Fortunately, some enterprising individuals
have created codec packages, large installers that include several, if not dozens,
of the codecs that people seem to need most. One good example,
known simply as the Vista Codec Package, is available for free from http://
www.jtow.net/users/triess/.
Some of these packages are better than others, and depending
on what??™s included (or what isn??™t), some may cause more
problems than they solve. For best results, remove any separate,
standalone codecs you??™ve installed before trying out a
codec package.
If, after installing an individual codec or codec package, some of your videos
no longer play (or their thumbnails no longer show up), there??™s a little
trick you can try before you uninstall and give up. The FFDShow Video
Decoder Configuration tool, included with many codec packages and shown
in Figure 4-3, helps you troubleshoot specific codec problems.
For instance, on one PC, Vista lost the ability to play back .avi files: Media
Player crashed each time one was opened, and Windows Explorer displayed
an error message whenever it attempted to render thumbnails for the videos.
To fix a problem like this, open the FFDShow Video Decoder Configuration
tool, select Codecs on the left, and then find the codec that??™s causing
the problem in the right pane. Then, in the Decoder column, use the dropdown
listbox to choose a different decoder from the list. Click OK when
you??™re done; the change should take effect immediately.
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