Repair Broken and Incomplete Videos
There are reasons that Windows Media Player might have trouble playing a
video other than a missing or broken codec??”namely, problems with the video
file itself. First, make sure your video file is complete; if you downloaded it
from the Web, try clearing your browser cache and downloading the file again.
If you??™re unable to obtain an intact version of the video, you may be able to
repair it with the free MPEG Header Corrector, available at http://www.
vcdhelp.us/html/tutmpegheadercorrector.html, although this typically only
works on true .mpg files. Need to repair an .avi file? Use DivFix (free, http://
divfix.maxeline.com).
152 | Chapter 4: Working with Media
OK, I know I just said that the filename extension doesn??™t dictate the codec,
but it does determine how the video data is organized in the file. See the
???Does It Have the Right Extension???? sidebar, next, if you suspect a video file
has been misnamed.
Figure 4-3. When more than one codec is installed for a specific video format, you can
choose which one to use with FFDShow Video Decoder Configuration Tool
Does It Have the Right Extension?
Of course, there??™s a chance someone gave your file the wrong filename extension;
before you attempt to repair that video, make sure it has the correct
extension. To check whether that .mpg file is really an .mpg file, open the file
in a text or hex editor. The header (before the aforementioned 4CC code) will
read RIFF if it??™s an .
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