I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies show
an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After transferring the
movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:

- The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP error
message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the
file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."

- The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says "Cannot
Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".

- If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play them,
but the preview screen is black.

- GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
Installed".

- The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program (came
with the camera).

Related Info:

- Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi file
from a different source which plays fine.
- The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
(capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is .avi
(lower case) -- probably does not matter?

Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.

try installing this version of ffdshow...

http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...kage_id=199421
--
website references are to www.papajohn.org

PapaJohn


"John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>show
> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After transferring
> the
> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>
> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
> error
> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing
> the
> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>
> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
> "Cannot
> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>
> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
> them,
> but the preview screen is black.
>
> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
> Installed".
>
> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program (came
> with the camera).
>
> Related Info:
>
> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi file
> from a different source which plays fine.
> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is .avi
> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>
> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>
>

What's the URL that Web Help takes you to?

There's already an MJPEG codec on the system. It should work. PapaJohn's
suggestion might help you replace it if needed though, but that shouldn't be
needed.
AVI vs avi doesn't matter - the system is case-insensitive here.

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>show
> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After transferring
> the
> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>
> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
> error
> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing
> the
> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>
> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
> "Cannot
> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>
> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
> them,
> but the preview screen is black.
>
> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
> Installed".
>
> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program (came
> with the camera).
>
> Related Info:
>
> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi file
> from a different source which plays fine.
> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is .avi
> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>
> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>
>

I agree that a fix is better than a work-around... if I take my ffdshow
codec out of the picture, MJPEG files still play.

WMP plays them with pvmjpeg30.dll file in the system32 folder... check that
it's there and try re-registering it in case it slipped a gear.
--
website references are to www.papajohn.org

PapaJohn


"zachd [MSFT]" <zachd@nomailplz.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:uTawOgGZIHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> What's the URL that Web Help takes you to?
>
> There's already an MJPEG codec on the system. It should work. PapaJohn's
> suggestion might help you replace it if needed though, but that shouldn't
> be needed.
> AVI vs avi doesn't matter - the system is case-insensitive here.
>
> --
> Speaking for myself only.
> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
> rights.
> --
> "John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
> news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>>show
>> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After transferring
>> the
>> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>>
>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
>> error
>> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing
>> the
>> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
>> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>>
>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
>> "Cannot
>> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>>
>> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
>> them,
>> but the preview screen is black.
>>
>> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
>> Installed".
>>
>> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program (came
>> with the camera).
>>
>> Related Info:
>>
>> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi file
>> from a different source which plays fine.
>> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
>> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is .avi
>> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>>
>> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>>
>>
>
>

Zach -- The URL that Web Help takes me to is:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...nalid=80004005

PapaJohn -- the pvmjpeg30.dll file is not in my System32 folder or elsewhere
on my hard drive. I googled a bit for it and there are references to
'pvmjpg30.dll' (without the e), but that is not on my hard drive either.
The main reference is to a site for
Pegasus Imaging and they call it PICVIDEO and they want $39 to download it.
Are you thinking it is something that should have come with WMP Microsoft?

"PapaJohn" <papajohn@chartermi.net> wrote in message
news:OcS%23ZyGZIHA.4284@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>I agree that a fix is better than a work-around... if I take my ffdshow
>codec out of the picture, MJPEG files still play.
>
> WMP plays them with pvmjpeg30.dll file in the system32 folder... check
> that it's there and try re-registering it in case it slipped a gear.
> --
> website references are to www.papajohn.org
>
> PapaJohn
>
>
> "zachd [MSFT]" <zachd@nomailplz.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:uTawOgGZIHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>
>> What's the URL that Web Help takes you to?
>>
>> There's already an MJPEG codec on the system. It should work.
>> PapaJohn's suggestion might help you replace it if needed though, but
>> that shouldn't be needed.
>> AVI vs avi doesn't matter - the system is case-insensitive here.
>>
>> --
>> Speaking for myself only.
>> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>> rights.
>> --
>> "John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
>> news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>>>show
>>> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After transferring
>>> the
>>> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>>>
>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
>>> error
>>> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing
>>> the
>>> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
>>> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>>>
>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
>>> "Cannot
>>> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>>>
>>> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
>>> them,
>>> but the preview screen is black.
>>>
>>> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
>>> Installed".
>>>
>>> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program (came
>>> with the camera).
>>>
>>> Related Info:
>>>
>>> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi
>>> file from a different source which plays fine.
>>> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
>>> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is .avi
>>> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>>>
>>> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

John,

Working backwards, I see...

ffdshow.ax is used as the default decompressor on my Vista Home Basic laptop
when playing Motion JPEG files from my Canon SureShot SD750 camera.

