Unable to view streaming windows media in Mozilla

While browsing with Netsacpe 7.1, I can view all the streaming windows media videos at:
http://www.msnbc.com
Click on the Watch FREE Video updates button and choose any of the videos available.

Since Netscape 7.1 appears to be the last update to the Netscape browser, I have been looking for a non-IE browser alternative recently. Having used Netscape for over a decade, I want to use a Mozilla based brower.

I have tried Mozilla 1.41 and 1.5, and Firebird 0.7. I always uninstall Netscape and reboot before installing these new browser. None of these three will however play any of the streaming windows media files at the MSNBC site or any other website. They will all open up an embedded Windows Media Player just fine. They will also all play the audio tracks just fine but the video portion is blank or non-existent.

I had to reinstall the Shockwave Director and Flash plugins to get them to work in the new browsers. Real One, Java, Quicktime and Acrobat Reader all worked fine without any intervention. I must have to do something to make Windows Media files work in the new browsers, but I don't know what this is.

It is not like I watch very many windows media videos but I am a perfectionist and would like to get this to work before making the final switch to a new browser.

Please help so I can permanently switch to a non-Netscape browser.

Thanks, John.

 

Hi John,

You don't mention which Version of WMPlayer you are using. I wonder if you have checked this site for more information on plugins for Mozilla? The PluginDoc says: If you are using Windows Media Player 7.1, Netscape 7.1 and Mozilla will detect and use the Windows Media Player plugin.
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/windows.html#WMP

Check out the PluginDoc site for more information, and in the meantime I'll try and find out if other Mozilla users are successful on that site. It doesn't work for me, but I don't run WMPlayer... I get my news at ABC.com, so I can use RealPlayer 8.

Ramona

 

Aside the fact that msid.msn.com refuses access to me, so, how the plugin is installed is irrelevant, has anyone noticed any slowness in getting into the original link from Ramona, as well as any link withing the site? Well over 40 sec. for the first one, and I gave up on a second link.
Since, I, routinely copy (manually) the .dll files, should I have expected its appearance in the plugins folder?
Since I has MusicMatch as default for all WMP files, I can open such files externally. Internally, one uses WMP6.4.

 

I have Windows Media Player version 9.00.00.3075.

I also don't use Windows Media Player very much and prefer CNN for my news. I just suggested the MSNBC site because I knew that they would be a good example site with alot of WM videos.

I first experienced this weird behavior a few days after deleting Netscape 7.1 and using Mozilla 1.41 for a few days. Then I deleted 1.41 and switched back to Netscape 7.1 and was able to view WM videos again. When 1.5 was released I deleted Netscape 7.1 again and still couldn't see the videos in Mozilla 1.5. So I deleted Mozilla 1.5 and reinstalled Netscape 7.1. Today I installed Firebird 0.7 and since it doesn't use the same profile as Netscape kept Netscape 7.1 as well. I can see the WM videos just fine in Netscape 7.1. In Firebird 0.7, the audio plays just fine but the video is just a blank grey screen.

Since this behavior seems so odd and is consistent across Mozilla 1.41 and 1.5, as well as Firebird 0.7, I thought I would ask for help.

 

Streaming video

Which I had something to offer that would help you. I tried playing video at the msnbc site using Mozilla 1.5 and like you got nothing but a blank screen. I then tried Netscape 7.02 and it brought up the screen but timed out each time I tried to make a connection. I then tried IE6.0 and though it worked all I got was that "the video was not available ". I tried several videos and got the same message. So It did not work for me on all three browsers.

Marvin

 

John,

Have you seen the information on this page:
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/faqs/phoenixwin.html

Q: I have Windows Media Player 9.0 installed, but Mozilla Firebird is using 6.4!

A: Known problem. See Bug 193883
Applying this registry file will make Mozilla Firebird use the Windows Media Player 9.0 control.

This is a text version of the Registry File. I am not advising you to use the file. This is for your information only, and the decision is yours to make. If you do decide to try the fix, back up your Registry first.

