Can you play these videos with Opera?

[Anthony A]

I noticed since I installed the recent updates from Microcrap I can't play these videos with Opera. This is on 4 machines with 8 installs of Opera so this is not a machine specific thing. Just click the video links you will see them on the right under "Multimedia Center" They are Windows Media.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

 

They work on all my other browsers.

[hazelnut]

I cannot either although I have audio, could it be a java thing?

[Anthony A]

I cannot either although I have audio, could it be a java thing?

 

 

As much as I like Opera this gets to be a PITA!!!! That site periodically does this. Usually a reinstall of Opera fixes it but not this time. All my other browsers work fine so it's not the machines it's Opera. I have the WMP Plugin yet I get prompted to download another plugin. Here is a screen shot.

 

To top off this BS we are having a hail storm in JUNE!! I swear if there is a god first thing I am going to do when I die is punch him right in the mouth!!!

 

[Andavari]

I couldn't play any of them either. And on just one of the videos I also got that popup to install the "update" from Microsoft, which I won't install.

 

Come to think of it, I wonder if it's some kind of DRM s**t.

[Anthony A]

I couldn't play any of them either. And on just one of the videos I also got that popup to install the "update" from Microsoft, which I won't install.

 

Come to think of it, I wonder if it's some kind of DRM s**t.

 

I didn't have the problem a few days ago. I just started getting it when I installed the latest security patches for Windows. I don't know if this is coincidence or if the site changed something or what.

 

I clicked the link in the download prompt to get more info and brought me here http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.mspx

[Andavari]

I don't know if this is coincidence or if the site changed something or what.

Well it isn't just that site!!! I'm always checking out if any new media is available on the Century Media Records Lable website and often stream WMV music videos and none of them I've clicked so far will work. So Microsoft has really released a fix that is instead is a fubar. At least they can patch it next month.

[Anthony A]

Well it isn't just that site!!! I'm always checking out if any new media is available on the Century Media Records Lable website and often stream WMV music videos and none of them I've clicked so far will work. So Microsoft has really released a fix that is instead is a fubar. At least they can patch it next month.

 

How do your other browsers work?

 

I posted on the Opera forums and some of them can play the videos but they were using Vista.

[Anthony A]

Here is what I did. I turned on Returnil and than installed that plugin that I get prompted to install. The videos worked. It doesn't give you the option to save it and than install. That way I could see what it is and where it goes. It only gives you the option to run it or not.

 

It's a video codec called WMV-9-VCM RTW. If I need this to run the video why does the video work in all the other browsers?

[Andavari]

How do your other browsers work?

The only other browser I have is IE7, and it doesn't work in it either. I'm using WinXP.

[Andavari]

Here's some info on that codec, and more info here.

 

"Supposedly this is the codec download page," however I don't see it mentioning it being for XP nor the actual codec name as the popup wants to install.

 

Edit:

In any event I'm not installing it because not that much uses WMV these days anyway. I also find it damned strange that this has only started happening after a round of Windows updates.

[Anthony A]

The only other browser I have is IE7, and it doesn't work in it either. I'm using WinXP.

 

Hmm. Works On FF2 and FF3, Maxthon1 and 2, IE7, and Avant for me. It's just a problem with Opera.

[Andavari]

It's just a problem with Opera.

It's a problem in IE7 for me too, so it just isn't an Opera only issue. However since I rarely use IE7, and even more rarely play any WMV's I don't really see it as something garnering my full attention. In other words it can remain broken on my system.

[hazelnut]

I cannot play those on IE7 either.

[DennisD]

Couldn't play these videos with Opera 9.27.

 

Changed Operas settings a wee bit, and now I can play them all. Here we go with the old screen shots again:

 

 

When I changed the setting to open wmv with MPlayer, I expected MPlayer to pop up to play them, but instead it enabled the videos to be played on-line normally using the following codecs:

 

 

Maybe one of those codecs is the one you're talking about earlier in this thread, I remember researching and installing one last year, but if it is the same one, why couldn't I play them without changing settings?

 

An academic point really. As long as the videos play I'm not really bothered about the why or how.

[Anthony A]

I cannot play those on IE7 either.

 

Are you having issues playing any Windows Media with IE7 or just that site?

 

IE7 plays it fine on all my machines. Just Opera is giving me problems.

[Anthony A]

Couldn't play these videos with Opera 9.27.