I had added ffdshow to that computer to play Xvid files. When I take it out
of the picture, the file is decompressed by pvmjpeg30.dll (PIC Video
Decompressor)... I don't know where it came from as it's not on my Vista
Ultimate system or on my XP laptop.

If I then take that out of the picture also, when I try to open the Motion
JPEG file in WMP or MM6... for some reason Pinnacle's Video Spin starts
going through a setup process. Maybe that's a clue that it brought
pvmjpeg30.dll in when I installed it.

As I haven't installed Video Spin or hardly anything else on my Vista
Ultimate SP1 beta system, the MJPEG file still plays in WMP and MM6... with
no WMP pointer to the video decompressor being used. GSpot's checks and
tests indicates it's quartz.dll doing the decompression.

Codecs need more understanding by average users... I've made it my theme for
this year to study them and provide practical info.
--
website references are to www.papajohn.org

PapaJohn


"John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:OjtqvwHZIHA.1532@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Zach -- The URL that Web Help takes me to is:
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...nalid=80004005
>
> PapaJohn -- the pvmjpeg30.dll file is not in my System32 folder or
> elsewhere
> on my hard drive. I googled a bit for it and there are references to
> 'pvmjpg30.dll' (without the e), but that is not on my hard drive either.
> The main reference is to a site for
> Pegasus Imaging and they call it PICVIDEO and they want $39 to download
> it.
> Are you thinking it is something that should have come with WMP Microsoft?
>
> "PapaJohn" <papajohn@chartermi.net> wrote in message
> news:OcS%23ZyGZIHA.4284@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>I agree that a fix is better than a work-around... if I take my ffdshow
>>codec out of the picture, MJPEG files still play.
>>
>> WMP plays them with pvmjpeg30.dll file in the system32 folder... check
>> that it's there and try re-registering it in case it slipped a gear.
>> --
>> website references are to www.papajohn.org
>>
>> PapaJohn
>>
>>
>> "zachd [MSFT]" <zachd@nomailplz.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:uTawOgGZIHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>> What's the URL that Web Help takes you to?
>>>
>>> There's already an MJPEG codec on the system. It should work.
>>> PapaJohn's suggestion might help you replace it if needed though, but
>>> that shouldn't be needed.
>>> AVI vs avi doesn't matter - the system is case-insensitive here.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Speaking for myself only.
>>> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>>> rights.
>>> --
>>> "John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
>>> news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>>>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>>>>show
>>>> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After
>>>> transferring
>>>> the
>>>> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>>>>
>>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
>>>> error
>>>> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing
>>>> the
>>>> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
>>>> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>>>>
>>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
>>>> "Cannot
>>>> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>>>>
>>>> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
>>>> them,
>>>> but the preview screen is black.
>>>>
>>>> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
>>>> Installed".
>>>>
>>>> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program
>>>> (came
>>>> with the camera).
>>>>
>>>> Related Info:
>>>>
>>>> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi
>>>> file from a different source which plays fine.
>>>> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
>>>> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is
>>>> .avi
>>>> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>>>>
>>>> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

Hear hear!

A key Microsoft dev died (cancer) the same time as another retired the same
as a group of people (pirates, really) were sabotaging the AVI field. It's
messed up now for a reason. I'm trying to help restabilize it, but people
magnificently undid a lot of the work I had previously done to help sort out
AVI's stability as a viable interchange format. =\

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--

"PapaJohn" <papajohn@chartermi.net> wrote in message
news:%23we2h1IZIHA.4476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> Codecs need more understanding by average users... I've made it my theme
> for this year to study them and provide practical info.

That's E_FAIL which is sad.

On my clean / pristine system, MJPG plays back fine. You don't need
pvmjpg30.dll to play this. FFDShow does have an MJPEG decoder, but that's
replacing the built-in DirectShow MJPEG decoder that's part of Quartz. If
you open up graphedt.exe (not on your system), you can go to Graph : Insert
Filters : Video Compressors and you should see MJPEG decompressor under
there.

