Windows Media File Types
What kinds of audio files can I play in Windows Media Player?
Advanced Systems Format (ASF)
Windows Media Audio (WMA)
Audio Video Interleaved (AVI)
MPEG audio .mp3, .mp2, .mpa
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) .mid, .midi, .rmi
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) .aif, .aifc, .aiff
Sun Microsystems and NeXT .au, .snd
Audio for Windows (WAV) .wav
CD Audio track .cda
What kinds of video files can I play in Windows Media Player?
Advanced Systems Format (ASF) .asf
Windows Media Video (WMV) .wmv, .wm
Audio Video Interleaved (AVI) .avi
Media Center Recorded Television .dvr-ms
MPEG video .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .m1v
DVD video .vob
W.M.P. Updates:
1.In Windows Media Player, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Player tab.
2.In the Auto upgrade area, make sure Enable automatic codec download is checked, and specify how often you want the Player to check for updates.
Can I play this file type in Windows Media Player?
The following list shows some of the common, digital-media file types that either aren't supported by the Player, or are supported if you acquire additional software:
•3GPP Multimedia. Ringtone files with .3gp file name extensions are commonly found on Windows Mobile-based devices. You can download DirectShow filters from the Internet that allow you to play ringtone files in the Player. Keep in mind, however, that some filters may introduce instability with programs or your computer in general. Make sure that the filters are from a trustworthy software provider before downloading them.
•iTunes. The Player can't play iTunes music files with .aac or .m4p (protected AAC) file name extensions. The iTunes Jukebox from Apple Computer is required to play these files.
•Macromedia Flash. You can play files with .swf file name extensions in the Player if you install the Macromedia Flash Player.
•mp3Pro. The Player can play mp3Pro audio files; however, it currently doesn't support the Spectral Band Replication (SBR) technology that improves the sound quality of MP3 files at lower bit rates. Check the WMPlugins.com Web site to see if a plug-in becomes available.
•MPEG-4. You can play files with .mp4 file name extensions in the Player if you install a DirectShow-compatible MPEG-4 decoder pack. For more information, see article 316992, "Windows Media Player multimedia file formats," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
•Ogg Vorbis. You can play files with .ogg or .ogm file name extensions in the Player if you install DirectShow-compatible filters, which you can download from the WMPlugins.com Web site. Note that these filters only allow you to play the files using the Player; you won't be able to add them to your library.
•QuickTime. The Player can't play video files with .mov or .qt file name extensions. (Note that files encoded in QuickTime version 2.0 format or earlier can be played in the Player; however, this is an older format and files encoded with this version are not readily available.) QuickTime Player from Apple Computer is required to play these files.
•RealNetworks. The Player can't play files with .ra, .rm, and .ram file name extensions. RealPlayer from RealNetworks is required to play these files.
•Sony Music. The Player can't play files with .oma file name extensions. Connect Player from Sony Music is required to play these files.
note:
no where do you see the .flv file type.for this you need the FLV Player
here are several:
RECCOMENDED
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
RECCOMENDED
FLV Player - Reviews and free downloads at Download.com
http://www.download.com/flv-player/3000-...
RECCOMENDED
Winamp Media Player - MP3 Player, Multimedia Player, MP3 Music ...
http://www.winamp.com/
1. Insert the music CD into your computer’s CD drive. If a window titled “Audio CD” pops up, select “Take No Action” and click OK.
2. Start Windows Media Player from the Start Menu.
3. With the “Now Playing” tabbed menu on the screen, select “Rip”. You’ll notice a list of your CD tracks appear, with the title, length, artist and other information either filled in or showing as unknown. If you have an Internet connection, click “Find Album Info” to have it downloaded and filled in automatically. Alternatively, you can click on items like artist once and manually type in the information.
4. Select Tools from under the top menu and choose Options. Choose the Rip Music tab. Check to see that the “Rip Music to this location” option is to your liking. If not, click Change. Under File Name, you can also choose what options (i.e. artist, song title) to include in the name.
5. Under Rip settings, select the Format you wish to save your music to. The Three Windows Media Audio formats can provide slightly better audio results then MP3, especially at lower bit rates (known as audio quality in Windows Media Player – see next step), but are not as widely supported on digital audio players as MP3s.
6. Audio quality selection is next. The slider, by moving it to the right, will increase the bit rate by which the music is recorded to. The higher the bit rate (i.e. displayed in the box as 192 Kbps), the better sounding quality the music will be. It also will increase the size of the individual music files, which may ultimately limit how many you can store on a portable device.
7. After confirming your selections, click OK to return to the Rip CD screen.
8. Looking at the screen, you will see checkmarks next to each of the tracks to be copied. If you wish to not copy some of them, uncheck those marks.
9. Click Rip Music. A progress bar will appear next to each song title as it is copied onto your hard drive. You can stop the rip at anytime by clicking Stop Rip.
