1.1 About the XviD FAQ
The XviD FAQ is intended to answer common questions about the XviD codec
and provide helpful information and tips on fixing common problems.
The XviD FAQ may not be published at any other website without
permission. Duplication of links or content is strictly prohibited.
It is written and maintained by the webmaster of
https://www.xvidmovies.com/.
1.2 Finding the latest version of the XviD FAQ
The latest version of the XviD FAQ will always be available at
https://www.xvidmovies.com/faq/.
1.3 I'm still having problems after reading the XviD FAQ
First of all, browse through the FAQ to make sure that your problem isn't
already covered. In particular we recommend reading section 4.1,
which describes the most common reasons why XviD movies won't play.
If you still aren't able to find the solution to your problem,
try asking in the DivX.com Forums.
2.1 Software needed to play XviD movies in Windows
In order to play XviD movies you need to install the XviD codec, DirectX
and a media player which supports the codec. We recommend using
Windows Media Player 6.4 or higher to play XviD movies. For
information how to install the XviD codec, goto the XviD codec section.
2.2 Hardware requirements to play XviD movies
All that is needed is a fast enough computer. We don't know the exact
minimum requirements, but anything less than a Pentium 300MHz running
Windows 9X/NT/2000/XP is likely to encounter problems with skipping.
For AMD K6/K6-2 computers we have found that the minimum requirements
are higher and we recommend at least an AMD K6-2 400MHz for proper
playback.
2.3 Lowering image quality to reduce skipping
If your computer isn't fast enough to play XviD movies it is possible
to disable some post-processing options. Goto the File menu in Windows Media Player
and select Properties (make sure that you have a XviD movie loaded
or the Properties option will be disabled). Then click the Advanced tab
and select the "XviD MPEG-4 Video Decoder", then click
Properties. A new window with various XviD codec settings will be displayed.
To disable post-processing, simply uncheck all the post-processing options.
We recommend users to not change this setting unless
they are having playback problems.
Please note that the above instructions only work in Windows Media Player v6.4.
If your system has a newer version of Windows Media Player installed you can
still access the older version to make the needed changes. Simply goto the
Start menu in Windows, select "Run..." and enter "mplayer2" in the box.
Then click the OK button to start Windows Media Player v6.4.
2.4 Lowering image resolution to reduce skipping
If you're having problems with skipping you can also try lowering your
desktop resolution to 640x480 and see if it helps.
3.1 XviD codec installation problem: Error opening file for writing
This problem occurs when you try to install the XviD codec and the XviD
installation program for some reason is unable to create/replace files in
the Windows system directory.
If you don't have the xvid.ax file installed on your system already the problem is most
likely that you don't have the required priviliges to install the XviD codec.
The installation program needs to be able to create some files in the Windows
system directories as well as update the system registry. Make sure you have
these privileges or contact someone who has them to get help.
If you already have the xvid.ax file installed on your system you need to figure
out why the installation program is unable to replace it. This can either be
caused by the file attribute being set to read-only or because the codec currently
is in use by another program. Make sure to close all other programs before you
try to install the XviD codec. If you still get the same error message you could
try to manually remove the file before you start the installation.
3.2 XviD codec installation problem: Delete file failed, code 5
This problem occurs when you try to install the XviD codec and the XviD
installation program for some reason is unable to delete files
in the Windows system directory.
If you don't have the xvid.ax file installed on your system already the problem is most
likely that you don't have the required priviliges to install the XviD codec.
The installation program needs to be able to create some files in the Windows
system directories as well as update the system registry. Make sure you have
these privileges or contact someone who has them to get help.
If you already have the xvid.ax file installed on your system you need to figure
out why the installation program is unable to delete it. This can either be
caused by the file attribute being set to read-only or because the codec currently
is in use by another program. Make sure to close all other programs before you
try to install the XviD codec. If you still get the same error message you could
try to manually remove the file before you start the installation.
3.3 XviD codec installation problem: Installer corrupted or incomplete
If you get the error message "The installer you are trying to use is corrupted
or incomplete." when you try to install the XviD codec it's because there was some
problem during the downloading process that caused the installation file to become
corrupted or incomplete. To fix the problem you can either try to re-download
the installation file or if you're having general problems with downloading EXE files
from the web you can download the following alternative ZIP version instead:
Xvid-1.3.7-20191228.zip
Please note that you will need WinZIP
or some other software to decompress the installation file from the ZIP archive
before you can start the installation process.