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:OjtqvwHZIHA.1532@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Zach -- The URL that Web Help takes me to is:
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...nalid=80004005
>
> PapaJohn -- the pvmjpeg30.dll file is not in my System32 folder or
> elsewhere
> on my hard drive. I googled a bit for it and there are references to
> 'pvmjpg30.dll' (without the e), but that is not on my hard drive either.
> The main reference is to a site for
> Pegasus Imaging and they call it PICVIDEO and they want $39 to download
> it.
> Are you thinking it is something that should have come with WMP Microsoft?
>
> "PapaJohn" <papajohn@chartermi.net> wrote in message
> news:OcS%23ZyGZIHA.4284@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>I agree that a fix is better than a work-around... if I take my ffdshow
>>codec out of the picture, MJPEG files still play.
>>
>> WMP plays them with pvmjpeg30.dll file in the system32 folder... check
>> that it's there and try re-registering it in case it slipped a gear.
>> --
>> website references are to www.papajohn.org
>>
>> PapaJohn
>>
>>
>> "zachd [MSFT]" <zachd@nomailplz.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:uTawOgGZIHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>> What's the URL that Web Help takes you to?
>>>
>>> There's already an MJPEG codec on the system. It should work.
>>> PapaJohn's suggestion might help you replace it if needed though, but
>>> that shouldn't be needed.
>>> AVI vs avi doesn't matter - the system is case-insensitive here.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Speaking for myself only.
>>> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>>> rights.
>>> --
>>> "John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
>>> news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>>>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>>>>show
>>>> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After
>>>> transferring
>>>> the
>>>> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>>>>
>>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
>>>> error
>>>> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing
>>>> the
>>>> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error message
>>>> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>>>>
>>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
>>>> "Cannot
>>>> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>>>>
>>>> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
>>>> them,
>>>> but the preview screen is black.
>>>>
>>>> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
>>>> Installed".
>>>>
>>>> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program
>>>> (came
>>>> with the camera).
>>>>
>>>> Related Info:
>>>>
>>>> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi
>>>> file from a different source which plays fine.
>>>> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
>>>> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is
>>>> .avi
>>>> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>>>>
>>>> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

Zach,

One of the many things I don't understand about operating systems and codecs
is why, if Quartz.dll is Microsoft's good decoder for Motion JPEG files and
comes with my Vista system, why doesn't Vista manage the codec priorities
such that Quartz is used by WMP and Movie Maker even if ffdshow and PICVideo
codecs are installed and given permission to be used as needed.

It's hard to believe a codec from a third party can step in front of the one
preferred by Vista, and the operating system will accept it without getting
me the user involved. Among Quartz, ffdshow and PICVideo, the most polite
one is ffdshow when it asks if it should be used once, all the time, or not.
The other two don't ask.

On a slightly different subject, when a Motion JPEG file is open in WMP, the
file properties show the video codec when either ffdshow or PICVideo is
being used, but it offers no info about the codec being used when it's
Quartz... why is that?
--
website references are to www.papajohn.org

