Media Playback Problems

[teabaggins]

i have windows media 11 for xp. i can play audio ok up until i try to run another application(I.E. internet). it starts to skip and slow down the audio. dvd's that i have placed in my dvd drive will not play at all and the videio files on my HD's that will play are ridicuosly slow and constantly pausing never giving a continuous playback(very choppy). ive tried to install vlc and have the same results. in the past ive tried to install codec's and plugins, but it has never helped. any help would be greatly appreciated, its been too long of a problem and ive been racking my brain trying to figure it out. thanks in advance.
jim

How fast is your computer's processor? How much RAM do you have? You might be able to solve it just by installing an extra 256 or 512 MB of RAM. Do you have torrents running as well when this is happening? I would recommend uTorrent if you don't use it already. It uses a tiny amount of system resources (it's not really "u" Torrent, it's actually micro-Torrent, the "u" is the symbol for a micron ). uTorrent made a HUGE difference for me, and I have a relatively slower PC. I used to have problems playing back video as well when I was running Azureus. Then I switched to uTorrent, and have no problems playing video. It might just be that your computer isn't powerful enough to handle multiple apps running at once that use a lot of resources. Does it happen even after a restart?

A couple additional things you could try:
-see if your hard drive needs to be defragmented (start > accessories > system tools > disk defragmenter)
-scan your computer with anti virus and anti spyware programs. Viruses and/or spyware can really slow down your PC. AVG is excellent and free, and offers both anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Get it here:
http://free.grisoft.com/

Finally, where do you go to play @ TTD teabaggins?

[Thulani]

Have you installed any codec pack?

[teabaggins]

im not sure how fast the processor is, but i have upgraded my RAM - had 128MB and added 512. ive been using utorrent and it happens regardless of whether im running it or not. yes it happens even after a restart. i thought the upgrade of RAM would solve the issue. i have also upgraded to 2.0 usb hub on the pc. defraged with no luck. virus scans have not found any, i am going to run another one from the AVG. as far as the codec's pack, ive never understood or could figure out which ones i might need. ive tried a few but never had any luck. im a fuckin PC newb all help is greatly appreciated cause its frustrating the shit outta me. big thanks
jim

Originally Posted by Tubular

Finally, where do you go to play @ TTD teabaggins?

shoot me a PM Tubular

to find out how fast your processor is, go to start > control panel (use classic view) > system. It might be a codec confilct? I'm not sure. Maybe you could uninstall any additional codec packs that you have downloaded.

[teabaggins]

thought it might be a codec conflict, but i thought i uninstalled them when they did not rectify the situation. fuckin baffled
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 1.80GHz
1.79GHz, 768MB of RAM

shit, that's plenty fast. it's definitely not your hardware. unless you have a hard disk going bad or something
or some nasty spyware or a virus

[Thulani]

If you installed any codec packs uninstall them. Codec packs most often fucks up the system (codec conflict). I always recommend a new OS install to get rid off this shits. VLC or KMPlayer are great players and you don't need codecs.
When your PC starts working slow open task manager & search what process is using most of your CPU.

maybe you could try a free registry cleaner? I use this, probably not the best one out there though:

http://www.glaryutilities.com/gu.html?tag=download

[teabaggins]

thanks for the heads up all around. by os install you mean a complete reinstallation of my software? sorry to be such a newb. its a constant learning experience for me on a PC

[Thulani]

Yeah that's what I mean and it should be the last solution.

[teabaggins]

i just tried to play a video ts file and it says, "Windows Media Player cannot play the DVD because a compatible DVD decoder is not installed on your computer." i cant find which decoder i need
it use to work fine and then it stopped playing them. even the clips on youtube and such were never any issues, but they are choppy as shit constantly pausing and the audio would be out of synch with the video. i really appreciate yer time and effort Kill and Tubular(especially the subtle hint)

the registry cleaner might really help, and VLC doesn't need any codecs, it will decode DVDs fine even though WMP won't

Like Kill Them All said, open task manager (control + alt + delete) when it starts slowing down, click on the 'processes' tab and see what is using the most memory. It could also be something in the start up menu (start > all programs > startup menu) that you may not want running that uses a lot of memory. Just right click > delete shortcut.

[Five]

Originally Posted by Tubular

maybe you could try a free registry cleaner? I use this, probably not the best one out there though:

http://www.glaryutilities.com/gu.html?tag=download

here's a great one:
http://www.ccleaner.com/

also sweeps up a bunch of other stuff. highly recommended.