Unable to play some WMA files

[ChopsII]

I have got windows 7 with the default WMP12 and i cannot play some WMA files that i ripped with a previous version of WMP. It says that they do not have any license restrictions or anything, just wont play them and can't tell track length etc (i presume cant read the tags). Any ideas what's wrong??

Chops II

 

[Lebon14]

Hi there! Welcome to Seven Forums.
Tell us, what happen if you try to play those files with another media player like Winamp or foobar2000?

 

[ChopsII]

VLC is perfectly capable of playing the files.

 

[Lebon14]

Alright, at least, it's clear that it's not a problem with the files. I can't help you much further because I don't use Windows Media Player.

Also, to help the others further, take a screenshot of the error.

 

[ChopsII]

The error message when i try to play with WMP is :

Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Player does not support the format you are trying to play.

 

[awenthol]

Try installing the K-Lite codec pack...maybe it's an issue that can be solved via a codec? I've been using it for quite awhile now...have yet to find a file I cannot play with WMP.

Unless you want it, make sure to uncheck "Install WM Player Classic."

Free-Codecs.com : Download K-Lite Codec Pack 5.4.4 FULL, K-Lite Codec Pack 5.4.4 STANDARD, K-Lite Codec Pack 5.4.4 BASIC : K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools

 

[ChopsII]

but surely WMP should be able to play them without extra codecs. I would like a proper fix if anyone knows.

 

[awenthol]

but surely WMP should be able to play them without extra codecs. I would like a proper fix if anyone knows.

Well, "does not support this format" sounds like a codec problem to me. So, the proper fix would be codecs that you may have had installed on the other WMP w/out realizing.

 

[Lebon14]

What I don't understand is why Windows Media Player is unable to play his own media file?
Anyway, I may have another solution for you but this one may seem radical :
Convert your music files into an other format, like the MP3, OGG or m4a.

You can use dBPowerAmp (note that the MP3 codec for dBPA isn't free) or MediaCoder Audio Edition.

For fun, convert one (be sure to keep your original) and try to play it with WMP.

 

[harpua]

If you are going to install codecs, I would recommend Shark007's Win7 codecs over any other codec packs.

 

[ChopsII]

but surely WMP should be able to play them without extra codecs. I would like a proper fix if anyone knows.

Well, "does not support this format" sounds like a codec problem to me. So, the proper fix would be codecs that you may have had installed on the other WMP w/out realizing.

Well the songs were ripped with WMP without any other codecs. So this is NOT the proper fix. I want to know why WMP12 Cannot play the files without 3rd party codecs. I do not want to have to install any 3rd party codecs because they shouldn't be necessary, as the songs were ripped in a previous version of WMP without 3rd party codecs.

I still have no idea about this problem.

 

[svenvandevelde]

.WMA files don't play in media player

Hello,

I had exactly the same problem with Media Player. I have a desktop running on Windows 7, and a laptop running XP.

Oddly, when I copied my music files ripped on windows 7 (WMP12) and tried to run them on XP (WMP11), I got also an error message that the .WMA could not be player.

I tried various things to solve it, and found a solution:
I reinstalled WMP11 on my XP, and suddenly after proper reinstallation, my .WMA files played on WMP11 as well.

I suppose your problem is with WMP12 on Windows7? Well, try to install WMP12 again. You can find the download here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?displang=en&qstechnology=

Hope this helped.
Sven

 

[noobvious]

What I don't understand is why Windows Media Player is unable to play his own media file?
Anyway, I may have another solution for you but this one may seem radical :
Convert your music files into an other format, like the MP3, OGG or m4a.

You can use dBPowerAmp (note that the MP3 codec for dBPA isn't free) or MediaCoder Audio Edition.

For fun, convert one (be sure to keep your original) and try to play it with WMP.

It's not recommended to convert a lossy file into another lossy file....you will lose some quality.