PapaJohn


"zachd [MSFT]" <zachd@nomailplz.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:umLmnORZIHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>
> That's E_FAIL which is sad.
>
> On my clean / pristine system, MJPG plays back fine. You don't need
> pvmjpg30.dll to play this. FFDShow does have an MJPEG decoder, but that's
> replacing the built-in DirectShow MJPEG decoder that's part of Quartz. If
> you open up graphedt.exe (not on your system), you can go to Graph :
> Insert Filters : Video Compressors and you should see MJPEG decompressor
> under there.
>
> --
> Speaking for myself only.
> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
> rights.
> --
> "John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
> news:OjtqvwHZIHA.1532@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Zach -- The URL that Web Help takes me to is:
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...nalid=80004005
>>
>> PapaJohn -- the pvmjpeg30.dll file is not in my System32 folder or
>> elsewhere
>> on my hard drive. I googled a bit for it and there are references to
>> 'pvmjpg30.dll' (without the e), but that is not on my hard drive either.
>> The main reference is to a site for
>> Pegasus Imaging and they call it PICVIDEO and they want $39 to download
>> it.
>> Are you thinking it is something that should have come with WMP
>> Microsoft?
>>
>> "PapaJohn" <papajohn@chartermi.net> wrote in message
>> news:OcS%23ZyGZIHA.4284@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>I agree that a fix is better than a work-around... if I take my ffdshow
>>>codec out of the picture, MJPEG files still play.
>>>
>>> WMP plays them with pvmjpeg30.dll file in the system32 folder... check
>>> that it's there and try re-registering it in case it slipped a gear.
>>> --
>>> website references are to www.papajohn.org
>>>
>>> PapaJohn
>>>
>>>
>>> "zachd [MSFT]" <zachd@nomailplz.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>> news:uTawOgGZIHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>>
>>>> What's the URL that Web Help takes you to?
>>>>
>>>> There's already an MJPEG codec on the system. It should work.
>>>> PapaJohn's suggestion might help you replace it if needed though, but
>>>> that shouldn't be needed.
>>>> AVI vs avi doesn't matter - the system is case-insensitive here.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Speaking for myself only.
>>>> See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
>>>> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
>>>> rights.
>>>> --
>>>> "John Hanley" <jphanley@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:esWycIFZIHA.4896@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>>>>I have a Canon S3IS digital camera which can take movies. The movies
>>>>>show
>>>>> an .AVI extension and (I think) use an MJPEG codec. After
>>>>> transferring
>>>>> the
>>>>> movie files to my (Vista) hard drive, their behavior is erratic:
>>>>>
>>>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Player. The WMP
>>>>> error
>>>>> message is: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while
>>>>> playing
>>>>> the
>>>>> file". Clicking on Web Help reveals: "You've encountered error
>>>>> message
>>>>> C00D11B1 while using Windows Media Player."
>>>>>
>>>>> - The movie files *will not* play in Windows Media Center; WMC says
>>>>> "Cannot
>>>>> Play Video - Windows Media Center cannot open the file".
>>>>>
>>>>> - If I import the files into Windows Movie Maker, WMM appears to play
>>>>> them,
>>>>> but the preview screen is black.
>>>>>
>>>>> - GSpot reports that the file is a Motion JPEG, and that "Codec(s) are
>>>>> Installed".
>>>>>
>>>>> - The movie files *will* play using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX program
>>>>> (came
>>>>> with the camera).
>>>>>
>>>>> Related Info:
>>>>>
>>>>> - Both WMP & WMC play my .wmv files just fine. I also have one .avi
>>>>> file from a different source which plays fine.
>>>>> - The file extension on the AVI files that will not play is .AVI
>>>>> (capitalized); the file extension on the avi file that will play is
>>>>> .avi
>>>>> (lower case) -- probably does not matter?
>>>>>
>>>>> Will appreciate clues on where to look to solve the issue. Thanks.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

"PapaJohn" <papajohn@chartermi.net> wrote in message
news:OBwef9RZIHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> One of the many things I don't understand about operating systems and
> codecs is why, if Quartz.dll is Microsoft's good decoder for Motion JPEG
> files and comes with my Vista system, why doesn't Vista manage the codec
> priorities such that Quartz is used by WMP and Movie Maker even if ffdshow
> and PICVideo codecs are installed and given permission to be used as
> needed.

It's been generally assumed that if you install a codec, it's for a good
reason. That assumption has blown up in user's faces since the advent of
the hideous and embarassingly shoddy world of codec packs.

> It's hard to believe a codec from a third party can step in front of the
> one preferred by Vista, and the operating system will accept it without
> getting me the user involved. Among Quartz, ffdshow and PICVideo, the most
> polite one is ffdshow when it asks if it should be used once, all the
> time, or not. The other two don't ask.

FFDShow has gotten better. They've made their mistakes too. FFDShow
1.0.0.1 and other early/broken versions are still out there breaking people.
This is why I try to exclusively use the term "FFDShow Tryouts", referring
to the sustained tree that fixes up most of the FFDShow problems.

You're hinting at a much larger problem affecting all of DirectShow as the
field becomes terrorized by incompetent installers and beta or alpha grade
filters. The right people are looking at this non-trivial problem. I'm
trying to coax things back to more "normal", but the rampant third party
codec pack incompetence has really dealt a fairly crushing blow to the
multimedia ecosystem. Having the average user living on the bleeding edge
is causing massive problems. When I look at SP1 crash data and see a third
party codec atop the crashes for almost every multimedia component... that's
pretty depressing.

> On a slightly different subject, when a Motion JPEG file is open in WMP,
> the file properties show the video codec when either ffdshow or PICVideo
> is being used, but it offers no info about the codec being used when it's
> Quartz... why is that?

I haven't looked into that code chain for a while. If it's important, I
could, but I suspect it's an idle question.

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.