question about AVI and DivX files! i cant play the films iv downloaded :(

[blueteyezt]

PLEEEASE HELP!? iv got the DivX player, and converter! i managed to convert one film, and it plays it! which is great, but when i try and convert the other films iv got it doesnt work. it says "unsupported file type.....error 22" i have no idea wot format these films are in now. i thought they were AVI but now i dont think they are. iv also got the AVS Video converter and that wont accept the file format either! im goin crazy. im sure that windows media player played them once, but now that says it wont aswel. Can someone please tell me what program i need!? and why its just workin! thanx

iv actually got that VLC player! lol. it wont play em! it will play about 2 of em which must be the right format but god knows what iv done to all my others iv tried using all different players. the file must be f**kd. windows media player says it doesnt support the file OR doesnt support the codec used to compress the file! so its not just a missin a codec i dont think. il try and download the other player suggested aswel! thanx

[TheGodSend]

AVS should convert it cuz i use AVS to convert AVI all the time. But at for software to watch it on ur pc, look up VLC, it plays everything iv ever thrown at it and its free.... not that, that matters if u have videos in AVI formant XD

[raisin_smiles]

Download VLC as its the player with the best compatibility and usually plays everything.

As for knowing what file types are the extension is a good clue .wmv .avi .mrk .mpg .mpeg etc..,

If you're confused about what the files are another good free program is called gspot (No idea why they call it that) you run it and then drag a file on top and it tells you exactly what the file format is and even the video and audio codes used.

So try VLC first and use gspot if you need to after to check out what the files really are.

[JeffH]

AVI is not so much a specific video format as a general description for a wide variety of formats. .avi files invariably require a particular codec (coder/decoder, a bit of software that plays a role analogous to a driver for a piece of hardware) in order to play. DivX is one popular one, but by no means the only one around. There are various ways to find out what codec is needed, often the place you got the file from will tell you, but more reliable are free programs like GSpot. Once you've figured out what codec you need, do a quick web search and you'll find it.

It's also possible the file got damaged somehow; if you start to suspect this is the case, try downloading it again.

As for players, I prefer Media Player Classic to the ones you mentioned. Many people swear by VLC as well, though I didn't like how its controls worked. One good feature of VLC is that it comes with nearly every codec you're likely to need (this is why the above posts note that it seems to play everything - but that's not something only VLC is capable of, by downloading the right codecs you can get any player to behave that way).

EDIT: I would avoid the big codec packs that are being recommended by others. You don't know what you're actually installing. Even if the fact that they contain massive amounts of pirated stuff (and for all either of us knows, spyware) doesn't worry you, they it will include a lot of stuff that is AT BEST unnecessary (not to mention out of date). So why put up with the unneeded risk of software conflicts? I recommend the admittedly slightly more tedious route of just downloading what you need when you need it; the closest thing to a codec pack I would use is ffdshow, which takes care of most of what the average user today is ever likely to want anyway.

[ChrisyD]

Might Help You Download (K-Lite codecs Mega) Pack from filehippo.com might sort your problem out

[zmmmjetmmm]

If VLC won't play a file, try KM player - also free
http://www.filehippo.com/download_kmplayer/