Picture but no sound in WMP

I have 'DivX' application installed on my PC and the first film I downloaded
works great complete with picture and sound.

I recently downloaded 3 documentaries, all from the same source but this
time I had picture but no sound.

Any ideas on why this has happened? Is there something I can do to rectify
this quite easily?

Any answers will be appreciated, thanks.

That's probably because the sound is in a format that is not recognized
by your PC. Try installing FFDShow from
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDshow.htm

Looks interesting to Tim. So I am actually downloading the AVS Video
Converter.

Within this program, it mentions that you can make your own DVDs and that
they will play on your home DVD player. Is this correct?

I downloaded it Tim, but now I have no sound or picture! Do I have to
convert them in some way? Have you got any ideas?

What's the file type of these movies? Try analyzing a file with
CodecInstaller - http://www.jockersoft.com/english/codecinstaller.php -
and report back the information that is shown.

I downloaded 'Codec Installer' as you said. Now what do I do?

The Codec Installer a program came up with these things I show below:
Installed codecs
Analyze file
Install codecs
Video Descr. (this was greyed out)
Play video (this was greyed out)
Configure

How do I get the file that I want to be analyzed?

Sorry for being a bit thick, but I do not know what the next step is. Could
you help further please?

I actually meant the "Analyze file"-option. Point it to one of the
documentaries that you downloaded. Step-by-step

I Read some of the instructions you sent, very complicated and it mentions
that you should be an advanced user to change anything.

Anyway, I have found two documentaries of mine that have suddenly come up
with glorious HD icons with 'DivX Player'

The file now plays in a slightly different format but still with no sound.

A box comes up while it is playing which it says:

'DivX Player: Audio Format Not Supported

You may need an additional audio decoder to play the soundtrack of this
file.
This file contains an audio track in an unknown format. You may need to
install a DirectShow decoder for this audio format in order to hear the
sound track of this file'.

Now and all of a sudden, I also have the option of burning this to disc
where it states 'Insert a blank disc.

Two questions: where do I get the DirectShow decoder from so I can hear the
audio?

Secondly, if I burn this to disc, will it play on any regular player or just
my PC?

The other three original documentaries I was on about in the first place,
which all have no sound but the picture is fine, they are all 'XviD' files.
What would I need to do with these files to get the sound?

You don't have to change anything, all you need to do is analyze one of
the downloaded movie files with CodecInstaller, and report back the
results that this program shows. You should get a something similar to
the following screenshot

The point of this all is to find out in what format the audio and video
of the movie is, and in turn to know what Directshow decoder(s) you
should install. If you don't do this, then I'm afraid I won't be able to
help you any further.

If you burn the movie files directly to DVD, they will not be playable
on every DVD-player. You would need DVD authoring software to create a
'real' movie DVD. There might be other programs for this, but the only
one I know is Nero Burning Rom.

I tried to do what you said and analyze one of the files to clipboard.
Although it showed the file in the top pane, when I clicked 'analyze', it
would not show the details in the main pane below. The 3 documentaries I
have, I know for sure they are Xvid format. These are the ones where I have
picture but no sound.

I then managed to get to a window which showed me a all the different
formats of video types there were with the option to download any of the
types. So I downloaded 'Xvid' format in the hope that by doing this, the
Xvid videos that I had, would work properly, but they did not. Perhaps if I
downloaded all of them, then it must work surely? What do you think?

I need to go into some sort of forum to get more advice. I know you are
trying to help me and I appreciate it very much, but I've tried all the
things you asked and still it will not work.

OK Wendy, you are making a hash of it, so I suggest simplifying
(though the process can be a little time consuming)
You have footage in a propriatary format and you're having issues
playing and no audio, so convert to a more compliant format.

These delightful pieces of freeware will convert anything.

From the list to left click and read:
"Free Videos to DVD 3.1"
Then download and install it.
It will convert your xvid footage to DVD mpeg format and will
if you wish, also burn it to DVD to playback either on your PC or
your standalone DVD player.

Once you have downloaded and installed above, from list
click and read: "Free Video Converter 2.3"
This will convert any footage to any format, download and
install it.
The video converter takes a bit of getting used to and experiamentation
to get best results. But it is straighforward.
As an example, once you have converted your xvid footage to DVD format
and burned to disc you could then convert that footage to a smaller
file size in a differing format such as wmv for upload to YouTube etc.
Just open the software.
Click "Add Files" and locate the footage you want to convert
Then select "Output format" (In this case WMV, just click once to hi-light)
You then have options to change some settings, this is the bit to
experiment with to decide which compression, bitrate, aspect etc give
best results. But at first try, leave at default settings.
Then select an "Output path" for newly converted video.
Ensure the box is ticked for "Include Audio Track"
You will have options to change the audio settings.
Then click the "Convert Video" button
A preview window will play the video as it converts.
Expect conversion to be real time - a one hour xvid will probably
take 45 -60 minutes to convert.
When complete you will have a WMV (or mpeg2) that WMP will be
happy to playback.