3.4 XviD.dll freezes/crashes and causes Windows Explorer to close
This problem usually occurs when you're browsing a folder containing XviD videos
and Explorer tries to create thumbnail previews of the videos using an outdated
version of the XviD codec that's installed. When it fails you get an error
message about Explorer encountering a problem with xvid.dll and having to
close down (Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close).
As the xvid.dll file hasn't been used for quite some time its presence on your
system suggests that you've still got an outdated version of the XviD codec
installed. Just installing the latest version of the XviD codec over the old one
won't fix the problem as it doesn't remove the old files and registry settings.
You first need to uninstall all previous versions of the XviD codec and verify
that the problem goes away. Then you should install the latest version of the
XviD codec.
4.1 XviD movies won't play and I don't know why
The most common reason that downloaded movies don't work is because the
download is incomplete. To find out if a movie is incomplete you should
download GSpot
and open the movie you are having problems playing. If the "Stat" field
for the file says that the file length is correct the file is complete.
If the "Stat" field for the file says that the file is truncated
the file is incomplete and you need to resume the download. For information
how to watch an incomplete movie, see section 4.2.
If the movie is complete and it still won't work it's probably because
you don't have the required video/audio codecs installed on your computer.
If you're having problems with the video you can find instructions how to determine
what video codec is required to play the movie in section 4.3.
If you're having problems with the audio you can find instructions how to
determine what audio codec is required to play the movie in section
4.4.
If you've got all the required codecs installed on your system and you still
can't play the movie it's possible that your installed codecs aren't
working properly. We've provided a small XviD video
clip with no sound that can be used to test your installation of the XviD codec.
Download it and try to watch it, but make sure that it is complete
(376832 bytes in size). If the small XviD video clip plays fine then
you can conclude that there is some problem with the movie you have
downloaded. If you experience the same errors/problems with the small
clip then your installed codec isn't working properly and you need
to reinstall the XviD codec. We recommend
uninstalling all previous versions of the XviD codec before you upgrade
to avoid possible conflicts with the new version of the codec.
4.2 Incomplete XviD movies won't play in Windows Media Player
There is a program called DivFix which can be used to rebuild the
missing index part so that you can watch partially downloaded (incomplete)
XviD movies. The program can be downloaded from the Software section.
Just remember to strip the index before you resume the download or the
file will be completely corrupted and impossible to repair.
4.3 No picture, I get no video when playing XviD movies
This problem occurs when you try to watch a movie and the video player you
are using is unable to find the needed video codec. You might be able to listen
to the sound but no video is shown. Fortunately, there is an easy way to fix this
problem. All AVI files contain a FourCC code in the header of the file,
which can be used to identify the video codec required to play the movie.
To find out which video codec you're missing you should download GSpot
and open the movie you are having problems playing. The program will give you
information about what codecs are needed to play the movie and if you have them
installed on your computer. However, please note that even though GSpot might
say that you have compatible codecs installed this information isn't always correct.
To see which codec is actually used to decode the video, use the "Render"
option at the bottom of the program. If GSpot says "Rendering failed" or "Partial failure"
then you don't have any compatible video codec installed, so you need to
use the FourCC code to lookup the codec you need to download and install
in the following list:
If the video codec you need isn't listed above, check out
FourCC.org for a more complete list of codecs.
Please note that there doesn't exist any video codec that uses the FourCC code 0. If you've
downloaded a movie with the FourCC code 0 it's either fake or corrupt and you won't be
able to watch it.
4.4 No sound, I get no audio when playing XviD movies
First of all, you need to figure out if the problem is with the movie
you are trying to play or your system configuration. You can do this by
trying to play an MP3 or another movie and see if the sound works. If it
does you should keep on reading for more information how to fix the problem.
Otherwise you have to figure out what's wrong with your system configuration.
It's important to understand that video and audio are two separate things, which
when combined make up movies. A movie consists of a video stream for the picture and
an audio stream for the sound. The XviD codec is what makes it possible to decode the
video stream, but it has nothing to do with decoding the audio stream. If the sound
in a movie isn't working you have to find out which audio codec is missing and
install it.
To find out which audio codec you're missing you should download GSpot
and open the movie you are having problems playing. The program will give you
information about what codecs are needed to play the movie and if you have them
installed on your computer. However, please note that even though GSpot might
say that you have compatible codecs installed this information isn't always correct.
