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Thread: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

  1. #1
    LarryW Guest

    Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    When I try to play a DVD in Vista I get a message that Windows Media Player
    can't play it and I might need to adjust my Windows display settings. I've
    tried several settings, even down to 800x600, 16-bit color as well as changing
    the theme back to classic but it still won't play them. The Aero display works
    fine. Anyone know how to get them to play?



  2. #2
    Richard Stallmann Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    you have to install a dvd decoder

    "LarryW" <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam> schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:VA.0000004c.1e410937@newsgroups.nospam...
    > When I try to play a DVD in Vista I get a message that Windows Media Player
    > can't play it and I might need to adjust my Windows display settings. I've
    > tried several settings, even down to 800x600, 16-bit color as well as changing
    > the theme back to classic but it still won't play them. The Aero display works
    > fine. Anyone know how to get them to play?
    >
    >




  3. #3
    Joni70 Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    This is the case at least in Vista Business edition. Even if you install
    dvd-decoders, it won't work. It's just a bug in Vista Business, unless of
    course it was done on purpose. The only solution I know of is to use some
    third-party media player. Unbelievable, but true.


    "Richard Stallmann" <WRFan1@gmail.com> wrote in message
    news:OteFjq$aHHA.4140@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
    > you have to install a dvd decoder
    >
    > "LarryW" <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
    > news:VA.0000004c.1e410937@newsgroups.nospam...
    >> When I try to play a DVD in Vista I get a message that Windows Media
    >> Player
    >> can't play it and I might need to adjust my Windows display settings.
    >> I've
    >> tried several settings, even down to 800x600, 16-bit color as well as
    >> changing
    >> the theme back to classic but it still won't play them. The Aero display
    >> works
    >> fine. Anyone know how to get them to play?
    >>
    >>

    >
    >



  4. #4
    LarryW Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    I tried the VideoLan VLC media player and I get sound but the screens are just
    a wash of differing colors. And this is Vista Enterprise which I thought had
    everything?

    In article <#yHfszAbHHA.1508@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, Joni70 wrote:
    > This is the case at least in Vista Business edition. Even if you install
    > dvd-decoders, it won't work. It's just a bug in Vista Business, unless of
    > course it was done on purpose. The only solution I know of is to use some
    > third-party media player. Unbelievable, but true.
    >
    > "Richard Stallmann" <WRFan1@gmail.com> wrote in message
    > news:OteFjq$aHHA.4140@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
    > > you have to install a dvd decoder
    > >
    > > "LarryW" <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
    > > news:VA.0000004c.1e410937@newsgroups.nospam...
    > >> When I try to play a DVD in Vista I get a message that Windows Media
    > >> Player
    > >> can't play it and I might need to adjust my Windows display settings.
    > >> I've
    > >> tried several settings, even down to 800x600, 16-bit color as well as
    > >> changing
    > >> the theme back to classic but it still won't play them. The Aero display
    > >> works
    > >> fine. Anyone know how to get them to play?
    > >>
    > >>

    > >
    > >

    >




  5. #5
    LarryW Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    Okay, so where do I get one and how do I install one? I assume this has to do with the
    DRM crap; but this is a store-bought DVD that I just want to play and others are the
    DVD's I made with my Sony DVD camcorder. Surely I own those and should be able to play
    them as I wish!


    In article <OteFjq$aHHA.4140@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, Richard Stallmann wrote:
    > you have to install a dvd decoder
    >
    > "LarryW" <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam> schrieb im Newsbeitrag

    news:VA.0000004c.1e410937@newsgroups.nospam...
    > > When I try to play a DVD in Vista I get a message that Windows Media Player
    > > can't play it and I might need to adjust my Windows display settings. I've
    > > tried several settings, even down to 800x600, 16-bit color as well as changing
    > > the theme back to classic but it still won't play them. The Aero display works
    > > fine. Anyone know how to get them to play?
    > >
    > >

    >




  6. #6
    LarryW Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    In article <#yHfszAbHHA.1508@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, Joni70 wrote:
    > This is the case at least in Vista Business edition. Even if you install
    > dvd-decoders, it won't work. It's just a bug in Vista Business, unless of
    > course it was done on purpose. The only solution I know of is to use some
    > third-party media player. Unbelievable, but true.
    >

    I tried installing VistaCodecs_v435 but even in admin mode the install
    immediately puts up a '7-zip' message box with 'unknown error'. Anyone know
    of any codecs that can successfully be installed in Vista that would make
    Windows Media Player or VideoLan VLC work?


