Reference number: CH000852

How do I play a movie file in Windows?

Question:

How do I play a movie file in Windows?

Answer:

To play a movie file in Microsoft Windows requires that you use a use a media player that is capable of supporting the type of movie file you're attempting to play.

Playing .AVI, .WMV, and .MPEG movie files

Once this program has been opened you can open the movie file through this program by clicking File, Open, and browsing to the location of the movie file or by dragging the movie file or the folder containing the movie files to the Windows Media Player.

Tip: You can also select multiple movie files at once and drag them to the Windows Media Player to play all of the movies selected. Additional information about selecting multiple files at once can be found on document CH000771.

In addition to the above recommendation for playing movie files you can also double-click the movie file to start playing the file immediately. However, if the movie file has been associated with a different program it may not open in Windows Media player. Additional information about associating files with Windows Media Player can be found on document CH000654.

• If you're getting no sound while playing a video file see document CH000682 for additional information.
• If your getting sound but no video see document CH000541.

Playing .DV and .MOV movie files

1. Click Start
2. Go to Programs, QuickTime, and click QuickTime Player. If QuickTime is not found it is not installed on your computer. See our QuickTime definition for a link to where to download and install this program.

Once this program has been opened you can open the movie file through this program by clicking File, Open, and browsing to the location of the movie file or by dragging the movie file to Apple QuickTime.

Tip: You can also select multiple movie files at once and drag them to the Apple QuickTime to play all of the movies selected. Additional information about selecting multiple files at once can be found on document CH000771.

In addition to the above recommendation for playing movie files you can also double-click the movie file to start playing the file immediately. However, if the movie file has been associated with a different program it may not open in Windows Media player. Additional information about associating files with Apple QuickTime can be found on document CH000654.

Playing .RA and .RV movie files

RealAudio / RealVideo (.RM) and RealVideo (.RV) movie files can by played through the RealPlayer. This program does not come pre-installed with all versions of Microsoft Windows so if you're attempting to play these files you will need to download this program before you'll be able to play these files. A download link for these programs can be found through our recommended download section.

Once RealPlayer has been installed on your computer it can be opened through the Program files under the Start menu. To play a file a movie file either click File and select open and browse to the location of the movie file or drag the movie file to the RealPlayer window.

In addition to the above recommendation for playing movie files you can also double-click the movie file to start playing the file immediately. However, if the movie file has been associated with a different program it may not open in Windows Media player. Additional information about associating files with RealPlayer can be found on document CH000654.

Other recommended Media Players

VLC media Player

VLC media player is an extremely powerful, open-source, and free software program capable of playing DVDs, VCDs, WMA, MPEG, AVI, ASF, MOV, MP4, and many more. The program is available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, BeOS, and many more platforms.

If you're having trouble viewing a movie file or just want a different media player you can download this program at: http://www.videolan.org/vlc

Winamp

Another excellent media player in Winamp, which is also capable of playing several of the movie files mentioned above. This program can be found at: http://www.winamp.com

Additional information:

• If you're looking for information about playing a DVD movie in Windows XP see document CH000826.