Windows Media Player Problems

[Flatland Shooter]

On my desktop (Windows XP Pro) I rarely watch DVDs. This afternoon I decided to watch the season finale of Falling Skys recorded last night.

I also tried several commercial DVDs that work on the home DVD players.

Windows Media Player indicates I'm missing a DVD Decoder. Checked the codecs loaded and it indicates they are still there (MPEG2 along with several others). The problem is only with DVDs. All other formats are still good to go.

Since I'm running Version 11, will downloading & installing Version 12 solve the problem? Would it be best to remove Version 11 before the upgrade? May have some compatibility problems with Zune software but unable to find anything about this on the net.

Another option I thought I might try is just go with an after-market video player program but held off on that. Since I do not know if its software or hardware problems, I'm concerned that another program will also fail to read DVDs.

Thanks for any and all help.

Bill

[wurm]

Do you have a dedicated DVD playing program on your computer? Windows XP does not include a built in DVD decoder. You have to purchase a program (or have one included with your computer) that includes a decoder in order to playback DVDs, even in Windows Media Player.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/windows-media-player/plug-ins

There are free options out there like VideoLan's VLC media player that have a built in DVD decoder but just fair warning, VLC player lacks a CSS decryption license and may run afoul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

[Flatland Shooter]

Do you have a dedicated DVD playing program on your computer? Windows XP does not include a built in DVD decoder. You have to purchase a program (or have one included with your computer) that includes a decoder in order to playback DVDs, even in Windows Media Player.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/windows-media-player/plug-ins

There are free options out there like VideoLan's VLC media player that have a built in DVD decoder but just fair warning, VLC player lacks a CSS decryption license and may run afoul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

No dedicated media players have been purchased or installed. Its an older computer and the last time I tried to watch a DVD it worked just fine. When I open up the list of codecs loaded, it includes several for playing DVDs including one labeled MPEG2.

Would it hurt to load VideoLan's VLC to see if it would work? I'm concerned that it would affect other programs like the software for handling ZUNE and FLIP downloads.

Bill

Edited August 15, 2011 by Flatland Shooter

[edison]

Bill, I don't think VLC would affect your other programs. Unless you make it the default player for all medias, then all the icons will turn to orange cones. Wouldn't hurt to try, you can always uninstall VLC. Also, if your XP Pro is a 32bit version (probably), you can try www.DVD43.com

[DyNo!]

I came in here to post that you should get VLC.

[Heckler]

Another vote for VLC

[Flatland Shooter]

VLC it is!

I'll get a good night's sleep and give it a try in the morning.

Thanks everyone for the assist.

Bill