  7. #7
    Adam Albright Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 07:23:20 PDT, LarryW <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam>
    wrote:

    >In article <#yHfszAbHHA.1508@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, Joni70 wrote:
    >> This is the case at least in Vista Business edition. Even if you install
    >> dvd-decoders, it won't work. It's just a bug in Vista Business, unless of
    >> course it was done on purpose. The only solution I know of is to use some
    >> third-party media player. Unbelievable, but true.
    >>

    >I tried installing VistaCodecs_v435 but even in admin mode the install
    >immediately puts up a '7-zip' message box with 'unknown error'. Anyone know
    >of any codecs that can successfully be installed in Vista that would make
    >Windows Media Player or VideoLan VLC work?


    To play a DVD (ie a disc with videos on it either of the commerical
    variety or home brew, not talking about simple data DVD) you need a
    MPEG-2 encoder/decoder commonly called a CODEC which stands for
    encoder/decoder. Such codecs are LICENSED. Microsoft is apparently too
    damn cheap to pay the license fee so does not include one with Vista.
    Some basic players which include a MPEG-2 CODEC comes with many, I
    dare say most DVD burners, however you may run into a compatability
    issue with Vista until they catch up.

    While version 9 of Easy Media Creator (Roxio) comes with a player, as
    I'm sure Nero's latest suite version does, the playback quality may
    not be that great, especially if you have a older under powered PC.

    A good DVD Player is Power DVD from CyberLink. If or not they support
    Vista yet, I don't know. I prefer it over the Cine player that comes
    as part of Roxio, however both have dreadful clunky interfaces that
    seem crude to me.

    If you are going to play true DVDs off your computer you may wish to
    defeat the autoplay function that starts up a DVD automatically when
    the disc is inserted then choose the program you want to use to play
    the DVD. Not surprising really that some freeware and shareware
    players play a DVD's VOB files better then so called DVD specific
    software does that you either have to buy or may come with DVD
    burners. To play with this method locate your DVD drive in Windows
    Explorer, insert the DVD you want to play, if it starts up and you
    haven't killed autoplay just stop it, then select one of the VOB files
    in the video folder on the DVD then select 'play with' and play in a
    BETTER player such as VLC Media Player which is a free download.

    Such a method won't support chapters or remote buttons, however such
    players often offer more controls that can adjust the playback speed,
    size of viewer, etc, perhaps apply filters, adjust colors,etc., so if
    your goal is to SEE better playback of DVDs on your PC, this may be a
    better method, though annoying since you have to load each video
    seperately as you would any other file.

    If you make your own DVDs (I've made hundreds) then the best playback
    is usually using a set top DVD player hooked up to your big screen tv,
    (Plasma wide screen preferred), using a upscaling/upconverting DVD
    player that will bump up the resolution from the standard NTSC (USA)
    720x480* to a higher level, usually 720p or 1080i. As a alternative
    play back on your PC if you have a high end LCD wide screen monitor
    like one of the Ultra Sharp Dell monitors which you can buy seperately
    which run at 1920 x 1200 resolution.

    * in the states the DVD standard is 720x480 interlaced, lower field
    first. That simply means DVD videos start out as interlaced with
    alternating fields (lower, upper) being displayed in alternating rows
    on your tv screen which means some artifacts can creep in unless the
    DVD player and/or your tv has a circuit that coverts the signal to
    progressive, which eliminates most artifacts resulting from merging
    the upper and lower fields in a interlaced video, almost always
    resulting in a sharper picture. In fact a 720p (progressive) image can
    often be preceived as sharper than a high resolution 1080i
    (interlaced) image for this reason. All computer monitors use
    progressive scan, but unless you run at a fairly high resolution the
    advantage is lost. To avoid skipping, stalling, stutter when playing
    back a DVD on your computer you need a fairly powerful CPU and higher
    end graphic card for best results.



  8. #8
    LarryW Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    In article <avs7039sm6upkv1nad2l9lusus2vmiqb5u@4ax.com>, Adam Albright wrote:
    > While version 9 of Easy Media Creator (Roxio) comes with a player, as
    > I'm sure Nero's latest suite version does, the playback quality may
    > not be that great, especially if you have a older under powered PC.
    >

    I guess that's why it worked for me in XP, I had Roxio v8. Wasn't sure if
    Roxio v8 would work in Vista and didn't want to take a chance installing it
    and thought the DVDs would just play with what was in Vista; obviously I was
    wrong <sigh>. Is Roxio 8 or 9 actually supported by Vista?



