When you download a video or film, or if you insert a DVD into your computer, to be sure to see it, the naked and raw Windows media player is not enough, you also need to install the codecs . Codecs are important because they are used for compressing video and audio so that the film is much smaller in size.
Compressing a video with different codecs gives different results in terms of video quality and quantity of megabytes.
If a video is compressed in DivX, you need to have the DivX codec to play the video, otherwise you happen to hear only the audio and see the black screen.
There are a lot of codecs used and, without needing to know what each one means, the best way to make sure that you can see all types of video files is to install packages that include all codecs .
The best collection of codecs is KLite to see all the films, which includes filters to see avi, divx, xvid, mkv, wmv, mpeg and all formats.
Instead, you need to download the Divx Video Codec Pack because it is the best to see all the videos and films, even in Mkv.
It is configured by default, not to have conflicts between different codecs and to configure them in an optimal way such as to offer the PC an automatic recognition of the one to be used according to the need.
With Klites you are unlikely to encounter problems and videos that cannot be viewed.
However, if there are codec problems or if an Avi or Divx video is corrupt, there are several methods to correct the errors .
If a video is not seen well or cannot be seen, the first thing to do is to uninstall and reinstall the codec package used from scratch.
You can then use the VideoInspector program to let the computer tell you which codec is needed to view a specific video or film of any format.
It also tells which codecs are already installed and which ones are missing to view a particular video file.
Codec packs are very sensitive, so even if it works perfectly after installation, reinstalling the codec or updating it can cause problems.
The Codec Tweak Tool program scans the registry to detect and remove invalid references to codecs and video filters .
Codec Tweak Tool is also included in the K-Lite Codec Pack.
To use it, it is better to directly press the Fixes button which is used to detect and eliminate corrupt VFW / ACM codecs and DirectShow filters.
Three other tools that solve malfunctions and errors of some codecs on Windows are:
1) Filmerit is a freeware application for cleaning and managing DirectShow filters .
DirectShow is a feature introduced by Microsoft with the introduction of DirectX.
Many useful filters are in fact incorporated into DirectX on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.
However, since every external application or program could install its own filters replacing the original ones, conflicts can occur and, in more severe cases, no multimedia file is seen.
2) Codec-Sniper is a simple, small and easy to use program that shows all DirectShows, video codecs and audio codecs installed on your computer.
Codec-Sniper also shows, in a column of the table, if the codec is "OK", or "Broken".
This smart application also allows you to eliminate all codecs that you know are old and those that have problems.
3) CodecInstaller scans the existing codecs in the PC, analyzes a multimedia file to find the necessary audio and video codecs, and possibly downloads new codecs from within the application itself.
It is easy to use, made from a minimalist user interface.
Be careful not to install the toolbar included in the installation.
However, these tools should only be used if there are tangible problems, otherwise, if all goes well and you see all the videos, even if you haven't updated the codecs for years, it's better to leave everything as it is, without ever touching them.
If you have Windows 7 Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, there is a specific tool, Preferred Filter Tweaker for Windows 7 8 and 10, to configure DirectShow filters with a few clicks (only for experts)
Assuming you have K-Lite Codec Pack or any other codec package installed, you can choose whether to use Microsoft's proprietary DirectShow filters or Klite's ffdshows for any type of video decoding.
It is possible to set the preferred filter for the following video formats; H.264, MPEG-4 (Xvid / DivX / MP4V), MPEG-2, VC-1, AAC, MP3 and MP2.
It happens, sometimes, that it is the video files, AVI or Divx, which are damaged, which are not seen and do not open because they are corrupt.
This is usually noticeable during playback.
Some problems that can occur are distorted images, a sudden stop or freezing of an image.
Another problem that can occur is that it is not possible to play the movie from any position due to the damage of the index and so it happens that you can only see it from the beginning, without being able to continue it.
This could have happened during the creation of the video so maybe not downloading it again would solve the problem.
Four programs to fix videos that are not seen are :
1) Digital Video Repair is a free, simple and completely automatic program that allows you to select the videos to be repaired and save it in a new file after performing a complete video restoration that should return to being visible.
2) DivFix ++ is a portable Open Source program for Windows, Linux and Macintosh that fixes avi and Divx files .
It comes with a very convenient and easy-to-use graphical interface.
Videos can be dragged into the program or added using the file browser.
A click on the error check button scans the video files and checks its integrity.
A click on the Fix button will try to correct the video file to allow it to be viewed clearly and cleanly, without errors, without interruptions and without a hitch.
It will be possible to rebuild the index of the selected video file even if, the correction of the problems could lead to the elimination of the corrupt parts of the movie.
3) Alternatively, if this doesn't work, you can try another software called Player Fix, a small tool that can repair corrupt AVI files .
This is nice because it also works as a player even if you are strongly discouraged (see the ones for the best Media Player to use).
Therefore when fixing a film or a video it reports error messages like " file may be broken " Player Fix can be used to solve the problem and watch the film.
4) Divx Repair allows you to fix corrupt AVI files when there are some pieces in the video that block playback.
Divx Repair removes the damaged frames so the film or video can be viewed without interruption.
I cannot guarantee that these software will work 100%, but it is worth trying if it is worse than this.
