WMV Playing.

[keyless]

Keyless,

The problem is not getting a WMV to play. The problem is that not all WMVs will play correctly and some WMVs will play correctly on one but not on another machine. The only format that plays 99% reliably is the MCI compatible format (or whatever you want to call it).

Best,

Mark

as long as WMV 9 codec is installed which is included in all recent WMP players and standard on Vista and XP sp3 they will play. If you are using anything less then WMV 9 you should take that VCR remote you probably still have and smack yourself in the head, the quality of 9 is lightyears from the earlier ones.

I checked the Window class and it is ActiveMovie, so I don't think it is MCI at all but is using directshow through VFW Video For Windows so ituses (ActiveMovie/directshow codecs).

I'm more worried about Richards bug, there are plenty of commercial and vital apps out there that still use VFW.

[Mark]

As far as I know, Revolution doesn't use WMP and Codec 9. It uses WMI and only WMI. The deceptive part is that it *might* play, depending on circumstances, which I don't know (I have never checked it out and I stick to QT if I can).

Best,

Mark

[keyless]

As far as I know, Revolution doesn't use WMP and Codec 9. It uses WMI and only WMI. The deceptive part is that it *might* play, depending on circumstances, which I don't know (I have never checked it out and I stick to QT if I can).

Best,

Mark

That is incorrect from what I have read and seen. It is mentioned in the Metacard FAQ that Metacard uses VFW and I saw Scott mentions such support was added in MC2.3 version in Archive.

I used a tool to check the Window class of the player in the standalone, and it clearly shows ActiveMovie as the class and render.

I found statments that show and confirm that included in directx is a driver to let DirectShow be used over VFW. And that is exactly what it is doing and I know for sure that the movies I am testing with are WMV 9.

The circumstances of having a recent direct x and latest WMP are absolute, unless user removed them in XP sp3 and up in such case WMV will not work in a directShow player either anyway.

It is testable too in registry.

I've tested three machines of different makes so far and it plays.

[keyless]

WMI is Windows Management Instrumentation and involves managment fuctions for the OS, has very little to do with Video playback or rendering.


Here is brief history of Video on windows machines:

first: MCI - Windows 3.1 days. Used loose control framwork for all media playing (16-bit)

Second: VFW - Windows 95 days. MS's answer to Quicktime (apple lawers said copy) tighter framework with lots of tools and a player WMP2 bundled together.

third: ActiveMovie (quartz) later called DirectShow when MS moved to DirectX buzzwords. Based on COM framework.

[Mark]

Keyless, I don't mind if you don't believe me, really. I believe I have sufficiently warned you about Rev's incapability to play modern WMV files. I can't do more than that.

Best regards,

Mark

[keyless]

Keyless, I don't mind if you don't believe me, really. I believe I have sufficiently warned you about Rev's incapability to play modern WMV files. I can't do more than that.

Best regards,

Mark

Mark it's not that I don't believe you, clearly you had tested this and found WMP it did not play.

I'm just pointing out that as Microsoft has upgraded their OS, WMP, and Codecs the chances of WMV9 working on a sytem are proably higher then some surly old school system admin letting QT be installed on "their systems"

and as a almost final note: Shoot, I have WMVs I can't get to play in WMP11.

The way I see it all other codects are really just going to go away as MP4 H.264 gets closer to final and universaly accepted form (Add my prior VCR remote quote here) (already available in quicktime, Flash and Silverlight)

With any, all or none of this being correct, I sure hope Rev see's Fash as a better crossplatform Video option anyway.

[keyless]

I had some friends test the app on there machines and so far it's played on all of them so far, XP MCE, Vista, and XP home.

I'm really starting to think that time has been kind to the VFW functionality of the Player and it can play WMV9 consistantly. I figure for dead sure ability I could always look into including FFDShow VFW decoder which has WMV 7-9, MPEG4, DIVX, and XViD and FLV now I think too. Though that is GPL so one would need to find alternative for commercial apps.

so here is what I found for WMV playback in a rev App

1. In a revbrowser, the WMP ActiveX object works wonderfully but you have to use its controls (Though I am looking into controlling with javascript sent to the browser object) Tested and working in 2.8.1 - 3.0

2. WMP ActiveX object .HTA file. Works great, not really in rev, but in its own customizable window. Lots of scriptability with .HTA too as VBscrit and Javascript function in .HTAs. Can be used 2.8.1-3.0

3. Player in Rev with both dontuseQT & dontuseQTeffects in the preopen. So far seems to work well. Only works in 3.0 for me (maybe in 2.7 and below too) MArk thinks there maybe an issue with some WMV, but I think as long as you stick with WMV9 (I use Vegas and Microsofts own encoder to encode) should work.

*** Update- I've found out from several sites and sources that WM7 and WM8 as part of the ASF initiative were made very proprietary and MS intentionally kept VFW drivers from being designed, but with WM9 they opened up and created Windows Media Video 9 VCM which made WMV work on older VFW apps (but in AVI wrapper at that point)
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... m/faq.aspx
Looks like later they opened up WM9 in its native WMV wrapper too. So 9 looks like the magic codec for REV, I suspect the new 10 might work fine also.