What video "viewer" do you use?

[videovillageidiot]

When i want to look at clips i've shot on my camcorders, they used to open in windows media player - and they were horrible. You couldn't tell if the clip was worth anything. A Geeksquad agent installed a program called "zoom player" and it was AWESOME! They later installed it on my laptop as well. Last year my laptop had a very bothersome virus and during their many attempts to fix it, they removed Zoom, because they said IT was a virus. They cannot put it back on because their system blocks it.

Now that my desktop computer has been restored, they can't put it on. I really miss that program - their alternative is VLC. i just tried to play a output file i had created in PRE and it was terrible...the clips straight from the camera are also so bad that you wouldn't know if they are worth using in a project...they kind of look like there's a fine mesh screen in front of your eyes.

Soooo...i'm wondering what everyone uses to preview their clips?

[sidd finch]

If you can, remove all the codec packs (DivX, CCP, and VLC installed) and if you can install Media Player Classic. Media Player Classic is usually the best on a Windows machine.

Sidd

[TreeTopsRanch]

Yes, I agree with Sid. You could also try the 64 bit 'Media Player Clasic-Home Cinema" if you have a 64 bit computer. Look for MPC-HC.

[Bob]

VLC doesn't install any codecs. VLC is unique in that the codecs are integrated into the application code -- no external codecs needed.

I'm not sure why you are having any issues with VLC. I use it myself and it decodes and displays video beautifully.

[Peru]

VLC. i just tried to play a output file i had created in PRE and it was terrible...the clips straight from the camera are also so bad that you wouldn't know if they are worth using in a project...they kind of look like there's a fine mesh screen in front of your eyes.

I had that problem with VLC once and fixed it by updating to the newest version.

You also may need to update or roll back your video driver.

[Gerlinde]

I use Win Media Player as my default and it plays everything just fine. Which version of Windows are you using? And make sure the player is the newest version.

Media Player Classic is usually the best on a Windows machine.

Sidd

But don't you have to uninstall QickTime player?

[_Paz_]

Win Media Player here just to get an idea if it is worth looking at, then sometimes in Premiere Elements 11. They don't play very well in Bridge.

[videovillageidiot]

Thanks for the suggestions! After I took the restored computer back to BB so they could actually install the video card driver (they had neglected to do that during the restore/setup), the videos played better. VLC works better than when I used to use it. Windows Media Player starts ok, but about 30 seconds into a clip, the audio just cuts out. Weird. The geeks are saying that Zoom has spyware so i won't be using that anymore. Too bad, 'cuz it had the nice feature of allowing me to move from one video to the next in a folder without going back to the file list in Explorer.

Thanks all!!!