getting various video files playing on a Windows 95 machine

[Novice]

Hi all, I'm about to visit a friend of our family and a bunch of us have
compiled a set of digital video recordings (avi, mpg, etc) for him and his
wife. However, he is still running Windows 95 (with windows media player
95) and isn't getting a new computer in the near future.

So I was wondering what I could do to get a media player with all the proper
codecs on his machine. He doesn't have a connection to the internet - so I
would have to burn all solutions to CD and install them when we get there.

Can anyone suggest a media player that would run on a fairly slow machine (I
think a low end pentium - like when they were first released) with windows
95 and that would be capable of running video files with up to date codecs?

Thanks,
Novice

[Brian Dickens]

Post by Novice
Can anyone suggest a media player that would run on a fairly slow
machine (I think a low end pentium - like when they were first
released) with windows 95 and that would be capable of running video
files with up to date codecs?

I've got some suggestions:

1) Use ZoomPlayer. An excellent mediaplayer which is far more
resource-friendly than Windows Media Player. It's freeware (at least, the
Standard edition) - get it at www.inmatrix.com/zplayer

2) Use FFDShow, an open-source playback filter for DivX, XVid and some other
less used formats. Very CPU-friendly, especially if you don't use any of the
postprocessing capabilities. Get it at
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ffdshow/ffdshow-20030523.exe?download

It may appear strange to use an alpha version, however FFDShow alpha is
extremely stable ànd fast. Very recommended software, used by lots of
people.

For MPEG1 decoding (VCD), the standard Windows codecs should do just fine.
For MPEG2 (SVCD) decoding, get the Nimo Codec pack at
http://users.skynet.be/flashdesign/Nimo/Nimo50Build9Beta1.exe and make sure
you only install the MPEG2 Directshow filters - nothing else. For optimal
speed, a commercial filter is better but then you'd have to resort to
installing PowerDVD (or WinDVD).


This way, a low-end machine should be able to play anything just fine.

=- Brian Dickens, the Netherlands

[jer]

Post by Novice
Hi all, I'm about to visit a friend of our family and a bunch of us have
compiled a set of digital video recordings (avi, mpg, etc) for him and his
wife. However, he is still running Windows 95 (with windows media player
95) and isn't getting a new computer in the near future.
So I was wondering what I could do to get a media player with all the proper
codecs on his machine. He doesn't have a connection to the internet - so I
would have to burn all solutions to CD and install them when we get there.
Can anyone suggest a media player that would run on a fairly slow machine (I
think a low end pentium - like when they were first released) with windows
95 and that would be capable of running video files with up to date codecs?
Thanks,
Novice

Ah hah!! That's where my Mom's old PC ended up. Good luck what that
one. Most newer codecs need so much service from the system that
Win95 can't come close to minimums. If this is expected to work,
you're gonna have to dumb down the needed codec to be sure it works at
all. And this is one of the main reasons I convinced Mom to replace
her ragged PC. At first, she seemed worried about the lack of a
floppy drive. I asked 'what's the point?' And for $500, she's
whistling dixie.