WMV files no longer playing on web page 
Author: Colin S.
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Following recent updates to my web site I now notice that .wmv files are no longer playing. I have them set to autoplay and they work ok in 'preview' but not in the website. I am using IE10 and X5 Evolution 9.
These files also open correctly locally and do not seem to be corrupted in any way.
Colin
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Hi Colin,
Have you by any chance only recently upgraded to IE10?
Strange as it may seem, Microsoft is moving away from intrinsic WMV browser support. You will probably require a plug-in to play .wmv files in IE10. The X5 preview will still work simply because it's using an older version of Internet Explorer, with embedded WMV support.
To be honest it wouldn't be a bad idea to convert your video files to MP4 anyway. You will benefit from compatibility with a much broader range of devices, including smartphones and tablets.
PS: you may find the following thread interesting... it's not exactly the same issue as you're experiencing as it refers to AVI files: however I do believe that the root cause is shared
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie10-windows_7/internet-explorer-10-in-windows-7-causes-windows/2e4b3d9b-007d-4cdc-b986-226714815367
Author
Thanks Paul
I have converted to MP4, now they will not play in Preview or when uploaded to the website. They play ok locally using Windows Media Player.
Could this be a problem with the conversion software (Smart Media Converter)?
Colin
Hi Colin,
It could be... I'm not familiar with that piece of software, and I couldn't find it by doing a Google search either unfortunately.
But Website X5 has native support for MP4 files, and IE10 should play MP4 provided the video has been encoded to 'H.264' and the audio to 'AAC'
You could perhaps double-check any 'options' in the conversion settings of your software to ensure this is the case?
Author
Paul, thanks for your help.
The problem seems to be caused by the add-on ' VIDEO__X_MS_WM Moniker Class'. I disabled this then tried the web page again, it then asked to install WMP and worked ok. It installed a different add-on 'VIDEO__X_MS_ASF Moniker Class'.
The issue now is how do I get potential customers to do this if the file does not play in their browser? Can it be automated from within the web page? I have decided to convert the files to AVI as this reduces the file size considerably. The same issue/solution exists though.
Colin
Hi Colin,
It would be very difficult to ensure compatibility with your customers' browsers without moving to a different file format. I've discussed this on your other thread:
http://answers.websitex5.com/post/65752
I agree it's important to keep file sizes to a minimum, both to save on bandwidth and to ensure effective streaming. A good media converter will offer various options to reduce file size... I use Aiseesoft Total Media Converter Platinum, and can recommend it.