To see which codec is actually used to decode the audio, use the "Render"
option at the bottom of the program. If GSpot says "Rendering failed" or "Partial failure"
then you don't have any compatible audio codec installed, so you need to
use audio codec name to lookup the codec you need to download and install
in the following list:
Compression
|
Tag (hex)
|
Tag (dec)
|
Audio codec
|
MPEG-1 Layer 3 Codec
|
tag 55
|
tag 85
|
MP3 codec
|
DivX ;-) Audio Compressor
|
tag 161
|
tag 353
|
DivX ;-) audio
|
AC3 Codec
|
tag 2000
|
tag 8192
|
AC3 codec
|
Ogg Vorbis Codec
|
tag 674F
|
tag 26447
|
OGG codec
|
Please note that the new DivX® codec doesn't include support for the DivX ;-) Audio format, so you won't be
able to watch these movies with sound simply using the new DivX® codec. The only way to watch these
movies with sound is either using the original DivX codec v3.11 alpha,
or by installing the DivX ;-) audio
decompressor separately.
4.5 Picture freezes, but sound keeps going when playing XviD movies
The XviD movie that you are trying to play contains errors. Some of the
frames in the movie are invalid and when you try to play the movie the picture
freezes because of these errors. The sound is able to keep on playing since
it isn't as sensitive to small errors as the video. The invalid frames are
usually caused by resuming downloads. To fix the invalid frames you can
either try to download the movie again, but this won't help if your source
also has a corrupted movie. In that case the only way to fix the movie is
to load the movie into VirtualDub and manually edit/delete the invalid frames.
There exists a workaround called DivX AntiFreeze,
which once installed will avoid the permanent freezings during playback
in Windows Media Player. However, it does not fix the invalid frames in
the clip.
4.6 Picture is green/distorted/corrupted when playing XviD movies
This problem usually occurs when you try to play an XviD movie that is encoded
with a newer version of the XviD codec than the one installed on your system
(the codec installed on your system is outdated). If you don't have the latest
version of the XviD codec installed already, make
sure to upgrade before trying any of these suggestions. We recommend
uninstalling all previous versions of the XviD codec before you upgrade to
avoid possible conflicts with the new version of the codec.
If simply upgrading the XviD codec doesn't help, the problem is most likely
that another DirectShow filter which isn't fully compatible with XviD is
overriding the XviD codec for playback. To find out which filter/codec is
actually being used to decode the movie you should download
GSpot
and open the movie you are having problems playing. After loading the movie
into GSpot, use the "Render" option at the bottom of the program and look
at the value of the "Video path". If the video path says "XviD MPEG-4 Video Decoder"
then the XviD codec is being used to decode the movie, so either the installed
version of the codec is outdated or the file is damaged/corrupt. If the
video path says "DivX Decoder Filter", "ffdshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder", or
anything else then you need to figure out how to disable this filter/codec.
To disable the "DivX Decoder Filter" from decoding XviD videos, simply goto the
Start->Programs->DivX->DivX Codec folder and select the Configuration option.
Then switch to the "Decoder" tab and uncheck the "Support decoding of Generic
MPEG-4 video" checkbox. This should tell your computer to use the installed
XviD codec to decode XviD movies instead of the DivX® codec.
To disable the "ffdshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder" from decoding XviD videos, simply
goto the Start->Programs->ffdshow folder and select the Configuration option.
Then switch to the "Codecs" section and change the XviD setting from "libavcodec"
to either "disabled" or the "XviD" option. This should tell your computer to use
the installed XviD codec to decode XviD movies instead of FFDShow.
4.7 Picture is too dark when playing XviD movies
If the picture is too dark when playing XviD movies it is possible to
change the brightness setting. Goto the File menu in Windows
Media Player and select Properties (make sure that you have a XviD movie
loaded or the Properties option will be disabled). Then click the Advanced
tab and select the "XviD MPEG-4 Video Decoder", then click
Properties. A new window with a brightness
slider will be displayed. If you move the slider to the left the picture
will become darker. If you move the slider to the right the picture will
become brighter. Experiment a bit to find the value that works best for you.
Please note that the above instructions only work in Windows Media Player v6.4.
If your system has a newer version of Windows Media Player installed you can
still access the older version to make the needed changes. Simply goto the
Start menu in Windows, select "Run..." and enter "mplayer2" in the box.
Then click the OK button to start Windows Media Player v6.4.
4.8 Picture is upside-down or mirrored when playing XviD movies
If you don't already have the latest version of the XviD codec
installed, make sure to upgrade before trying any of these suggestions. We recommend
uninstalling all previous versions of the XviD codec before you upgrade to avoid
possible conflicts with the new version of the codec.
If the video still plays upside-down or mirrored after upgrading, it's likely that
you have some conflicting DirectShow filter(s) installed that are flipping the video.