I will give it a go and report back and let you know how it got on.

If it all works, you mention that I can adapt the software to burn onto a
DVD and then adapt it again to play on any regular DVD player.

This is what I am really interested in doing eventually as an end result.
So if this works, fair play to you.

Okay Panzy, I believe I am getting somewhere now. I changed the format in
the 'Free Video Converter 2.3' as you said, and I now have audio on the
clip. This is great!

Regarding the 'Free Videos to DVD 3.1' I burnt the documentary that did not
have audio, straight to a blank DVD disc. When it finished, it played
perfectly on my computer complete with sound.

However, when I tried it in a standalone DVD player, it would not play.
Have you any ideas why? Or, can you tell me what I need to do, so that it
can?

Going by your instructions, you said It will convert your xvid footage to
DVD mpeg format and will
if you wish, also burn it to DVD to playback either on your PC or your
standalone DVD player.

I found in this application, that's all I could do was burn to a DVD. Is
there a way in this application that I could just change it to DVD MPEG
format but not actually burn it to a blank DVD, but just keep the format on
my computer?

When I got the application up, the front page showed step one: DVD Video
Product Information and new DVD.

Then I had to choose a DVD format. I am in the UK so I chose 'Pal (Europe)
MPEG 2'. I Trust this is the right option?

Then, where it said 'Working Directory', I clicked on the '...' button and I
selected the place where I wanted my download to be. I am assuming, that is
what this button is for.

Then I clicked 'next', and this took me to the next page and step two: I
then chose the file that I wanted to work on. The only options were, as far
as I could see, in the form of 3 icons at the top of the page.

They read as follows: 'Burn an already existent video' (icon in the form of
a DVD disc), 'Remove from the list' (icon in the form of a blank piece of
paper) and a big red X, which, according to the description when the cursor
is over it, is exactly the same as the blank piece of paper icon - 'Remove
from the list'.

So the way I see it with this application, is all you can do with it, is
burn files that you already have on your PC to a blank disc. As I say, it
worked great on my PC when I burnt to a blank DVD but not on my other
standalone DVD players. If I could conquer that one, I would be ecstatic!

Could it possibly be that they will only play on some standalone DVD
players?

OK Wendy, I've snipped most, so we'll stick to the relevent areas

You open the application and set the parameters, such as either
NTSC or PAL, aspect ratio - 4.3 or 6.9, and bitrate etc.
Then click the "Next" button to goto Step 2
In step 2 just click the "Add Chapters" arrow to add the video clips
As you add footage at low part of dialog it will indicate duration
and percentage of disc space being consumed based on a standard
4.7gb DVD (Being the default setting in step one)
Then click the Next button and move to Step 3

In step 3 is a dialog to select menu and style etc, this will apply
if in the next step (4) you actually opt to burn a DVD, you can skip
Step 3 if you don't intend to burn to DVD.

Click the "Next" button and move to Step 4
Here you will find three options. Click to select:
"Only create IFO, VOB files"
Then in the drop down menu that will appear when you make the
above selection, choose the "Output Directory"
This can be anywhere on your computer - My Documents, My Movies,
the Desktop, a seperate internal or external drive or where ever you
want to save the files.
VOB files are DVD mpeg2 video files. Once step4 is complete, close the
application and open the folder where you directed the VOB files
to be saved.
Just double click the VOB file(s) and they will playback in WMP.

Those specific VOB mpeg2 files can now be imported into the
Free Video Converter application and you can experiment with converting
to other media formats and compression techniques.

When creating a DVD for playback on your standalone DVD player
the disc has to be finalised.
You follow the steps as above, but at Step 4 you select to Burn to DVD
and select the "Start" button.
The ensuing dialog will show two progress bars as the file conversion
progresses (xvid is converted to mpeg2) and Total conversion - as the
files are burned to DVD.
When complete a further dialog appears with the option to Finalise.
Finalising a DVD will allow it to playback on other standalone DVD players
but leaving a DVD unfinalised will allow you to add more video footage
to the DVD at a later date.

The DVD you have already created just needs to be finalised to be playable
in the standalone DVD player connected to your TV.
Load that DVD in the tray on your PC,
Open the application, and just click "Next" through the steps to Step5,
At the final dialog, select Finalise, it will take a few minutes.
When complete, that DVD will be playable in your DVD player.

I decided to give It Another go and burn some files on to a DVD, because
nowhere could I see the word 'finalise' anywhere.

