Windows media player is one of the most popular video playing software which is also the default media player in windows. I am also liked its interface and convenience to use. Before the arrival of online video sites Windows media player was the most dependent player and it can play almost all files available in those days. With the advent of online video sites like YouTube, hulu etc. and new file format changed the users mind for a better video player which can almost all video/audio files- we got a result-a good result- VLC player. One of the best free media player available on the internet which can play almost all kinds of media files. But the interface and features are classic one. So most people prefer to use Media player, but it couldn’t play flv format (a common internet video format) and some other formats.
Here are some tips to play flash video files(flv) in media player. There are different method one can adopt to play those videos in media player.
Method 1: Convert to supporting file types
The main reason for the inability to play flash video files is the lack of native support files to play flash video files. So you can convert the flv files to some other formats like , which is supported by media player. You can do it easily by using a free software called YouTube downloader. The software can download and convert videos from Google Videos, Facebook, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Veoh, Vevo and many other online video sites. The main advantage of Youtube downloader is you can download media files directly from video sharing site. Once it downloaded successfully, convert to media player friendly format. The worst thing I experienced with this software is it doesn’t have any download accelerator, so if you have a slow connection you need to wait for a long time to watch your favourite videos.
I am going to introduce another tool for you, it can download videos from a huge list of video sharing sites and the downloading speed and is pretty fast. It has a better user interface, and you can download multiple files at a time. One problem with it is it will allow you to download from YouTube only in the free version, if you want to download medias from all other sites you need to upgrade it to paid version. You can check free youtube download.
Method 2: Download as AVI file
You can download as AVI file or WMV file from YouTube, though the file size may be much bigger than flash video files you can able to play directly in to your media player. Some YouTube downloaders and browser YouTube download plugins help you to download YouTube videos in this format.
Method 3: Using FLV Codec
Good news! The latest media player should support FLV format, try to upgrade it to the latest. You can use the ffdshow codec-ffdshow is an advanced DirectShow filter and VFW codec that supports many audio and video formats. For example: H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, H.263, VP3, VP6, Theora, MJPEG, SVQ3, MP3, AC3, DTS, E-AC3, AAC, and Vorbis.
The PlayFLV.com Plugin Codec is an installation package that enables Windows Media Player to play FLV (Flash Video) files.The Play FLV codec is not a stand-alone FLV Video Player but it does give your installation of Windows Media Player the ability to play FLV files by installing a codec.
You can use k-lite codec. MediaCoder is a free universal audio/video batch transcoder, putting together lots of excellent audio/video codecs and tools from the open source community into an all-in-one solution, capable of transcoding among different audio/video formats with many extra features (I never tested it).
Alternative option to Windows media player
1) VLC player :- This is the one of the best free, open source, cross platform media player and the only player coolefriend recommended as an alternative to play flash video (FLV) files. One of the best thing with this player is that it is totally free and it can handle a variety of file extensions like MPEG, MP3, AAC, AC3, Vorbis, flv,etc.
2) Using any other FLV players :- You cam play flash videos using free flv player available on the internet, you can find a big list of such software from a download site.
What you think about playing a flash video from youtube like sites in to media player. Can you suggest some more tips or plugins to play flash media files in WMP ?
