Media Player will not play my MP4 video


For the longest time, Media Player came with every version of Windows. But it was always limited, as to just what types of media it could play.
I like Media Player because I can set the Equalizer to my own taste, and add some WOW for greater sound depth.
And I don't have to ADD another media player to my PC.

Along with the things I install with every Windows Install, is the K-Lite Codec Pack. That allows Media Player to play most every kind of media file.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack Mega

The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack is a free software bundle for playing all your audio and video files. It contains everything you need. The best solution for solving your playback problems.
codecguide.com

I've been using the K-Lite Mega pack for so long, I don't even question whether I should install it. It gets an upgrade periodically, and I do try to keep it up to date. I just now downloaded the latest version. Excuse me, while I install it!

TM :cool:
PS: The install went smoothly, as always.
 

My Computer

System One

rufford155 said:
I'm not sure why Media Player 12 has been mentioned because I'm reading from MS that it's not possible to have it in Windows 11.

When I have time I shall change the format of the problem video to see if I can fix it seems the only option.

It did install VLC and that plays it ok.

Many thanks for all your replies.
Click to expand...
Hi.
Media Player Legacy is included in Windows 11. I recently clean installed Windows 11 23H2 and then later updated to Windows 11 24H2. I have the good old Windows Media Player Legacy and it plays .mp4 video files well. This media player is not in the Start Menu but can be found in Applications folder, which can be reached at: C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:appsfolder
 

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    Windows 11 Pro build 26100.2454 (24H2)
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neves said:
Just a personal curiosity: If you have other (Superior) players which work (simply - far far more capable - more features/codecs/filters rich) - why are you so fixated in using one the worst available video players (Windows Media Player) in 2024 and for quite some time now?
Click to expand...
For me the Windows Media Player Legacy has worked the best for Ripping my older CDs to files for use on a computer, especially those Notebooks that no longer have ODDs. I have a 1TB USB SSD over half full of songs. For recording audio from the 'net I use Total Recorder which also plays quite well.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
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    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
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    16GB
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    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
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    24" Dell
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    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
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    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Berton said:
For me the Windows Media Player Legacy has worked the best for Ripping my older CDs to files for use on a computer, especially those Notebooks that no longer have ODDs. I have a 1TB USB SSD over half full of songs. For recording audio from the 'net I use Total Recorder which also plays quite well.
Click to expand...

And yet, even you're praising an audio related feature (while the topic/subject in question is about video playback). 🙂

Side note: almost 20 years ago - back when i was still using Win2k (eventually, did switch to Windows XP - but turn it into Win2K appearance wise - for extra performance) - my OCD/Obsession with finding the best apps for any given task - lead me to ImgBurn as the king of ripping audio CDs (very light, and more capable in more ways than one). WMP seemed to be more demanding on Desktops with 128 - 256 SDRAM and Duron CPUs - especially on Windows XP. When it worked - it did the job (ripping a CD), but sometimes would just freeze randomly while Ripping a CD. Which was really bad if it happened on a Saturday - since no stores were open to buy more CDs. That, never happened with ImgBurn. 😜
 

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    Intel & AMD
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    SO-DIMM SK Hynix 15.8 GB Dual-Channel DDR4-2666 (2 x 8 GB) 1329MHz (19-19-19-43)
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    Onbord Realtek ALC1220
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    1920 x 1080
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    1x Samsung PM981 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB / 1x Seagate Expansion ST1000LM035 1TB
The OP is using Media Player in Windows not Windows Media Player.
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4249
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    Sin-built
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    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
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    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
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    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
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    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
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    Onboard
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    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
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    All over the place
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    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
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    Silverstone 1500
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    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
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    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
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    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
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    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
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    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
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    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
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    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
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    M.2 512GB
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    Defender / Malwarebytes
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    …still on a horse.

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  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
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    PC/Desktop
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    PowerSpec B746
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    Intel Core i7-10700K
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    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
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    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
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    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
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    Realtek Audio
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    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
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    1920 x 1080
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    750 Watts (62.5A)
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    Logitech K270
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    Logitech M185
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    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
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    ESET Internet Security
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    Windows 11 Canary Channel
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    PC/Desktop
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    PowerSpec G156
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    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
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    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
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    16 MB DDR 4-2666
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    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
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    1920x1080
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    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
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    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
idgat said:
You need to understand that a video file (of whatever type) is simply a container for a video stream and an audio stream ... it's the format of these streams that media players are sensitive to. Thus an mp4 (or any other type, for that matter) file can contain different video stream formats that result in some being able to be played, and some not
Click to expand...

As I said, it is exactly the same file with exactly the same properties using exactly the same Media Player version.

Windows 10 plays it but Windows 11 does not ! Trust in your technology - I dare you !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook
rufford155 said:
Trust in your technology
Click to expand...
When it comes to Microsoft multimedia software .... I DON'T !!

Which is why I use Daum PotPlayer and VLC Player (without the need for any codec packs!) for video, and Irfanview for image and sound multimedia

All Windows provided media options are instantly and ruthlessly uninstalled on device setup
 

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  • OS
    Windows 11 2xH2 (latest update ... forever anal)
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    HP Slim S01
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    Intel i5-12400
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    8GB
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    OOBE
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    Acer 32"
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    BT
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    Brave FFox Chrome Opera
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    KIS
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    Windows 11 Pro 2xH2 (latest update ... 4ever anal)
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    HP Pavillion 15
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    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
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    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
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    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
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    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
I had something somewhat similar happen to me a few months back with Windows 10 playing mp4s and crashing explorer.

mp4 files crashes Windows Explorer - Windows 10 Help Forums

This is not a BSOD. What happens is whenever I move my mouse over a VLC mp4 file and attempt to click on it, Explorer starts locking up, the Explorer window goes gray and the taskbar suddenly disappears (Windows Explorer crash) and then recovers and the v
www.tenforums.com www.tenforums.com

Turns out I had to uninstall all third party codec packages (like K-Lite) and just use the built-in codecs that most video and audio software out there comes with, preinstalled.
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Pro
    Memory
    16GB
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad
    Memory
    32GB
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