Originally posted by: JediTemple70mm
Every time I tried Windows I get a “ding”! And a rather simple message say unable to play file somewhere along those lines. What in the world am I doing wrong here, I must be getting to old for this. I’m so embarrassed.
Every time I tried Windows I get a “ding”! And a rather simple message say unable to play file somewhere along those lines. What in the world am I doing wrong here, I must be getting to old for this. I’m so embarrassed.
Video codec stuff can be a bit confusing if you're trying to figure it out for the first time. RAR files can also be quite confusing. I remember not getting the concept behind them the first time I had to deal with them -- so don't worry, you're not alone in having trouble!
While I'm not entirely sure, I think you're having trouble working with the RAR files. Simply put, RAR files are like ZIP files in the sense that they are compressed, but something special about RARs is that they can be used to split one single file into several separate files for the sake of expediting downloading. Think of it as having a painting mailed to you, but where the complete canvas is too big and heavy for one truck to deliver it quickly. So to expedite the shipping, the post office rips the canvas into three pieces, and sends them on three separate trucks, so that they can all get to you faster, and all at the same time. Because the canvas has been ripped into several pieces, the only way that you can see the painting in its entirety is by stitching it back together first. With RAR files, this is called "unpacking", and is what several other forum members have mentioned as part of the solution for you. There are several free and easily-accessible programs out there that complete this unpacking process for you, including (for Windows) a popular one, WinRAR (note that the link is to a direct download of the program for a Windows PC). Download and install this program on your PC, then use it to open the first of the three RAR files you've downloaded. WinRAR will then stitch them together for you, and give you one, large, and complete video file that you can then play in Windows Media Player or VLC. It is important to note that the RAR files themselves, because they are compressed, are not considered media files (like the separate pieces of canvas are not considered to be the painting), and therefore cannot be played in your media player. You need to unpack, or stitch back together, the media file first, then load that newly-saved media file into your media player.
I hope this helps! Good luck getting everything working properly.
Take care,
Sojourn