Windows Media Player cannot play the file Windows 10
Get ready to play a video on Windows 11 or 10, only to find that the Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Windows Media Player is playing only sound not video with a black screen. Sometimes, it’s not able to play MP4, MKV, MPEG, and some other videos it should play. If your Windows Media Player (12) won’t play videos with error messages including but not limited to the following, you can find a fix in this post. Play any Video on Windows Media Player without ErrorsNo extra codecs required. WinX Video Converter [100% free and clean] will convert videos from various different formats to Windows Media Player compatible WMV, AVI, MP4, MPEG, MOV, etc. No clueless troubleshooting. Play video with audio on Windows Media Player smoothly immediately. Solutions to Windows Media Player Video Playback Errors
Solution 1. Download Codecs AutomaticallyIf there is no picture only sound on Windows Media Player with error messages reminding that it lacks a certain codec, for example, you need to download the HEVC codec on Windows 11 to get the player work. First, try to download the codec using Windows Media Player:
Solution 2. Download Codecs ManuallyIf there is no option in the Windows Media Player to let you download the codec, you can get an extra codec for it. Here is a slew of codecs you can download to help Windows Media Player plays the video it can't, including CCCP, K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Codec Pack, ffdshow, LAV Filters, etc. Below we'll take K-Lite Codec Pack as an example to show you how:
Solution 3. Convert the Video to Another FormatIf the Windows Media Player cannot play a certain file, for example, Windows Media Player won’t play MP4 (HEVC) videos, you can convert the video to a format which is more friendly to WMP. In fact, Windows Media Player supports only a slew of formats, including WMV, AVI, MP4, MPEG, MOV, etc. Some newer codecs are not supported. For example, Windows Media Player is not able to play MKV, MP4 with HEVC codec, VP9/8, AV1, VVC. (Note that Windows Media Player won’t play DVD since Windows 10.) Then you can convert the problem video to another format with a video converter. Here we use the free tool WinX Video Converter to show you how:
Solution 4. Enable Windows Media PlayerIf the media player feature is not enabled in the Windows Feature settings, the Windows Media Player cannot play the videos, of course. So you need to make sure if the media player is enabled in the settings. Here is how to check it:
Solution 5. Set Proper Audio DeviceSome of the Windows Media Player video playback errors can be caused by wrong audio settings. For example, you may see errors like "Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with the audio device. It might not be a sound device installed on your computer". If you see that error, try to:
Solution 6. Update the Video and Audio DriversWhen the Windows Media Player cannot play the file on Windows 11, it's possible that the installed video or audio driver is not up to date. An outdated video or audio driver can cause Windows Media Player playing only sound not video with MP4, MKV, etc. or vice versa. In this case, you need to update your video or audio driver.
Solution 7. Try a Different Media PlayerIf the Windows Media Player still won't play video or it's playing only sound with black screen or whatever, and you don't want to bother with the troubleshooting, here is an no-brainer workaround: try another video player. Below we have a list of the best free video players for Windows 11/10 that works as good as Windows Media Player:
Other Useful How-to GuidesNo Audio in Windows Media Player MKV MP4 Video? Fixed!Check volume settings first if no audio in Windows media player plays in MKV, MP4 video. Check more solutions if WMP still doesn't play audio. ABOUT THE AUTHORKaley TorresKaley Torres is a self-motivated, creative editor with eight years of marketing and SEO experience, specializing in writing on DVD, video, audio, images, new digital contents etc. With a partiality DVD collection, Kaley also enjoys digitizing DVD and is keen to share her DVD video conversion solutions as well as video sharing tips on social media. Why Windows Media Player Cannot play MP3?Windows Media Player cannot recognize the MP3 file, which is virtually in another format. Some MP3 files require a license, and Windows Media Player cannot reproduce without it. Windows Media Player does not have the corresponding MP3 codec. The MP3 file is corrupted.
Can't play this file isn't playable 0xc00d36c4?Error code 0xc00d36c4 while playing videos is either due to unsupported video format or codec or corruption in the video file. It could also occur because of computer conflict with USB devices. Troubleshooting the error should begin by installing the supporting codec or converting the video file format to another.
Why Windows Media Player Cannot play MP4?MP4 video playback failure in Windows Media Player is due to corrupt video files, incompatible file format, codec missing, or player software issue. We list the top three main reasons why Windows Media Player can't play the MP4 video file below.
Why are my videos not playing on Windows 10?Many possible factors could lead to the "videos not playing on Windows 10" error, some of them include: The system is infected with malware. The Graphics driver is outdated. The video player is not upgraded.
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