Codecs screwed up and cannot fix!!!

[Ramrunner]

It must be something I've done - I'm sure, but WMP has just stopped playing back DivX content saying 'Format not supported'. It has ALWAYS worked for DivX 3,4 or 5 content, has only just stopped working completely. Nothing works!

The DivX player Alpha still plays everything successfully - no problems there.

I've tried downloading the avi fix .reg files (both of them). Tried one, then the other. Still nothing. It's as if Windows XP is simply not finding the right playback filter any more, no matter what I do.

I've uninstalled and re-installed the codecs. Still nothing.

Is there any way to fix this? Is there a way for me to see what video codecs are installed in Windows XP? I have a feeling it's choosing the wrong filter maybe? And maybe the priority of that filter sits above the correct ones?

I've never had this before in all the time I've played with divx (pretty much since the beginning), and although I'm usually quite clever at solving these things, I really am at a complete loss on this one. Any ideas?

TIA.

Ramrunner

[Acaila]

Is there a way for me to see what video codecs are installed in Windows XP?
Open VirtualDub and go to video->compression. You'll get a list of video codecs there.
You should also look at File->Properties to see what video and audio codec will be used for playback. If one or the other says 'unknown' it means it's not installed.

I have a feeling it's choosing the wrong filter maybe? And maybe the priority of that filter sits above the correct ones?
Could be, I've heard it happen to a few people with audio (MP3) codecs I believe.

[Ramrunner]

OK, according to Virtual Dub, all required codecs ARE installed.

What I'm now referring to is let's say MovieX. It is a movie I encoded myself using DivX 4.11 and in the past, always played back properly. Now it won't on WMP. (The fact that DivX Player plays it at least allows me to watch it I guess, but it's got me buggered - why DXP plays it fine (in fact ANY avi fine) yet any other Media Player, including 8 and 2, simply have started refusing to play it).

File->Properties tells me:

720x320, 1:56:06, Audio MPEG Layer 3, 128kb/s
25 Frames/s, 250kbps data rate, Video Sample Size 24bit, Video Compression DivX Codec.

Virtual Dub says the same but that the Decompressor is DivX Codec 4.11.

The AVI-Info utility tells me ALL the right things EXCEPT it says for Compression it says DIVX - Unknown. If I click on any of the other tabs I get the error message No suitable CODEC available for display.

VirtualDub Compression lists:

DivX;-) MPEG-4 Fast Motion
DivX;-) MPEG-4 Low Motion
DivX Codec 4.11

AMONGST other things ofcourse. Both VirtualDub and NanDub allow me to view the preview, and all seems fine.

I bet my testicles it's a Microsoft registry setting - but where to look? I've tried looking at the microsoft registry fix, but it was already set properly, except it used lower case instead of upper case on the required key. It wouldn't let me change to uppercase, and removal of the key (after back-up ofcourse!) seems to make no difference.

Humbug!

Any other ideas anyone?

Regards,
Ramrunner

[Acaila]

VirtualDub/Nandub and the DivX Playa play the file correctly because they use the VfW decoder. WMP and most other players use a Directshow decoder. So it seems that is where your problem lies.

As to how to fix it, I'm sorry but I don't know.

[avih]

you can give ffdshow a try. if ffdshow won't play your file then i think it's not divx problem, but other part of the dshow filter chain. you could open the clip in graphedit and have a look at the complete chain, and if you can't resolve it yourself, maybe you can post it here (the filters chains) and we'll try to help u with that.

cheers
avi