10. When all of the songs have been ripped, you can eject the CD and put it away.
11. Congratulations – you’ve ripped a CD using Windows Media Player 10!
in addition to which you will need tthe right codecs to even see what you've downloaded,let alone Play it!
FREEWARE BASICS
Adobe Flash Player Download Center
Windows
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/...
Shockwave Player Download Center
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/...
Free Java Download
http://www.java.com/en/download/index.js...
QuickTime 7.2
http://www.download.com/3000-2194-100022...
Get Miro Player
watch movies,download youtube,google videos,tv shows and more
http://www.getmiro.com
Make Beautiful Music with Windows Vista—at Home or On the Go
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/co...
Codecs:
Windows Essentials Codec Pack is a collection of the most essential Audio and Video DirectShow Codecs and Filters for Windows, that enables you to play and view almost all music and video files downloaded from the Internet. It adds support for (S)VCDs and XCDs as well as 3GP, AAC, AC3, APE, AVI, DivX, 3ivx, DAT, h.264, x264, Nero Digital, DTS, FLV, FLAC, HD-MOV, MPEG-1/2, M4A, MP3, MP4, MO3, MOD, MKV, OFR, TTA, OGG/OGM, S3M, Vorbis, VOB, XviD, XM, WV, UMX and many other formats. Essentials Codec Pack also includes Windows Media Player Classic. An integrated auto-update can automatically check for updated codecs.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/essentials-...
Windows only: Freeware app CodecInstaller searches your computer for commonly used codecs and displays which codecs you have installed and which codecs you need. CodecInstaller can even download and install missing codecs. Additionally, you can point CodecInstaller at a specific file and CodecInstaller will tell you exactly which codecs you need to play the file. CodecInstaller requires the .NET 2.0 runtime and is a free download for Windows only.
Install missing codecs with CodecInstaller
Windows only: Freeware app CodecInstaller searches your computer for commonly used codecs and displays which codecs you have installed and which codecs you need. CodecInstaller can even download and install missing codecs. Additionally, you can point CodecInstaller at a specific file and CodecInstaller will tell you exactly which codecs you need to play the file. CodecInstaller requires the .NET 2.0 runtime and is a free download for Windows only.
http://www.jockersoft.com/english/codecinstaller_download.php
should you need to convert a file to play im Windows Media Player,here are several you can try out:
MEDIA CONVERTERS:
Multiple Converter Links
http://www.sofotex.com/download/MP3_Software/more8.html
Apex Free 3GP Video Converter 5.82
http://www.softpedia.com/get/multimedia/...
AMV Convert Tool description
AMV Convert Tool was developed for helping you to transform the media files into the AMV file format
AMV Convert Tool was developed for helping you to transform the media files into the AMV file format which can be played by MP3 Players.
The program
supports the converting of the following video file formats:
1) The AVI format file: .avi
2) The Windows Media format file: .asf, .wmv
3) The MPEG1 format file: .mpg, .mpeg
4) The real player format file: .rm
5) The quicktime format file: .mov
6) The MPEG2 format file: .vob;
http://www.softpedia.com/get/multimedia/...
YOU'LL NEED:
Softe Audio Player :
is an all-in-one jukebox for managing, playing tons of audio files. It can play MP1, MP2, MP3, WAV (PCM, IMA ADPCM, ALAW, and ULAW), WMA, OGG, RA, RM, RMVB, CDA(CD), AC3, VOB(DVD), AMR, AWB(AMR-WB), AAC, FLAC, AU, AIF, APE, MPC, G721, G726, VYF, M4A, MOV, 3GP, MP4, MPG, WMV, and ASF beautifully. http://www.softe.net more...
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/freeware/flac/player
MediaMonkey:
is an easy-to-use music manager and media jukebox for serious music collectors and iPod users.
It catalogs your CDs, OGG, WMA, MPC, FLAC, APE, WAV and MP3 audio files. It looks up missing Album Art and track information via Freedb and the web, and includes an intelligent tag editor and an automated file and directory renamer to organize your music library. It includes a CD ripper, CD Burner, and audio converter for saving music, and manual or automated playlist editors for creating music mixes. Its player automatically adjusts volume levels so that you don't have continually fiddle with the volume control and supports hundreds of Winamp plug-ins and visualizations; or if you prefer, it can use Winamp as the default player. It also includes portable audio device synchronization that allows you to quickly synch tracks and playlists with iPods and other portable audio devices.
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/freeware/2005/07/04/mediamonkey/
FLAC - download
jFLAC: a Java native-FLAC decoder library and player application. J-Ogg: Java libraries for Ogg decoding, including Ogg FLAC
# Windows
* FLAC for Windows with installer (If this does not work, download flac-1.2.1b.exe from here) NOTE FOR VISTA USERS: if the installer is getting stuck, try this workaround
* FLAC for Windows (command-line tools only)
http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html