 

[Capella]

Not a codec problem, a license problem:
quoted from iskysoft.com
Windows Media Video (WMV) was developed by Microsoft and these files are playable using Windows Media Player. There are numerous portable media players available which support WMV playback. You can use a .WMV file for either streaming or downloading. Downloaded Windows Media Files come with the protection by the DRM License itself. If you try to play it for the first time on your PC, Windows Media Player will try and look for the license on the PC.

It's explicable that you would like to remove DRM from WMV files. You can play a windows media video file without obtaining a license from the digital rights management server. There are several ways of achieving this task of removing of DRM from WMV.
1. freeme2 - Browse FreeMe2 Files on SourceForge.net
2. automate unDRM -
Free DRM removal from .WMV, .ASF, .WMA (Windows Media audio/video files). Included in the download pack: drmdbg, drm2wmv, DecryptIt
You can Download Automate unDRM here.

These are not written by me and the original article can be found here How to Remove DRM from WMV

Hope I helped~!

 

[noobvious]

Not a codec problem, a license problem:
quoted from iskysoft.com
Windows Media Video (WMV) was developed by Microsoft and these files are playable using Windows Media Player. There are numerous portable media players available which support WMV playback. You can use a .WMV file for either streaming or downloading. Downloaded Windows Media Files come with the protection by the DRM License itself. If you try to play it for the first time on your PC, Windows Media Player will try and look for the license on the PC.

It's explicable that you would like to remove DRM from WMV files. You can play a windows media video file without obtaining a license from the digital rights management server. There are several ways of achieving this task of removing of DRM from WMV.
1. freeme2 - Browse FreeMe2 Files on SourceForge.net
2. automate unDRM -
Free DRM removal from .WMV, .ASF, .WMA (Windows Media audio/video files). Included in the download pack: drmdbg, drm2wmv, DecryptIt
You can Download Automate unDRM here.

These are not written by me and the original article can be found here How to Remove DRM from WMV

Hope I helped~!

They are talking about WMA files....audio files ripped from CD's.....not video files. However, you may have stumbled upon something here......perhaps the rips in WMP11 were done with the copy protection checked on?

 

[forrevenge18]

If you are going to install codecs, I would recommend Shark007's Win7 codecs over any other codec packs.

can u tell how to use this codec pack??

 

[Shark007]

If you are going to install codecs, I would recommend Shark007's Win7 codecs over any other codec packs.

can u tell how to use this codec pack??

There will be a new release in about 24hrs (version 233) that has a button at the bottom of the settings application to apply SUGGESTED settings. If you have a version currently installed you do need to know that uninstalling requires you to use the button provided on the help tab of the settings application.

 

[ChopsII]

Hey, thanks all and sorry to revive a long dead post, but im still not able to solve this problem. I reinstalled WMP12, i got Shark007 codecs pack, and tried FreeMe2, all to no avail.

Not sure if i mentioned this before, but the files play fine in VLC, but VLC is awesome like that.

 

[ChopsII]

SOLVED

Wahey! Solved.

Stumbled around for a very long time trying to find programs to do this and that, found one that would repack wma's without reencoding. Not too sure what that means but the actual musical part of the file remains unchanged. That worked. So that means something else about the file was corrupt, rather than having a codec issue (since the coding is unchanged).

Spent another few days trying to work out how to do this for all ~100 files at once, ended up downloading ffmpeg command line and learning how to do the same thing with that, and then also learning how to write a batch file to do it on all 100 files at once.

Thanks all for your help, I hope this helps others in the same situation

 

[toksa]

WMP Music not Streaming between Win 7 computers

As stated in one of the posts this based on my experience is a license problem. I burned my whole CD collection all 1000 discs with copy protect music checked which is default for ripping in WMP 12. As soon as I unchecked copy protect music under rip settings more options, I was able to re-rip and stream music between all my Win 7 machines no problem including my Boxee Box.

My recommendation is if you are going to rip your whole CD collection un check CD Copy protect music so you don't have to go through the pain of ripping your whole collection a second time.