Hi,

I have just downloaded some footage to view on my Dell Laptop, however when I open the file I can hear the footage but it does not show on the screen.

What do I need to do, or can I convert the file so that I can view properly.

It was a RAR file.

Thanks

Steve

Without knowing more information I would say that the program you are viewing it on does not have the correct codec that is needed to open the file properly. I would find out what kind of video you are trying to watch (.rar is not a video file but a compression format) and see if you can find a codec that works with it. THe standard MS Media application does not come with all the major codecs. Try Quicktime.

Sorry for the double post. To get the actual video format, try fully uncompressing the .rar file to be able to see the file extension on the video.

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Originally Posted by aeproberts

Sorry for the double post. To get the actual video format, try fully uncompressing the .rar file to be able to see the file extension on the video.

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Okay I'm an idiot. I'm having the same problem as the original poster. How do I uncompress a file? I downloaded a program that I thought did that but it's not doing anything. Is there a program already built into windows that uncompresses files?

You would need to use winrar.exe, available for free at download.com. Once unzipped if it still doesn't play, open it in windows media player, it should automatically download the codec you need. If not look at the file type, video files can be .avi or about a dozen other file types, use Google and type in .avi codec (or whatever the file type might be) and you should find it rather easily.

If not, post back here once you have the file type.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lowtax4eva

You would need to use winrar.exe, available for free at download.com. Once unzipped if it still doesnt play, open it in windows media player, it should automatically download the codec you need. If not look at the file type, video files can be .avi or about a dozen other file types, use google and type in .avi codec (or whatever the file type might be) and you should find it rather easily.

If not, post back here once you have the file type.

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Hey thanks. I actually thought winrar.exe was a program you had to pay for which is what I was hoping to avoid.

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Originally Posted by chuff

Hey thanks. I actually thought winrar.exe was a program you had to pay for which is what I was hoping to avoid.

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Last I checked it was -- ZipGenius will do the same operations and its free- |MG| Free Download - ZipGenius 6.0.3.1130 - Savage

Yeah, winrar asks you to pay after 30 days each time you open it, but it still continues working, but if there are other programs that are really free all the better!