Help > Movies

Download Questions

How do I download movies?
I don't have the option "Save target as", how do I fix that?
How do I speed up, pause and resume downloads?
When I try to download a movie, windows media player starts but the movie does not start.

Movie Playing Questions

What is required to play movies?
What's a codec?
What codecs do I need?
What movie player do you advise?
Xvid codec installation problem: "Error opening file for writing", how do I fix that?
Avi movies won't play while all required software is installed.
I get no video while playing movies.
I get no audio while playing movies.
Picture is green / corrupted while playing movies.
Picture is upside down while playing movies.
How do I make Windows media player my default player?
How do I join movie parts?

Error Messages

Unable to download an appropriate decompressor.
No combination of filters could be found to render the stream.
The file format is invalid.
My question / problem is not listed here.

How do I download movies?

PC Users :

Most browsers are configured that if you left click on the link, your media player will pop up, and the movie will start to play. What really happens here behind the scenes: your media player downloads the file to a temporary directory and the movie starts to play once it's downloaded. There is one big difference between the different file formats : .avi files must be fully downloaded before they can play, .mpg and .wmv files can start to play even when the file is not 100% downloaded yet.

The method above is the easiest way to play movies, the disadvantage of it is that you don't really know where the file gets downloaded. If you want to download the movie and save it on your Hard Drive for later, use the method below.

If you use Microsoft Internet Exporer : Right Click on the movie link and then select "Save target as". You'll be prompted to choose a place where to store the movie on your Hard Drive (remember where you download it of course, e.g. your desktop), and then the download will start. To play the movie, double click on the file once its completely downloaded.

If you use Netscape or Firefox : The procedure is the same as with Microsoft Internet Explorer, but you should select "Save link as".

MAC Users :

Internet Explorer or AOL: Choose the desired link, click and hold left mouse button. Choose “Download Link to Disk” and download the file to your hard drive.

Netscape: Choose the desired link, click and hold left mouse button. Choose “Save Link As” and download the file to your hard drive.

I don't have the option "Save target as", how do I fix that?

How to fix this problem is described on the following page:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/q176/3/16.asp&NoWebContent=1

How do I speed up, pause and resume downloads?

We advise you to use Download Accelerator Plus or Get Right. This will help you to speed up your download and resume/pause your downloads. Best of all, they're free of charge!

When I try to download a movie, windows media player starts but the movie does not start.

You have to make sure to download the movie on your hard drive before watching it. Click here for info about how to download movies. If you use the Right Click method to download the movie you can see the download progress. Remember: an avi file won't play untill is fully downloaded. Check out What is required to play movies to see if you have all necessary software installed.

What is required to play movies?

To play movies you need a movie player and the right codecs (What's a codec?) :

What codecs do I need?
What movie player do you advise?

What's a codec?

The logic used for compression and decompression of a movie or sound is stored in a helper file called a codec (COmpression / DECompression). When an author creates a multimedia file it is typically very large. To make it smaller it is compressed using a codec and the identity of the codec is stored in the header of the multimedia file. If you do not have the correct codecs (audio and video) installed the movie won't play.

What codecs do I need?

GSpot is a Video codec identification utility that identifies which video codec and audio compression method is used on an .avi file and checks whether the matching codec is installed, and more.

With the codecs below you will be able to play 99% of all .avi files, so download and install them all. If you still have problems after installing these codecs, use GSpot to check your .avi file.

Video Codecs

If you need a codec that is not listed here you will probably find it at http://www.divx-digest.com/software/index2.html#codecs

PC Users :

MAC Users :

Linux Users :

Audio Codecs

MP3 Codec (Most used) (MPEG Layer-3 Codec, Unknown (tag 55), Unknown (tag 85))
DivX Audio Codec (DivX ;-) Audio Compressor, Unknown (tag 161), Unknown (tag 353))
AC3 Codec (AC3 Codec, Unknown (tag 2000), Unknown (tag 8192))

What movie player do you advise?

We advise you to use Windows Media Player or the BS Player to play movies. Windows Media Player is the default player for all the Windows Platforms so you don't need to download it again if you have windows. If you don't have Windows or want to upgrade your current Windows Media Player version, you can use the following link :

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp
(Make sure to download the proper version, depending on your operation system)

Note that Mac Users can also use quicktime.

BSPlayer is one of the best XviD players out there. It is capable of playing back all kind of media files, including AVI, MPG, ASF, WMV, WAV, MP3, etc. If you prefer to view movies with subtitles then this is the player for you. It supports all the most popular subtitle formats such as MicroDVD, Subviewer and SubRip. The player also supports custom subtitle options for position, color, font and transparency. Another great feature is that the player is fully skinnable, so you can download new skins to change way the player looks and feels. Finally, this player offers the most efficient CPU and memory usage, so if you're having problems with skipping you should give this player a try.

BS Player download page: http://www.bsplayer.com/index.php?p=download (the free version is below the pro version)

Don't forget to install the required codecs! The movies won't play without the proper codecs!

Xvid codec installation problem: "Error opening file for writing", how do I fix that?

This problem occurs when you try to install the XviD codec and the XviD installation program for some reason is unable to create/replace files in the Windows system directory.

If you don't have the xvid.ax file installed on your system already the problem is most likely that you don't have the required priviliges to install the XviD codec. The installation program needs to be able to create some files in the Windows system directories as well as update the system registry. Make sure you have these privileges or contact someone who has them to get help.

