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FIX: You cannot play Windows Media content that is encoded by using the VC1 codec in Windows XP, in Windows Server 2003, or in Windows 2000

Article ID: 942423 - View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario in Windows XP, in Windows Server 2003, or in Microsoft Windows 2000:

You try to play Windows Media content that is encoded by using the VC1 codec. Specifically, the content is encoded by using the WVC1 four character code (FOURCC).
You are using Windows Media Player 10 or an earlier version.
You have never installed Windows Media Player 11.
You do not have Internet access.

In this scenario, you may not have the necessary codec to play the video content. And, you may receive the following error message:

Windows Media Player cannot play the file because the required video codec is not installed on your computer.

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CAUSE

This problem occurs because the WVC1 decoder is not included together with Windows XP.

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RESOLUTION

A hotfix that resolves this problem is available. The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

For x86-based computers that are running Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows 2000 (all languages)

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Download the WindowsMedia-KB942423-x86-INTL.exe package now.

(http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/9/9/5998D968-B8ED-4236-9A22-B31DB9AC7C5A/WindowsMedia-KB942423-x86-INTL.exe)

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119591/ )

How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

For x64-based computers that are running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 (all languages)

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Download the WindowsMedia-KB942423-x64-INTL.exe package now.

(http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/9/9/5998D968-B8ED-4236-9A22-B31DB9AC7C5A/WindowsMedia-KB942423-x64-INTL.exe)

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119591/ )

How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

The global version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

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