  9. #9
    Adam Albright Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:46:21 PDT, LarryW <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam>
    wrote:

    >In article <avs7039sm6upkv1nad2l9lusus2vmiqb5u@4ax.com>, Adam Albright wrote:
    >> While version 9 of Easy Media Creator (Roxio) comes with a player, as
    >> I'm sure Nero's latest suite version does, the playback quality may
    >> not be that great, especially if you have a older under powered PC.
    >>

    >I guess that's why it worked for me in XP, I had Roxio v8. Wasn't sure if
    >Roxio v8 would work in Vista and didn't want to take a chance installing it
    >and thought the DVDs would just play with what was in Vista; obviously I was
    >wrong <sigh>. Is Roxio 8 or 9 actually supported by Vista?


    Version 9.




  10. #10
    Brian Thorn Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:46:21 PDT, LarryW <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam>
    wrote:

    >In article <avs7039sm6upkv1nad2l9lusus2vmiqb5u@4ax.com>, Adam Albright wrote:
    >> While version 9 of Easy Media Creator (Roxio) comes with a player, as
    >> I'm sure Nero's latest suite version does, the playback quality may
    >> not be that great, especially if you have a older under powered PC.
    >>

    >I guess that's why it worked for me in XP, I had Roxio v8.


    Wow... I could barely get Roxio 8 to work in XP! Bugs, frequent
    crashes and reinstalls, massive frustration. Roxio 9 really should
    have been a service release for 8, or at least major upgrade discounts
    for Roxio 8 sufferers.

    > Wasn't sure if
    >Roxio v8 would work in Vista and didn't want to take a chance installing it
    >and thought the DVDs would just play with what was in Vista; obviously I was
    >wrong <sigh>. Is Roxio 8 or 9 actually supported by Vista?


    9 works fine, except for Drag-to-Disc, which generated a driver
    incompatibility warning and was shutdown every time I booted Vista.
    Uninstall D-to-D (which has its own entry in Add/Remove) after you
    install Roxio 9 (you can't choose to not install D-to-D initially.)

    Brian

  11. #11
    LarryW Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    In article <80vb03huddp9t8k8jge1o26e2i3jf9o1dd@4ax.com>, Brian Thorn wrote:
    > 9 works fine, except for Drag-to-Disc, which generated a driver
    > incompatibility warning and was shutdown every time I booted Vista.
    > Uninstall D-to-D (which has its own entry in Add/Remove) after you
    > install Roxio 9 (you can't choose to not install D-to-D initially.)
    >

    I found a patch for Dell systems which worked for me to take care of this.
    See http://kb.roxio.com/content/kb/Creator/000131CR


  12. #12
    Chris Sidener Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs


    "LarryW" <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam> wrote in message
    news:VA.00000051.143d138e@newsgroups.nospam...
    > In article <80vb03huddp9t8k8jge1o26e2i3jf9o1dd@4ax.com>, Brian Thorn
    > wrote:
    >> 9 works fine, except for Drag-to-Disc, which generated a driver
    >> incompatibility warning and was shutdown every time I booted Vista.
    >> Uninstall D-to-D (which has its own entry in Add/Remove) after you
    >> install Roxio 9 (you can't choose to not install D-to-D initially.)
    >>

    > I found a patch for Dell systems which worked for me to take care of this.
    > See http://kb.roxio.com/content/kb/Creator/000131CR
    >



  13. #13
    Chris Sidener Guest

    Re: Windows Media player won't play any DVDs

    CODEC = Compression Decompression

    "LarryW" <lwdaddio@newsgroups.nospam> wrote in message
    news:VA.00000051.143d138e@newsgroups.nospam...
    > In article <80vb03huddp9t8k8jge1o26e2i3jf9o1dd@4ax.com>, Brian Thorn
    > wrote:
    >> 9 works fine, except for Drag-to-Disc, which generated a driver
    >> incompatibility warning and was shutdown every time I booted Vista.
    >> Uninstall D-to-D (which has its own entry in Add/Remove) after you
    >> install Roxio 9 (you can't choose to not install D-to-D initially.)
    >>

    > I found a patch for Dell systems which worked for me to take care of this.
    > See http://kb.roxio.com/content/kb/Creator/000131CR
    >



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