i have downloaded lots of random clips some VCD's some music videos, not all music, some tv stuff etc...

anyway i seem to have alot of trouble playing avi files on windows media player....

i notice with MPEG's if i have a file partially downloaded, i can play the part i have and see if it is good and then if i dont like it i can delete it.

with avi files i never seem to be able to play them until they are fully downloaded and then alot of times i still cannot play them...

can anyone help me???

do i need a different player or different codecs or something??

i have alot of partially downloaded VCD and stuff clogging up my computer and i would love to see if it is worth it or i should just delete it...

thanks so much for your help!!

p.s. i am only looking for a solution to my problem... not a lecture on how they are lower quality or i should just be getting DVD or lossless copies etc.. i am just getting this stuff for myself, not to trade... so i am not really looking for a whole debate like MP3 vs. FLAC
thanks

download and install ffdshow, after that everything will play in windows media player

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ffds ... e?download

i downloaded this but i dont notice any difference...
do i need to use it to convert files or does it work automatically??

AVIs won't play unless they're complete.

but if you really have to see what's in it, get a program called virtualdub. this will open broken avis and let you see what's in it.

thanks for that info... is was wondering that...

i kind of thought they didnt play incomplete... but i wasnt sure... it is no big deal, i dont have to see them it is just sometimes you download a whole file and it turns out to not be what it says or isnt worth saving...