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General discussion

FLV video format

May 11, 2008 9:51AM PDT

I have a video file of FLV format (Flash video). It plays with VLC media player 0.8.6d. My question: Since it is a Flash video, can I play it with Flash player ? How ? Flash player is embedded in my browser and cannot be "opened". Thanks.

christy

Discussion is locked

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Use your browser...
May 11, 2008 10:15AM PDT

You should be able to right-click the file and Open With, choosing IE, Firefox, etc. (Flash player isn't a standalone media player.)

Hope this helps,
John

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A alternative.
May 11, 2008 7:22PM PDT

Drag the .flv file into an open browser window. It should play OK then.

Mark

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Re FLV formats...
May 12, 2008 1:16AM PDT

Thanks, Mark and John,

I have tried to open the files with my browsers, but to no avail. Internet Explorer did not react. Firefox opened with gibberish(random signs numbers and letters); Opera identified the file as "octet-stream", but gave a message that it could not open the file.

Real Player tried to download a codec for the file, but none was available. WinAmp indicated that it cannot reconize the file, so did WMP and Ouicktime. Classic Media Player identified the file as Flash Video, but plays the audio only.

Well, seems that the FLV format is quite new, as there seems no appropriate hits with Google. Thank goodness for the open source VLC media player. Maybe the format is more suited to the Linux OS.

christy

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Nothing new...
May 12, 2008 2:53AM PDT

The FLV format is nothing new and Flash Player is cross-platform, so unless either Flash Player or the file is corrupt any of those browsers should play it. To avoid future problems playing Flash videos, though, you can use Pazera Free to convert the file from FLV to AVI or MPG.

John

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Something new.
May 12, 2008 4:30AM PDT

There are some non-standard FLV files floating around. The players for these are limited as you'll discover.
Bob

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Re something new...
May 12, 2008 11:17PM PDT

Thanks. Yes-I have already discovered.

christy

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flv players
May 16, 2008 12:58AM PDT

Here are the names of two 'Free' programs which run flv files: FLVPlayerSetup.exe and GOMPlayerEnSetup.exe. I don't remember what site I got them from, probably CNET, and I don't remember which one wanted me to download a codec. However, when it prompted me for a codec all I had to do was say yes, and it downloaded and installed it with no problem.

GOMPlayer (the EN stands for English version) is the better program of the two, but at first it does nag you to upgrade to the paid version, although you can just ignore that and continue using it. When it comes up, put your cursor in the middle and rightclick. This brings up the full menu. You can choose which directory you want it to use as a default.

I'm retired and on a small pension so I really appreciate being able to enjoy using these programs.