Summary: Are you trying to play an AVI file using Windows Media Player, but the video won’t play? Maybe you see the first frame of the video, but the rest is blank? Or maybe you get an error message saying that the video format is not supported? Here you come to the right place, this article will show you the best solution on solving AVI can not play on Windows Media Player issue.
As the default media player in Windows operating system, Windows Media Player (abbreviated WMP), makes it easy to play audio, video and view images for Windows users.
AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave, which is a multimedia container format created by Microsoft, that ordinarily, Windows Media Player has no problems opening and playing.
However, many AVI files contain video streams that are encoded using codecs that Windows Media Player cannot normally interpret, like like Xvid, DivX, DX50, MP4V, – and when you attempt to playback such a file, you will likely just hear the audio stream. Other people may encounter other problems just like only see the first frame of the video, the rest is blank when trying to playing AVI in Windows Media Player.
Newer Version of WMP
Depending on which version of Windows you are running, you might be able to fix your problem by simply upgrading Windows, which will give you a newer version of WMP. If you are running Vista or XP, it’s probably worth upgrading and not just because you get a slightly better version of Windows Media Player! Unfortunately, XP and Vista users will have to pay to upgrade their machines to Windows 10 or invest in a new machine.
Convert AVI Video
If you must use Windows Media Player and the video won’t play, you can try converting the video to another format that is supported.
The easiest way to do this is to use a program called HandBrake, which is free. Note that when using HandBrake, it will convert the video into MP4 format using the H.264 codec. Vista and XP users will not be able to play those videos using WMP 11. For those users, you need to upgrade as previously mentioned or use a third-party media player like VLC, which I mention below.
Install Codec Packs or Use VLC
If the problem is related to the codec and you must use Windows Media Player, your only other option is to download a codec pack. This used to be very common, but it’s pretty rare these days.
You have to be careful when downloading codec packs because some of them contain malware, viruses, etc and will ruin your system. I highly recommend downloading VLC media player instead and using that since it already contains all the old and modern codecs by default and it’s safe.
The Third Party APP
This is mainly for Windows 7 and higher users who have an AVI file that uses a different codec not supported in WMP 12. In order to solve the Windows Media Player cannot play AVI issue, Pavtube Video Converter / Mac Version will be the best AVI on Windows Media Player converting assistant.
Key Features of Pavtube Video Converter
- Convert AVI to MP4 on both Mac and Windows compouter
- AVI to MP4 conversion will be process with original quality in an extremely fast speed
- Directly convert AVI videos to playable MP4 formats on computer or mobile devices like iPhone, iPad and iPad
- You can edit AVI videos before converting to MP4 format
- Able to convert between most of video formats, including AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, MTS/M2TS, etc
Step-by-step guide on converting AVI to Common MP4 for Windows Media Player
Step 1. Load AVI files to the program
Launch the HD Converter, drag & drop AVI files to the program. Or you can go to the “File” menu, choose “Add from folder” to locate the AVI files you want to add.
Step 2. Select MP4 as output format
In this step, you should set “MP4″ as the output format from the format list. If necessary, you can edit your AVI video before converting to MP4 file.
Step 3. Start the AVI to MP4 Mac conversion
Hit the “Convert” button and let HD do the rest for you! When the conversion finished, you can open the converted files and watching it on the Windows Media Player without any issues.
Read More:
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- Watch AVI Home Movies on TV
- Convert AVI/MKV Files to iTunes on Windows/Mac
