Problems with Video Playback

The most common reason for problems with video playback is that the required codec (video decoding software) is not installed on the target computer.

If you are sending a project to third parties, whose computers are not known to have this codec, you should choose a format which is already shipped with the operating system. MPEG is one example of this. This stands for MPEG 1

If you are using a .mpeg file and the video still doesn’t work, then the problem is most likely that the file is MPEG 2 (the format of, amongst other things, video DVDs) for which the codec is NOT already in the system. The problem being that although many PCs have the MPEG 2 codec installed through a third party (eg. video card, DVD playback) software it only works correctly in the accompanying software. When used with Mediator (video object) unpredictable things can happen. You cannot assume that such videos can be played anywhere.

This is why it is essential to avoid MPEG 2. The problem is that MPEG 1 and MPEG 2 files are not readily distinguishable from each other: They both have the extension .mpg This is the case even if you view the file properties accessed through Windows Explorer. They don’t identify as one or the other.

You can find a number of Video conversion programs on the internet. These will show whether the current format is actually MPEG 2 (and therefore the cause of your problem) and from there can then also convert the file to MPEG 1.

NOTE: The bitrate of MPEG-1 almost as good as that of MPEG-2, and the interlacing feature of MPEG-2 is not necessary for computer monitors.