Problem with WMV files

[Fadetoblack]

When I try to play them they keep stopping and starting. As in they freeze for a second (every couple of seconds or so) Any ideas?

[mathare]

What player? Tried them in a different player?

[Fadetoblack]

Seems to be causing a problem in every player

[mathare]

Every file or just certain files? What about other movie files such as .avi files?

[Fadetoblack]

They're all fine. It seems to be just a wmv problem...let me check it out further and get back to you

[petercide]

I get this as well. Seems completely random. Some days wmvs, avi and even youtube just stutters along. Have yet to find a solution tho :( Reboot seems the best I can manage at the mo, and that randomly works.

[GlosRFC]

It might not be a problem at your end...it could be that your ISP isn't streaming them properly possibly because of bandwidth issues or because it's attempting to serve a cached version of the wmv file. Take a look at any wmv file that's into your temporary internet files folder - I bet, because they've been downloaded and are now residing on the local PC, they run fine without stuttering.

[petercide]

I get it even with footage Ive filmed or DVDs Im trying to play.

[GlosRFC]

DVDs won't be showing WMV files so it could be something else. Most stuttering occurs because of another program running in the background that's using CPU cycles so the first thing I'd do is call up Task Manager to see what else you have running. Try selectively turning them on and off to see if it makes any difference and to narrow down the culprit.

It's also worth checking the DMA (Direct Memory Access) mode for your DVD device too. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties. Next click the Hardware tab and select Device Manager. The Device Manager should open up in a new window. Scroll down to the IDE ATI/ATAPI Controllers and click on the + sign to expand this key.

Next you need to determine which of your devices is your DVD player. You can get this from the drive letter:
C:\ Primary controller - Device 0
D:\ Primary controller - Device 1
E:\ Secondary controller - Device 0
F:\ Secondary controller - Device 1

So then double-click on the Primary or Secondary Controller item that's listed and select the Advanced tab. Check what the Transfer Mode says for the specific Device on that Controller and make sure it's set to "DMA if available". Press OK and you'll probably be asked to reboot. Do that and see if it's improved.

[GlosRFC]

Just out of interest, do you and FTB both use the same AV software?

[Fadetoblack]

I use AVG.

[GlosRFC]

The reason I asked is that your AV software is likely to be one of the things being run in the background - I don't know for sure but if you're both running the same AV, and it's been updated, and you've both suddenly been experiencing stuttering when playing video files...it just might be more than coincidence?

[Fadetoblack]

Possibly...

Another aspect of it is that I was having a problem playing WMV files in Firefox (It wouldn't let me play them) and I followed some instructions on a forum and now they play them....but they stutter like a nervous school boy in a whore house now...

[GlosRFC]

Ahhh...so user error is the likely culprit then? I'd suggest doing a system restore back to the point before you tampered with your ActiveX and Windows Media settings. If the files playback properly then you've solved the problem. Of course, you won't be able to play embedded WMV files in Firefox again, unless you can find a better solution than the one you're using.