The two most common filters that cause these type of problems are the Bicubic Resize
filter (bicubic_resizer.ax) and the G400 filter (divxg400.ax). To check if any of
these filters are installed, simply look for the files in your C:\Windows\System32
directory (on the drive where Windows is installed). If you find any of these filters
installed, simply goto the Start menu in Windows and select "Run...", then enter
"regsvr32 /u filename.ax" in the box and click the OK button to unregister the filter.
Another way to fix the problem is to simply reconfigure the XviD codec to flip the video.
To do this, goto the Start menu in Windows and select "Run...", then enter
"rundll32.exe xvid.ax,Configure" into the box and click the OK button to launch the
XviD Configuration tool. Try to change the "Flip video" option and see if it
fixes the problem.
4.9 Picture and sound is having problems with skipping
The reason for this is most likely that your computer isn't fast enough
to play XviD movies. You can try disabling some post-processing options and
lower the resolution as described in section 2.3 and 2.4.
If this doesn't fix the problem, we recommend users to try BSPlayer, since
it uses considerably less CPU and memory than Windows Media Player.
The program can be downloaded from the XviD players section.
4.10 Sound volume is too low when playing XviD movies
We've found that the problem with really low volume in XviD movies is usually
caused by the movies using the AC3 audio codec. The default volume for the
AC3 codec is quite low, so raising the regular volume controls might not be
enough for some movies. To fix the problem, simply goto the Start menu in Windows,
select "Settings" and then the "Control Panel". If you have the AC3 codec
installed on your system you should see the "AC3 Filter" listed there.
Simply open the "AC3 Filter" and from there you should be able to change the
Master volume, and even the volume of individual channels such as the
Voice channel.
5.1 What is a codec?
The word codec is short for compressor/decompressor. When you install a video
codec on your system it basically works as an add-on to your system with
instructions how to compress and decompress video in that format. If the
needed codec is missing you will receive an error message that Windows Media Player
is unable to download an appropriate decompressor. For more information about
this problem, see section 6.1.
5.2 What is the XviD codec?
XviD is the name of a popular new video codec which is being developed as an
open source project
by volunteer programmers from all over the world.
The codec is just like the DivX® codec based on the highly efficient MPEG-4 compression
standard for video. The XviD format is still not as widely used as the DivX® format, but
as it's fully compliant with the same MPEG-4 standard
XviD movies
usually play in DVD players that support the DivX® format.
To download and install the codec, goto the
XviD codec section.
6.1 Unable to download an appropriate decompressor
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. You might be able to listen to the sound
but no video is shown. This either means that you haven't got the required video
codec installed or that the installed codec isn't working properly. To figure out
which video codec you need to install, see section 4.3.
6.2 Unable to render video: DIV3 decompressor not found
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. In order to play the movie you need to
install the DivX® codec which contains a DIV3 decompressor. For information how
to install the DivX® codec, goto the DivX codec section.
6.3 Unable to render video: DIV4 decompressor not found
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. In order to play the movie you need to
install the DivX® codec which contains a DIV4 decompressor. For information how
to install the DivX® codec, goto the DivX codec section.
6.4 Unable to render video: DIVX decompressor not found
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. In order to play the movie you need to
install the DivX® codec which contains a DIVX decompressor. For information how
to install the DivX® codec, goto the DivX codec section.
6.5 Unable to render video: DX50 decompressor not found
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. In order to play the movie you need to
install the DivX® codec which contains a DX50 decompressor. For information how
to install the DivX® codec, goto the DivX codec section.
6.6 Unable to render video: MP43 decompressor not found
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. In order to play the movie you need to
install the SMR codec which contains a MP43 decompressor. You can download
the SMR codec from the Software section.
6.7 Unable to render video: XVID decompressor not found
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player is
unable to find the needed video codec. In order to play the movie you need to
install the XviD codec which contains a XVID decompressor. For information how
to install the XviD codec, goto the XviD codec section.
6.8 No combination of filters could be found to render the stream
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player
is unable to render the video stream. The XviD movie that you are trying
to play is either incomplete or corrupt and the XviD codec doesn't support
playback of incomplete XviD movies, so make sure that you have the whole file
before you try to watch it. For a possible workaround, see section 4.2.
6.9 The file format is invalid
This error occurs when you try to watch a movie and Windows Media Player
detects that the file format is invalid. The XviD movie that you are trying
to play is either incomplete or corrupt and the XviD codec doesn't support
playback of incomplete XviD movies, so make sure that you have the whole file
before you try to watch it. For a possible workaround, see section 4.2.
|