You said above In step 3 is a dialog to select menu and style etc, this will
apply if in the next step (4) you actually opt to burn a DVD. Is there
something I must do in step 3 that is vital before I can burn files to a DVD
in step 4?

This is where I got stuck.

I was on step 4 so I clicked 'Burn the project to DVD'. When I did this, a
window came up with the title 'AutoPlay'. Then, there were a few options:

At the top it said 'BD-ROM Drive (F)' and directly underneath that there is
a little box that was unchecked with the words next to that saying 'always
do this for blank DVDs' (do I need to check this?)

Then underneath that there is the title 'Blank DVD options' where I have a
choice of options as so:

Burn a DVD Data disc (using Windows Media Player)
Burn files to disc (using Windows)
Burn a DVD video disc (using Windows DVD maker)
Add Files (using Roxio Creator Data)

And then lastly, at the bottom it says:

Set AutoPlay defaults in Control Panel

Which one would I choose out of the options shown for my purpose?

The first time I chose 'Burn a DVD Data disc' (using Windows Media Player).

After the disc had burnt the files to the DVD, nowhere did I see a 'Step 5'
or the word 'Finalise' anywhere. When I then played the DVD, it played OK
in Windows Media Player but not in my standalone DVD player.

Am I doing something wrong? Can't seem to find the word 'Finalise'
anywhere.

Thats correct. There is a default menu. You've been choosing to author
a *data* DVD (More on that in a minute or two).
In step 3 if you are authoring a VIDEO DVD (not DATA) the menu is what
you will see when you first insert the DVD in a standalone DVD player.
Your standalone DVD player can only read DVD-Video, Not DVD-DATA .
In very simple terms, a DATA dvd is just for storage, just for

When just wanting to create mpeg2 video files to save to a hard drive
folder, you can skip step3 by just clicking the "Next" button.
If you authoring a DVD-VIDEO, then the menu in step3 will be included.
You can leave it as the default menu, or you can experiment with font,
background, color etc. And you can also include your own chapter marks,
these are an index you can create (if you wish) allowing you to select
from the menu to jump and play from your own defined chapter marks.
These only apply if you opt to create a DVD-VIDEO.
If only wanting to create mpeg2 video files to save to hard drive,then
just click the "Next" button and skip step3, sigh.....

Thats because you've been selecting to burn a DATA dvd.
And I think you've been selecting from a totally seperate window
then this application?

You have a Blu-Ray drive that can play/read-only Blu-Ray discs,
but can also burn to DVD's.
But your following details have me stumped.
Did you download the software:
Video to DVD converter V3.1
In step1 you will see that at top of the dialog.
Under the Word Step1 it should say:
"DVD Video project infomation"
This gem of a free burning application is no different to other burning
applications apart from it has it's own decoders so can convert xvid and
dvix (many others cannot) but it is only for burning DVD Video (not data).

This part of yours I suspect is you getting totally confused.

None of them is part of this application! I suspect you are getting a
totally
seperate window appear when a blank DVD is loaded in the drive.
Try this.
Don't open the application.
Just load a blank DVD in the drive and sit back and relax for a few minutes.
You may hear the DVD drive whirling.
If the above dialog that you detailed appears, just close it.

Now open the free Video to DVD converter application.
Step1
Set the parameters.
If your xvids are 4.3 then select that aspect, if 16.9 select that.
If your TV system is NTSC or PAL, select the right one. It should default
to your PC's setting which it will detect, but if it dosen't, then
ensure you select the correct one - are you Stateside, then you
are NTSC, are you UK or Australia, then you are PAL.

Step2
Just click the arrow beside "Add Chapters" to add your xvids to the
compilation.

Step3
This is the menu, you can muddle with this once you've got the hang
of the software. For now just leave it at it's default setting and click
the next button.

Step4
There will be *only* 3 options, select:
"Burn the project on DVD"
Below in the line: Device, it should list your F drive, being your
BD (Blu-Ray) drive, if it is not selected, use the drop down menu to
select it.
Do not select "Simulation"
If any other dialog appears with the options you detailed, do not select
any of those, that is totally unrelated to this application.
If it appears, look for a close/quit/cancel/exit button, or click that
dialogs
red X at top right corner.
Then Click next button and goto ....

Step5
File conversion.
Two progress bars indicate how it is all going converting your xvidss
to DVD.

Step 6 DVD Video project compilation.
Just sit back and let it complete.
Then there will be a few minutes when nothing seems to be happening,
in the dialog it will say session closed, and that progress has reached 100%
This is the finalising stage.
Don't click any buttons, stay away from the "Cancel" button.
When finalised, the DVD will be automatically ejected and a dialog
will appear that all is complete you just click that "OK" button and
remove the DVD from the tray.

Anybody else reading this?
It really is straightforward isn't it, I would be justified in giving up
wouldn't I?