 

Changed Operas settings a wee bit, and now I can play them all. Here we go with the old screen shots again:

 

 

When I changed the setting to open wmv with MPlayer, I expected MPlayer to pop up to play them, but instead it enabled the videos to be played on-line normally using the following codecs:

 

 

Maybe one of those codecs is the one you're talking about earlier in this thread, I remember researching and installing one last year, but if it is the same one, why couldn't I play them without changing settings?

 

An academic point really. As long as the videos play I'm not really bothered about the why or how.

 

 

Dennis in that second screen shot how do you get to that I forget

[DennisD]

Are you having issues playing any Windows Media with IE7 or just that site?

 

IE7 plays it fine on all my machines. Just Opera is giving me problems.

 

I haven't tried anything apart from Opera, but I'll have a look.

 

I've been trying a lot of different settings, and I'll give you the info I found after I've tried IE.

 

Dennis in that second screen shot how do you get to that I forget

 

Right click the video, if it's playing, and select properties.

[DennisD]

That question was for Hazel of course, but I thought I might as well try it, and IE7 plays the videos fine.

 

What started off as a straightforward answer has turned out not so straight forward. I tried changing the settings in Opera to just about anything, and it played the videos fine.

 

It worked with "Play in Opera", "Use Plugin", etc etc..

 

What I did find, is that the videos usually wouldn't play straight off. I had to either refresh the page, or select one of the other videos, which is the same as refreshing the page I suppose, and then they worked every time.

 

Another thing I found was two entries for wmv in the Prefs/Advanced/Downloads section. One was displayed by default, and the other showed up when I unchecked the "Hide file types associated with Opera". So I deleted the first one, and still played the videos.

 

The last, and probably most relevant point is I'm 99% sure this "download codec" popup was one I got last year sometime, and after doing a bit of research on it, it seems to be something needed by Media Player 6.4, which I think comes with the OS and Windows Media Player by default.

 

I installed it, and it may be one of the codecs that shows up in that second screenshot. It's actually hard trying to find a download for that codec by googling, as I've just tried. You find lots of entries from different forums, as in Andavaris links, but not a direct download.

 

I dunno if all this helps, or just clouds the issue even more, but if it's the same codec, although it doesn't show exactly the same name, then it's never given me any problems. Just another codec.

[Anthony A]

That question was for Hazel of course, but I thought I might as well try it, and IE7 plays the videos fine.

 

What started off as a straightforward answer has turned out not so straight forward. I tried changing the settings in Opera to just about anything, and it played the videos fine.

 

It worked with "Play in Opera", "Use Plugin", etc etc..

 

What I did find, is that the videos usually wouldn't play straight off. I had to either refresh the page, or select one of the other videos, which is the same as refreshing the page I suppose, and then they worked every time.

 

Another thing I found was two entries for wmv in the Prefs/Advanced/Downloads section. One was displayed by default, and the other showed up when I unchecked the "Hide file types associated with Opera". So I deleted the first one, and still played the videos.

 

The last, and probably most relevant point is I'm 99% sure this "download codec" popup was one I got last year sometime, and after doing a bit of research on it, it seems to be something needed by Media Player 6.4, which I think comes with the OS and Windows Media Player by default.

 

I installed it, and it may be one of the codecs that shows up in that second screenshot. It's actually hard trying to find a download for that codec by googling, as I've just tried. You find lots of entries from different forums, as in Andavaris links, but not a direct download.

 

I dunno if all this helps, or just clouds the issue even more, but if it's the same codec, although it doesn't show exactly the same name, then it's never given me any problems. Just another codec.

 

I have no doubt the reason you can play it is that you previously installed the codec. I installed it yesterday under Returnil and the video played. I can't figure out why my other browsers work without it though. They play the video fine it's just Opera that is the problem. This also just started because I could play video on Opera on that site fine before. To confuse things though I have had an issue with that site and Opera before but a reinstall of Opera fixed it but not this time.

[Anthony A]

I have fixed this problem with Opera. Long story short Opera needs the FireFox Windows Media Player Plug in to play Windows Media. The Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library npdsplay.dll is what you have but you need np-mswmp.dll. I put this in and everything works now. Here is a support article form Opera about it and it has links to the plugin. http://www.opera.com/support/search/view/434/

 

I downloaded the installer and unpacked it with universal extractor. I didn't need this thing installing the plugin in FF because FF plays the videos well already. I unpacked it and than just pasted np-mswmp.dll into the Opera plugin folder. Than go to the options-advanced-downloads and look for wmv and select edit and make sure the FireFox Windows Media Player Plugin is selected.