Codecs allow you to play different formats of audio and video files. Media Player supports a wide variety of codecs. Most are included out of the box; some additional codecs can be installed from the Microsoft Store.

On the File menu, click Open, locate the .avi file that you want to play, and then drag the file to Windows Media Player. When you receive the error message, check for the FourCC identifier.

Play music and video in more formats and stream it to more places with Windows Media Player 12.

Windows Media Player is a built-in multimedia player that comes with Windows. While it is a reliable and widely used application, users may encounter errors and issues from time to time. This article aims to provide guidance on troubleshooting common Windows Media Player errors.

This article lists the multimedia file types that are supported by different versions of Windows Media Player.

You use Windows Media Player 12 on a computer that is running Windows 7 to play some AVI files that were created by a third-party application or by third-party hardware.

In many cases, you can download the necessary codec from the web for free or for a fee. And, in some cases, the Player can automatically use the codecs installed by other digital media playback and creation programs on your computer.

Discusses the cause and resolution of error 80040265 in Windows Media Player. This error is caused by an unsupported file format or codec or by corrupted Windows Media Player files.

Fixes an issue in which Windows Media Player stops responding when you play an AVI video or a playlist that consists of AVI videos. This issue occurs in Windows 7.

The following audio/video files can be played directly from your Microsoft 365 in most browsers: 3G2, 3GP, 3GPP, ASF, AVI, M2TS, M4A, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP3, MP4, MP4V, MTS, TS, WAV, WEBM, WMA, WMV