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\ShimInclusionList\MOZILLA.EXE]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\ShimInclusionList\PHOENIX.EXE]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\ShimInclusionList\MOZILLAFIREBIRD.EXE]

On this same page be sure to read: "Before you install plugins "

-----


http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/player/faq.aspx
Q. How do I make Windows Media Player the default player for a file type?

A. In Windows Media Player for Windows® XP and Windows Media Player 9 Series, this option is available on the File Types tab of the Options dialog box. You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to change the list. If your version of the Windows operating system supports AutoPlay, your AutoPlay settings may affect your Player file types settings. For more information about AutoPlay, see Windows Help. If you install other players on your computer, they may interfere with your Player file types settings. For more information about setting file type ownership in other players, see the documentation that came with those programs.

Have you tried copying the WMPlayer plugin from Netscape 7.1 plugins folder to the Mozilla plugins folder? Keep in mind, however that Plugins override "helpers ". "Helper" means that the program itself starts and reads the file, while "plug-in" means that it displays the file within the web-browser itself.

Microsoft Streaming Media File
MIME Type:video/x-ms-wmv
File extension .wmv

This is what I've found that applies to Mozilla and Firebird so far. Trust me, I do understand A type personalities. I am one!

Ramona

 

Yes I have seen the information on the following page:
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/faqs/phoenixwin.html

In fact, the Firebird quicklink bar has it marked. I have to say I really am impressed with Firebird even in the pre-release 0.7 state.

I also like the Thunderbird e-mail package and have begun to use it to read one of my three main e-mail accounts.

For the installs of Mozilla 1.5 and 1.41, I copied all the plugins from the Netscape 7.1 plugin directory over to the Mozilla 1.5 and 1.41 plugin directories. When the Shockwave Flash and Director plugins failed to work, I reinstalled them from appropriate plugin installers.

For the Firebird install, I didn't do this step but the plugin scanning feature seemed to recognize the Acrobat Reader, QuickTime, Java and Windows Media Player plugins anyway. The about: plugins command in Firebird recognizes the following three WMP plugins:
1. Microsoft® DRM
File name: npdrmv2.dll
2. Microsoft® DRM
File name: npwmsdrm.dll
3. Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library
File name: npdsplay.dll
I seem to prefer the plugin method over the helper application method for streaming video.

Thanks for the link to the the Windows Media Player FAQ given above. It has the following suggestion which I will try about manually setting the connection speed instead of letting the player automatically detect the connection speed.

Q4. When I run Windows Media Player 7 or later, and I try to play video files streamed from the Internet, I only hear the audio. Why does this happen, and how can I fix it?
When you receive streamed content, communication occurs between the Player and a Windows Media server regarding the connection speed of your computer. If the Player communicates an incorrect connection speed to the server, the server may try to "thin" the stream, which means that the stream quality decreases and the Player may lose video altogether. You can prevent this from happening accidentally by manually specifying the connection speed. In Windows Media Player 7 or later, you can specify your connection speed on the Performance tab of the Options dialog box.

It is also possible that you may not have the video codec that is required to decode and display the video. For more information about obtaining the correct codec, see the Playback Issues section.

I will get back to you about whether manually setting the connection speed works to solve the problem! If not I may try to load the registry patch.

Thanks again!

 

Problem Solved

Manually setting the connection speed as suggested in the Windows Media Player FAQ did not work. Oh well, I did not expect too much from a MS FAQ document anyway.

However, the problem was solved by applying the above registry file!!

Thank you very much Ramona!!!

 

This post is just for the archives, but is an unknown fact until now. Mozilla 1.5 will work with WMP 6.4 and 98SE, though no mention of this at the Mozilla website. I should know, I did this.
You need the Windows Media Plugin for Netscape 4.x.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp
In the Select Version dialog box, change it to Player Plugin for Netscape, and you will end up downloading Wmpplugin.Exe

 

John,

Good news indeed, that the Registry file did the trick for you! I have an idea this will benefit others as well, and really do appreciate the feedback!

markp62,

Thanks for the info on the Netscape plugin. I have no personal experience but have read on the NG's that this works on Windows 98SE.


Ramona