately.

Are you able to explain why codecs that seem to be used by the
administrative user account are not used by other accounts?

Thanks.

"zachd [MSFT]" wrote:

>
> What video codec does the file use?
>
> You might have slightly better luck using a built-in video codec. AVI is
> kind of a random file type. =\
>
> --
> Speaking for myself only.
> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
> --
> "hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:AD01D481-5F67-497B-BB86-607F31950142@microsoft.com...
> >I have an AVI file (DVD-PAL) which the administrator account can view, but
> >no
> > other users can play.
> >
> > WMP playback freezes just after "connecting..." briefly appears.
> >
> > How can I install codecs (on the 100+ machines I have here!) such that all
> > users can open these files?
> >
> > <-scratches head->
>
>
>

Hi zachd

File format is as follows:
"DV Video Decoder" codec
DV-PAL, 768 x 576
DV, Stereo 48kHz
25FPS
57.6Mbps

We cannot dictate the format used unfortunately.

Are you able to explain why codecs that seem to be used by the
administrative user account are not used by other accounts?

Thanks.


"zachd [MSFT]" wrote:

>
> What video codec does the file use?
>
> You might have slightly better luck using a built-in video codec. AVI is
> kind of a random file type. =\
>
> --
> Speaking for myself only.
> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
> --
> "hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:AD01D481-5F67-497B-BB86-607F31950142@microsoft.com...
> >I have an AVI file (DVD-PAL) which the administrator account can view, but
> >no
> > other users can play.
> >
> > WMP playback freezes just after "connecting..." briefly appears.
> >
> > How can I install codecs (on the 100+ machines I have here!) such that all
> > users can open these files?
> >
> > <-scratches head->
>
>
>

How are they "loading" the codec?

It should work fine for any fully functional codec. If the codec has
implementation bugs, it may not operate for non-admins.

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"hy-studio" <hy-studio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1A1AC08A-5234-4E50-BBE6-188A079EF1B7@microsoft.com...
> Hi zachd
>
> Our AVI files have the following format:
> "DV Video Decoder" codec
> DV-PAL, 768 x 576
> DV, Stereo 48kHz
> 25FPS
> 57.6Mbps
>
> We cannot dictate the format produced and we have many clients who need to
> be able to access them.
>
> I would think that once the administrator has loaded a codec that other
> users could use it, but that doesn't seem to be the case!?
>
> Mike

There was no specific codec installation performed: I had presumed that some
sort of automatic codec download happened when the administrator user viewed
the file, which is why I used the phrase "loaded". Sorry if this confused you.

We have three new Dell PCs with XP Pro (SP3) and all latest recommended
Microsoft patches.

A standard user tried to view the AVI files and it failed, then the
administrator user attempted and it worked. All standard user accounts still
fail with these files.


"zachd [MSFT]" wrote:

>
> How are they "loading" the codec?
>
> It should work fine for any fully functional codec. If the codec has
> implementation bugs, it may not operate for non-admins.
>
> --
> Speaking for myself only.
> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
> --
> "hy-studio" <hy-studio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:1A1AC08A-5234-4E50-BBE6-188A079EF1B7@microsoft.com...
> > Hi zachd
> >
> > Our AVI files have the following format:
> > "DV Video Decoder" codec
> > DV-PAL, 768 x 576
> > DV, Stereo 48kHz
> > 25FPS
> > 57.6Mbps
> >
> > We cannot dictate the format produced and we have many clients who need to
> > be able to access them.
> >
> > I would think that once the administrator has loaded a codec that other
> > users could use it, but that doesn't seem to be the case!?
> >
> > Mike
>
>
>

The filters there should be coming from 'qdv.dll' - does re-registering that
help at all?

This should work fine as far as I'm aware. I'm kind of limited on my XP
systems at this late date, but if re-registering qdv doesn't help I can try
a limited XP user account to re-verify that that works as expected, as
otherwise the best course of action on your side is probably to use Process
Monitor to trace what registry access denied is failing this.

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:07D6D72C-900C-4BB0-9A25-670E532FE06C@microsoft.com...
> There was no specific codec installation performed: I had presumed that
> some
> sort of automatic codec download happened when the administrator user
> viewed
> the file, which is why I used the phrase "loaded". Sorry if this confused
> you.
>
> We have three new Dell PCs with XP Pro (SP3) and all latest recommended
> Microsoft patches.
>
> A standard user tried to view the AVI files and it failed, then the
> administrator user attempted and it worked. All standard user accounts
> still
> fail with these files.
>
>
> "zachd [MSFT]" wrote:
>
>>
>> How are they "loading" the codec?
>>
>> It should work fine for any fully functional codec. If the codec has
>> implementation bugs, it may not operate for non-admins.
>>
>> --
>> Speaking for myself only.
>> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>> rights.
>> --
>> "hy-studio" <hy-studio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:1A1AC08A-5234-4E50-BBE6-188A079EF1B7@microsoft.com...
>> > Hi zachd
>> >
>> > Our AVI files have the following format:
>> > "DV Video Decoder" codec
>> > DV-PAL, 768 x 576
>> > DV, Stereo 48kHz
>> > 25FPS
>> > 57.6Mbps
>> >
>> > We cannot dictate the format produced and we have many clients who need
>> > to
>> > be able to access them.
>> >
>> > I would think that once the administrator has loaded a codec that other
>> > users could use it, but that doesn't seem to be the case!?
>> >
>> > Mike
>>
>>
>>

Thanks, zachd!

