# A question about MPEG-2 videos

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mpeg-2-videos/230729>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 23, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mpeg-2-videos/230729 "2004-02-23T20:14:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mpeg-2-videos/230729/1 "2004-02-23T20:14:00Z")

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I bought a [Gateway DV-S20](http://accessories.gateway.com/AccessoryStore/Consumer+Electronics_381930/Video_381939/Digital+Camcorders_372770/7004883_ProdDetail.htm) camcorder for myself for Christmas. It isn’t the greatest camera in the world, but I thought it would be fun for emailing quickie videos to family and friends. It is supposed to record MPEG-2 files. Well, I have no problem at all viewing the videos on my computer (Gateway with WinXPHome). I have successfully emailed videos to me sister (Compaq WinXPHome) and she and her family have been able to see and hear the videos without any problem. For some reason, my dad can’t see the videos (Dell WinXPPro). He says they open in Win MediaPlayer and he can hear the sound, but there is no video. Have any of you run into this problem or know how to resolve it? Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mpeg-2-videos/230729/2 "2004-02-23T20:31:30Z")

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He might need to download an MPEG-2 codec, especially if his computer didn’t come with a DVD drive.

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**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mpeg-2-videos/230729/3 "2004-02-23T20:31:44Z")

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You and your sister probably have a software DVD player installed, and your dad does not. Once installed, the codec is available to Windows Media Player.

Have him try this:

[http://www.elecard.com/products/mpeg2decoder.shtml](http://www.elecard.com/products/mpeg2decoder.shtml)

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**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mpeg-2-videos/230729/4 "2004-02-23T20:38:21Z")

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> [@Eleusis](#):
>
> You and your sister probably have a software DVD player installed, and your dad does not. Once installed, the codec is available to Windows Media Player.
> 
> Have him try this:
> 
> [Products and software for encoding, decoding and processing video | Elecard: Video Compression Guru](http://www.elecard.com/products/mpeg2decoder.shtml)

Hey, thanks. You’re right, my sister and I both have DVD drives and my dad doesn’t. I’ll mention this the next time I send out a video.

Thanks. Y’all are the greatest.