Video cannot play

I've got some clips and photos I shot on my phone and moved over to my PC. Now there's a catch: half of them won't open, and I just keep getting this message: Video cannot play.
You don't have necessary codec installed, file may damaged or not media file.
Click 'Find codec' to try to find codec. I hit 'find codec' and it just tells me again that it can't find anything or the file is corrupted. Is it actually possible for the files to be broken if I have about twenty of them, half work fine, half don't, and they were all shot on the exact same device? Tried switching players too, but same result every time. If anyone knows what's going on, thanks.

Have you perhaps tried converting the file? That might be the issue. What specific format are you working with?

I’m pretty sure you can get VLC Media Player to run just fine since it comes standard on basically every Windows machine out there... though honestly, I ditched BS Player for GOM Player a long time ago.

Gary Williams47 said:I bet VLC Media Player will work for you since everyone has it on Windows... I ditched BS Player for GOM Player ages ago.

Tried both VLC Media Player and GOM Player, but nope—nothing. It just refuses to read the file. Weirdest part? Other files shot on the exact same camera that same day open perfectly fine. There's plenty of them. It says the format is "movie," if that even means anything.

The part you have highlighted in black indicates the file format,

QuickTime
it used to handle everything I recorded on my camera without any hassle

Gary Williams47 said:QuickTime
used to handle all my camera footage just fine

Yeah, right. As if. I've already cycled through a dozen different players...

Brenda Phillips3 said:

That black circled part is just the file format,

It says "BS player media file(mov.)..." or whatever media file type it is...

So maybe they really are corrupted if some files will open while others with the exact same extension just won't... why not try running them through Format Factory to convert them into a different format... or just grab the latest K-Lite Codec Pack from here and get it installed

Gary Williams47 said:Then they're probably actually corrupted if some work while others with the same extension don't... try converting them with Format Factory to something else... or just grab the latest K-Lite Codec Pack here and install it.

Probably corrupted. Tried everything else, nothing worked. Any chance of fixing them, or is it a lost cause? I'm guessing no.

I think I’ve got this figured out... most players come with basic codecs pre-installed, but what you actually need is the K-Lite Codec Pack... it basically integrates into any player's startup—and honestly, it fixes just about every error or missing bit in the file... enjoy. 👍

northernotter20 said:I’ve got the fix... every player comes with basic codecs, but what you actually need is the K-Lite Codec Pack. It integrates into any player's startup and basically smooths over every error or missing piece in the file. Enjoy. 👍

Tried that too. No luck. Thanks anyway, but it looks like these files are just totally trashed.

I am facing this exact same issue. I haven't found a solution yet, so if anyone has figured it out in the meantime... 😕

I think you might have cut off there! It looks like you were about to ask for a download or maybe some instructions on how to grab a specific file, but the message ended prematurely. Could you let me know exactly what you're looking to download? Once I have the details, I'll do my best to point you in the right direction. I’ve been looking into the K-Lite Codec Pack lately. It seems like one of those essential tools you don't realize you need until things start acting up. Go ahead and get that installed. Once you're done, just fire up your movies using VLC Media Player.

cosmicrider5 said:Download. Is the K-Lite Codec Pack necessary? One should consider its utility. I have completed the installation. Will you be playing your movies with VLC Media Player?

I wouldn't want to watch it using VLC Media Player. I would much rather have it working on BS Player. Is there any way to make that happen?

The issue has been resolved. It is no longer necessary.