Windows 10: Video problems after Windows 10 upgrade

I've been using Shark007's codec pack, and recently was having issues playing YouTube videos and embedded Facebook videos--tonight, I found the reason why. I downloaded a new version of the codec pack, and when I set "Shark007's recommended settings," there was a check box I hadn't noticed before, that asked (among other things) if I planned to watch videos in web browsers. Since I ignored it the first time, the box wasn't checked, so I reset the preferences to defaults, then when I set the recommended settings again, I checked the box, and now, videos play in all my browsers, including IE 11 and Edge. As always, though, YMMV. (Your Mileage May Vary). *Smile

 

Codec packs like the K-Lite Pack can be very important because the codecs that come pre installed in a media player do NOT cover everything and there are tools in the K-Lite pack that can enable what the codecs in a player can't . For example, in the past. flv thumbnails would not show in Windows video folder because Microsoft does not support flv files. This has NOTHING to do with codecs in a player like the VLC player.

And that is nonsense that reputable codec packs "are more trouble than they're worth" and they do NOT "almost always contain malware of some kind". You made that up and have no right to misinform people when you clearly don't know what you're talking about and don't do your homework, FIRST. I have been using the Mega K-Lite Pack for about six years and have NEVER had a single problem caused by it , nor have I ever had any malware included in it. You're clearly just making wild accusations and assumptions and if you've had malware in your computer, then it's YOUR job to figure out how it got into your computer, but I guarantee you it didn't come included in any K-Lite Pack.

 

Why would you not convert a flash video file to a more efficient and proper container? You seem to not understand what a codec is for. If you think you need a codec to play a".flv" file, then you should probably learn about how the actual data in the file is encoded and what a container format is. Windows can thumbnail H264 encoded MP4 files just fine, which is what you should be using. Requiring a codec pack to bandaid poor understanding of multimedia files isn't a useful solution.

Using a media player that isn't chained down by software patents and intentional self-deficiencies is a far better option in the long run.

If the OP was asking about thumbnails, you might have a good point, but the OP was asking about videos playing in the browser. A codec pack won't help much there. VLC does however have in-box plugins for Chrome, Firefox, and IE if I remember correctly.

 

I cannot play some of my videos with Windows 10. All played perfectly with Windows 8, but this is not the case with Windows 10. I get the error message "Can't play. Try playing something else. This item's file format may be unsupported, the file extension may be incorrect, or the file may be corrupted." There was absolutely no probem with these videos with Windows 8. Could someone please advise if reverting to Windows 8 will solve the issue.

 

Yeah hate to be the one to say it but Windows (especially) as well as Adobe and other software seems to prefer the "Late to the party" situation, hence the "need" for codecs. If these companies weren't so lazy in updating their product's we wouldn't have a "scramble for a codec change" as we do now. Seems the answer to this issue should not be users doing more work but instead companies getting off their dead lazy *&%$# and actually giving a )&%$ about their customers again. (Would be nice if they weren't money grubbing whores)

 

It also has to do with royalties and how certain licensing rights holders often charge proportionally based on the commercial value of the product for which they will be licensing the use of their codec. When it comes to proprietary software which nets millions upon millions of dollars and with more than several billion copies sold, the licensing fees would be astronomical. That's why non-profit/open source/FOS software can easily include as many codecs as possible (mplayer, vlc, etc), while for-profit software (Windows & WMP) must exclude them from being bundled and only allow each customer to download and include them if they choose. Thus clearing the company which released the software from any financial responsibility.

Example of video encoder/decoder licensing: (Not the best example, as Microsoft holds many patents for H264, but this example isn't much different from other patented codecs. Surprisingly this is at the low end of the spectrum of convoluted licensing)
x264 Licensing | x264 Licensing


Unfortunately, it seems that when a company also holds licensing rights for some of these codecs, and stand to earn money from the royalties (Microsoft, Apple, etc), they understandably don't assist the spread and adoption of free alternatives to their own patent encumbered codecs.

 

I am just generally unwilling to download Windows 10 without some fix already installed that will allow me to play .wmv videos and .mp4 videos. As an online teacher who relies on videos to teach, the removal of access to these tools (without some compensating fix--i.e., leaving us to scramble) seems strangely thoughtless and anti-consumer. Does Microsoft not live here in the real world where most of us only mildly-techy folks live? Does it really not want to sell to us?

 

I know this is an old thread, but, I have been having the same issue since upgrading to Win 10. It was only happening in Chrome and only (far as I could tell) on HBO Go. Could play videos on HBO Go with Firefox just fine. Also, playback on YouTube through Chrome worked just fine. On HBO Go, I'd get a white block where the video should play. Did a lot of adjustments that didn't work, and re-reading again this morning, I FIXED THE PROBLEM by unchecking hardware acceleration in the Flash Players settings. Thanks so much for posting the above fix!!