[dogeddie]

I switched from avi to mve cutscenes and the game cutscenes play fine. I don't get other non FS2 videos on my computer, though. Did I download a player that is messing things up? Or is the problem non related?

[Taristin]

Erm, if all you did was switch from using avi's to mve's, and didnt touch anything else, than it is more than likely not related.

[Herra Tohtori]

Eh, I din't think it's in any way related to individual files in individual folder if you suddenly stop being able to play other video files in other parts of the filesystem...

MVE files don't even require any kind of external player to work in Freespace Open, as opposed to AVI files which demand an external codec to work, so it's kinda weird that if your AVI cutscenes worked before, other movies suddenly stop working on whole PC after you stop using them in FS2...

Anyway, standard solutions to video playback problems:

-Remove existing video codecs such as DivX bundle crap and XVid codecs, and install Combined Community Codec Pack instead, if you want to keep using the Windows Media Player / WinAmp or equivalent player

-Download and install VLC Media Player if you don't want to deal as much with codecs as before

if these don't fix the problems, update graphics card drivers and sacrifice a child to Baal.

[dogeddie]

both links seem to take me to the same place. i would like the idiot proof fix if it's available

[Herra Tohtori]

Link tag fixed.

Try the VLC media player. It's user interface is a bit unorthodox compared to for example Windows Media Player, but as an advantage it plays almost anything you can throw at it without much problems. It doesn't like Real video, but that's a special case - almost nothing except real can playback real anyways...

But VLC is good to try, as it plays QuickTime, WMV, XVid/DivX-AVI, other kinds of AVI, MPEGs, Theora, DVD's, VCD's etc. without any additional codecs or codec packs installed on the PC.

CCCP is the option to try if you dislike VLC or it doesn't solve the problem. It will install FFDShow, which is a DirectShow codec pack that contains pretty much everything that is needed in video/audio playback in most file types. That works fine most of the time, too.

[dogeddie]

thanks - I'll try it tonight