FIX: You see lower quality video when you use Windows Media Encoder 9 Series or a similar Windows Media Format SDK-based encoder to encode a video

Consider the following scenario:

• You use a computer that has multiple processors.
• You use Windows Media Encoder 9 Series or a similar Windows Media Format SDK-based encoder.
• When you encode a video, you also resize the frame size of the video so that the source frame size and the output frame size are different.

In this scenario, you see lower quality video when the video is played back. This can include jagged video. The jagged video is usually seen at the vertical edges of high contrast objects. Instead of a sharp definition of the object, you see horizontal vibrations at the edge of the object. For example, a video of a person standing in front of a solid color background may show this problem on the sides of their arms or legs.

The resizer in the Windows Media Format SDK runtime does not handle threading correctly.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, obtain the hotfix from the Microsoft Download Center.

Download information

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Windows XP, 32-bit versions (all languages)

Download the WindowsMedia11-KB954067-x86-INTL.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/a/5/1a58651f-c74c-4a46-9f5d-4dc1a41e4140/windowsmedia11-kb954067-x86-intl.exe)

Windows XP, 64-bit versions (all languages)

Download the WindowsMedia11-KB954067-x64-INTL.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/a/5/1a58651f-c74c-4a46-9f5d-4dc1a41e4140/windowsmedia11-kb954067-x64-intl.exe)

Note This hotfix does not have an x64-based version for Windows XP. The WindowsMedia11-KB954067-x64-INTL.exe package applies the 32-bit version of this hotfix to the x64-based version of Windows XP.

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

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.