Posted by PapaBear on 12/26/07 00:54

"the dog from that film you saw" <dsb@removethisportionbtinternet.com> wrote
in message news:5tdh2eF1d3m4bU1@mid.individual.net...
>
> "dos-man 64" <ChairShot@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:ab5ba508-13d7-4735-8137-5b3824cee8db@a35g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>> The machine is a Gateway running Windows XP. I would never run XP or
>> a notebook; this is my mom's :D
>>
>> I put DVDs into the DVD-ROM drive and close the door. I try to run the
>> DVD using media player, and a message pops up saying, "Cannot play
>> this DVD because a compatible decoder is not installed on your
>> computer."
>>
>> Shouldn't the drive know how to play DVDs without any external
>> software? What does this mean and how can I get it to work?
>>
> for licensing reasons windows won't play dvds until you install dvd
> playing software.
> easiest thing to do is use vlc player - http://www.videolan.org/vlc

It comes as a rude surprise that Windows isn't ready to play a DVD. I recall
the feeling and sympathize. I fumbled around quite a bit at first before
solving the problem, satisfactory to me.

I'm not familiar with the Linux decoder suggested by the dog... I took a
quick look and it seems technically complicated, like many of the Linux
programs for Windows. If you can wrap your brain around it, I imagine it
works fine. I side-stepped those complications and hit upon a solution by
pure luck, otherwise I could still be groping around in the dark! I use the
Cyberlink decoder which came for free along with PowerDVD when I purchased
an internal LG DVD burner.

This may be a useful link:
Plug-ins for Windows Media Player
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx

Partway down that list it mentions Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=DE1491AC-0AB6-4990-943D-627E6ADE9FCB
which tells you what decoder(s) you may already have installed.

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