Getting ready for divx5 (MPEG4) video format
Here you find some instructions about what to do to enjoy this great high-performance format in your OS with your favorite browser.

The amazing video data about the Millenium Simulation of the Universe in the Cosmological Visualization Project Forum are in that compressed, high-performance format. But also much modern hardware like digital cameras, DVD players, TV's is meanwhile certified for this format of the future.

Unfortunately a number of players on people's home computers are still giving up at first try...

I want to help you that this changes!

Windows:

a) Windows Media Player (WMP) 11 & IE7
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This combination of the latest MS software is reported to work without modifications

b) Windows Media Player (WMP) 11 & Firefox 2.x
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This combination favoured by many, including myself, is NOT working right away, unfortunately. You may convince yourself by inspecting MonaLisa's Welcome page about my Cosmological Visualization Project! Typically in the embedded video window, it is announced that a plugin is missing. After clicking to download it, nothing suitable is found and you are stuck at first.

However, there is a VERY simple remedy, ending up in beautiful smooth divx5 performance. You don't have to install any further software. Just follow this instruction:

First, close all Firefox windows. Open your Windows Explorer and change to the Firefox configuration directory by typing into WE's address line

%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox
<return>

There you find a file named pluginreg.dat that you open with your favorite editor (notepad, notepad++,...).

search for the line :Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library|$

Now change just change the number 9 -> 10 following that line
Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library|$
9

to

Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library|$
10

and right after
8|video/x-ms-wvx|Media Files|wvx,*|$

add this line
9|video/x-msvideo|Media Files|avi,*|$

save, but leave your editor open! You might still need it.

Open your Firefox and type

about:plugins

into the address line of Firefox. Then you get a full listing of all plugins that your Firefox has recognized. That's handy knowing anyway, isn't it?

Look again for Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library by scrolling down.
Check whether you find the last line you just typed into pluginreg.dat, containing the avi format configuration.

If you spot it. Great!

Go and test the embedded video display in the Cosmological Visualization Welcome page.
Don't miss to try the subsequent 60 MB divx5 stream about a spectacular fast 3D flight through the Millenium Universe if you have a reasonably fast connection to the net!!

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Potential problems might arise due to the fact that the pluginreg.dat tends to be overwritten when Firefox closes or opens. But it works if you try saving the modified pluginreg.dat in your
editor a few more times both if FF is open and closed...
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Linux:

Install a recent version of MPlayer and mplayerplug-in and you will be fine. I use 'smart 0.51' for auto-updating my OpenSuSE 10.1 installation which works excellently...

MAC-OS:

Here the best recipe seems to just download the FREE divx5 codecs from here http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/download/

Cham has reported that even Safari works. Perhaps ElChristou can continue here with a more detailed MAC instruction. ElChristou had no problems after just downloading the codecs.

Good luck!

Bye Fridger

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Effectively the only thing to do under osX (I'm running 10.4.10) is to download and install the codec (see Fridger link). Eventually you will be asked to reboot (pretty rare under osX).
I've tested under Safari 3.03, Camino 1.5 and of course Quicktime Player (7.2), all run fine.

Chris,

what I was unsure about is whether in your case of MAC-OS also the plugin /embedded video display works. Or is the video displayed in a detatched player window??

Bye Fridger

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It works just fine inside browsers (those I've tested) and after saving it as source (.avi), the standard osX multimedia player (QuickTime player) also play it just fine.
VLC has no problem to read it.

Resuming, 100% OK under osX!

I just rebooted into windows from fedora to check. VLC is set as my default web viewer .The vlc plugin( replaces the old Mplayer-plugin) works perfectly "out of the box " on Seamonkey / windows XP .The vlc player opens up in the same tab and plays .
Now ,this may be my settings, in the IE_Tab plugin Mplayer / GMplayer( front end) dose need to dl the video first then plays in GMplayer , after double clicking the vid link

So on win i would recommend playing the " reset this M$ " game with windows media player and VLC
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
windows download
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

_________________
"I don't pitch Linux to my friends, I let Microsoft do that for me."
Using OpenSUSE 42.1 & Scientific Linux 6.7

Correct, John. Since quite a while I only use VLC & the Mozilla VLC plugin for everything in all OS. Full stop. That's all that is needed.

Fridger

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