If you already have the xvid.ax file installed on your system you need to figure out why the installation program is unable to replace it. This can either be caused by the file attribute being set to read-only or because the codec currently is in use by another program. Make sure to close all other programs before you try to install the XviD codec. If you still get the same error message you could try to manually remove the file before you start the installation.

Avi movies won't play while all required software is installed.

The most common reason that downloaded movies don't work is because the download is incomplete. To find out if a movie is incomplete you should download GSpot and open the movie you are having problems playing. If the "Stat" field for the file says that the file length is correct the file is complete. If the "Stat" field for the file says that the file is truncated the file is incomplete and you need to resume the download or download the file again if you didn't use a download manager.

If the movie is complete and it still won't work it's probably because you don't have the required codecs installed on your computer.

If you've got all the required codecs installed on your system and you still can't play the movie it's possible that the downloaded file is corrupt, try to download the file again. If a certain movie still won't play while most other movies do play, the file is probably corrupted.

I get no video while playing movies .

This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and the video player you are using is unable to find the needed video codec. You might be able to listen to the sound but no video is shown. Fortunately, there is an easy way to fix this problem. All AVI files contain a FOURCC code in the header of the file, which can be used to identify the video codec required to play the movie.

To find out which video codec you are missing you should download GSpot and open the movie you are having problems playing. The program will give you information about what codecs are needed to play the movie and if you have them installed on your computer. If you look under the video format section you will see information about the video stream. If you don't have a compatible video codec installed you should be able to use the FOURCC codec to find and download the needed video codec.

Please note that there doesn't exist any video codec that uses the FOURCC code 0. If you've downloaded a movie with the FOURCC code 0 it's a fake movie file and you won't be able to watch it.

I get no audio while playing movies.

You need to figure out if the problem is with the movie you are trying to play or your system configuration. You can do this by trying to play an MP3 or another movie and see if the sound works. If it does you should keep on reading for more information how to fix the problem. Otherwise you have to figure out what's wrong with your system configuration.

It's important to understand that video and audio are two separate things, which when combined make up movies. A movie consists of a video stream for the picture and an audio stream for the sound. A video codec is what makes it possible to decode the video stream, but it has nothing to do with decoding the audio stream. If the sound in a movie isn't working you have to find out which audio codec is missing and install it.

To find out which audio codec you are missing you should download GSpot and open the movie you are having problems playing. The program will give you information about what codecs are needed to play the movie and if you have them installed on your computer. If you look under the audio format section you will see information about the audio stream. If you don't have a compatible audio codec installed you should be able to use the codec name to find and download the needed audio codec.

Picture is green / corrupted while playing movies.

The problem is that the movie you're trying to play was encoded using a newer version of the codec then what's installed on your computer. You should first of all make sure that you have the latest version of the required codec installed.

If simply upgrading the codec doesn't help it's most likely a problem with ffdshow. The problem with the ffdshow filter is that it apparently overrides the decoding of XviD video using its own filters. Even if you upgrade your XviD codec it won't help as the ffdshow filter will override it. To disable XviD decoding using ffdshow, goto the File menu in Windows Media Player and select Properties (make sure that you have a XviD movie loaded or the Properties option will be disabled). Then click the Advanced tab and select the "ffdshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder", then click Properties. A new window with various options will be displayed. You simply need to uncheck XVID from the supported codecs. This should tell your computer to use the installed XviD codec to decode XviD movies instead of ffdshow.

Please note that the above instructions only work in Windows Media Player v6.4. If your system has a newer version of Windows Media Player installed you can still access the older version to make the needed changes. Simply goto the Start menu in Windows, select "Run..." and enter "mplayer2" in the box. Then click the OK button to start Windows Media Player v6.4.

Picture is upside down while playing movies.

The easist solution is to go to the Tools->Options->Performance->Advanced menu and simply deselect the "Use video mixing renderer" option. While this option works for many it doesn't solve the problem for everyone.

How do I make Windows media player my default player?

This is described on the following page : http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q271949&gssnb=1

How do I join movie parts?

This page lists movie joining/cutting programs.

It's easy to join AVI DIVX files with Peck's Power Join , but this program cannot join XVID encoded files.

To join/cut AVI DIVX and XVID files we recommend to use Virtualdub, a freeware open-source AVI editor.

How to join AVI files with Virtualdub :

Open the first AVI file
From the "File" dropdown menu select "Append AVI segment" and load the second file.
In the "Video" dropdown menu select "Direct stream copy"
In the "Audio" dropdown menu select "Direct stream copy"
In the "File" dropdown menu select "Save as AVI..." and give the joined movie a name.

Please remember that you can only join AVI files that have the same properties - eg. they must have been encoded with the same video codec, same frames per seconds, same resolution, same audio codec, same bitrate ... They must be exactly the same (other than the length of the film and the content, of course).

Unable to download an appropriate decompressor.

This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is unable to find the needed video codec. You might be able to listen to the sound but no video is shown. This either means that you haven't got the required codec installed or that the installed codec isn't working properly. The solution is to reinstall the required codec.

No combination of filters could be found to render the stream.

This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is unable to render the video stream. The movie that you are trying to play is either incomplete or corrupt and the codec doesn't support playback of incomplete movies, so make sure that you have the whole file before you try to watch it.

The file format is invalid.

This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player detects that the file format is invalid. The movie that you are trying to play is either incomplete or corrupt and the codec doesn't support playback of incomplete movies, so make sure that you have the whole file before you try to watch it.

My question / problem is not listed here.

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