It now works on all accounts - plus I can enforce this using a simple
group-policy script.

I like to understand the underlying causes of problems in order that I can
avoid them in the future. If you know of any contributory factors here then
that information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

"zachd [MSFT]" wrote:

>
> The filters there should be coming from 'qdv.dll' - does re-registering that
> help at all?
>
> This should work fine as far as I'm aware. I'm kind of limited on my XP
> systems at this late date, but if re-registering qdv doesn't help I can try
> a limited XP user account to re-verify that that works as expected, as
> otherwise the best course of action on your side is probably to use Process
> Monitor to trace what registry access denied is failing this.
>
> --
> Speaking for myself only.
> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
> --
> "hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:07D6D72C-900C-4BB0-9A25-670E532FE06C@microsoft.com...
> > There was no specific codec installation performed: I had presumed that
> > some
> > sort of automatic codec download happened when the administrator user
> > viewed
> > the file, which is why I used the phrase "loaded". Sorry if this confused
> > you.
> >
> > We have three new Dell PCs with XP Pro (SP3) and all latest recommended
> > Microsoft patches.
> >
> > A standard user tried to view the AVI files and it failed, then the
> > administrator user attempted and it worked. All standard user accounts
> > still
> > fail with these files.
> >
> >
> > "zachd [MSFT]" wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> How are they "loading" the codec?
> >>
> >> It should work fine for any fully functional codec. If the codec has
> >> implementation bugs, it may not operate for non-admins.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Speaking for myself only.
> >> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> >> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
> >> rights.
> >> --
> >> "hy-studio" <hy-studio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:1A1AC08A-5234-4E50-BBE6-188A079EF1B7@microsoft.com...
> >> > Hi zachd
> >> >
> >> > Our AVI files have the following format:
> >> > "DV Video Decoder" codec
> >> > DV-PAL, 768 x 576
> >> > DV, Stereo 48kHz
> >> > 25FPS
> >> > 57.6Mbps
> >> >
> >> > We cannot dictate the format produced and we have many clients who need
> >> > to
> >> > be able to access them.
> >> >
> >> > I would think that once the administrator has loaded a codec that other
> >> > users could use it, but that doesn't seem to be the case!?
> >> >
> >> > Mike
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>

If you system restore back to when this was broken, you could probably find
the permissions or registry settings that were broken on the registry delta
that occurs when you reregister qdv.dll .

In most cases when these thigns go wonky, it's often third party filters /
apps that touch the permissions upon the core multimedia keys. It could
really be anything: we found one case where uninstalling XXX (competitor's
app that I'm not going to badmouth) was resetting the permissions on WMP's
keys such that it would only run in Administrator mode. Very strange. This
is why I tend to ask a lot of dumb questions: there's all sorts of bugs like
that hidden away, and it can a while to correlate them back to the actual
source. =\

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2269C758-46FB-4E4F-A509-EF072FAA8903@microsoft.com...
> Thanks, zachd!
>
> It now works on all accounts - plus I can enforce this using a simple
> group-policy script.
>
> I like to understand the underlying causes of problems in order that I can
> avoid them in the future. If you know of any contributory factors here
> then
> that information would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Cheers.
>
> "zachd [MSFT]" wrote:
>
>>
>> The filters there should be coming from 'qdv.dll' - does re-registering
>> that
>> help at all?
>>
>> This should work fine as far as I'm aware. I'm kind of limited on my XP
>> systems at this late date, but if re-registering qdv doesn't help I can
>> try
>> a limited XP user account to re-verify that that works as expected, as
>> otherwise the best course of action on your side is probably to use
>> Process
>> Monitor to trace what registry access denied is failing this.
>>
>> --
>> Speaking for myself only.
>> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>> rights.
>> --
>> "hy-studio" <hystudio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:07D6D72C-900C-4BB0-9A25-670E532FE06C@microsoft.com...
>> > There was no specific codec installation performed: I had presumed that
>> > some
>> > sort of automatic codec download happened when the administrator user
>> > viewed
>> > the file, which is why I used the phrase "loaded". Sorry if this
>> > confused
>> > you.
>> >
>> > We have three new Dell PCs with XP Pro (SP3) and all latest recommended
>> > Microsoft patches.
>> >
>> > A standard user tried to view the AVI files and it failed, then the
>> > administrator user attempted and it worked. All standard user accounts
>> > still
>> > fail with these files.
>> >
>> >
>> > "zachd [MSFT]" wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> How are they "loading" the codec?
>> >>
>> >> It should work fine for any fully functional codec. If the codec has
>> >> implementation bugs, it may not operate for non-admins.
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Speaking for myself only.
>> >> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>> >> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>> >> rights.
>> >> --
>> >> "hy-studio" <hy-studio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:1A1AC08A-5234-4E50-BBE6-188A079EF1B7@microsoft.com...
>> >> > Hi zachd
>> >> >
>> >> > Our AVI files have the following format:
>> >> > "DV Video Decoder" codec
>> >> > DV-PAL, 768 x 576
>> >> > DV, Stereo 48kHz
>> >> > 25FPS
>> >> > 57.6Mbps
>> >> >
>> >> > We cannot dictate the format produced and we have many clients who
>> >> > need
>> >> > to
>> >> > be able to access them.
>> >> >
>> >> > I would think that once the administrator has loaded a codec that
>> >> > other
>> >> > users could use it, but that doesn't seem to be the case!?
>> >> >
>> >> > Mike
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>
>>