Update 2009-01-11:
Also have a look at A Red Herrings Space post: Stream H.264-MP4/M4V/M4A from Windows Media Player 11 to Playstation 3 & Xbox 360. It covers this topic and has almost the same solution. But it has more/different tips in case of problems and also covers more formats. The blog also has related tips, like encoding video files.
Getting MP4 video file streaming to work to the xbox in Windows Vista with Media Player 11 is quite a challenge.
Some Codec Packs will enable this, but I want to know exactly how to get it working and I don’t like using packs. Also they don’t do everything right. The Vista Codec Pack for example allows streaming of mp4 to the Xbox360, but does not enable playback in WMP11.
Anyway, here’s how I got MP4 files working in Vista WMP11 and the Xbox 360:
0. Make a restore point so you can revert all the changes. If you make a lot of registry changes, take a registry backup of the relevant nodes.
1. Install FFDShow. I used the latest version 20070805. Allow use for all apps to enable explorer thumbnails.
2. Configure FFDShow: I like to disable the trayicons.
3. Install Haali Media Splitter (latest as of 20070807)
4. Configure Haali: Autoload VSFilter=yes, Show tray icon=no, Enable thumbnails Extraction=yes
5. Run custom registry file to:
2. Configure FFDShow: I like to disable the trayicons.
3. Install Haali Media Splitter (latest as of 20070807)
4. Configure Haali: Autoload VSFilter=yes, Show tray icon=no, Enable thumbnails Extraction=yes
5. Run custom registry file to:
– enable WMP to identify mp4 and m4v files as video files
– enable WMP to stream mp4 and m4v files
(be careful when changing the registry!)
————-MP4_to_WMP.reg————————-
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Parts are set, but type already exists
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4]
@=”mp4_auto_file”
;”QuickTime.bak”=”VLC.mp4″
;”Content Type”=”video/mp4″
”PerceivedType”=”video”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4]
@=”mp4_auto_file”
;”QuickTime.bak”=”VLC.mp4″
;”Content Type”=”video/mp4″
”PerceivedType”=”video”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4ShellEx{BB2E617C-0920-11D1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@=”{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}”
@=”{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}”
; WMPlayer extension
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMultimediaWMPlayerExtensions.mp4]
”PerceivedType”=”video”
”Permissions”=dword:0000000f
”Runtime”=dword:00000007
”UserApprovedOwning”=”yes”
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMultimediaWMPlayerExtensions.mp4]
”PerceivedType”=”video”
”Permissions”=dword:0000000f
”Runtime”=dword:00000007
”UserApprovedOwning”=”yes”
; WMP MLS Extension
; This is very important for WMP to identify mp4 files as video files
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMediaPlayerMLS]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMediaPlayerMLS]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMediaPlayerMLSExtensions]
”mp4″=”video”
”mp4″=”video”
; M4V ————–
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.m4v]
@=”mp4_auto_file”
”PerceivedType”=”video”
;”Content Type”=”video/x-m4v”
”Content Type”=”video/mp4”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.m4v]
@=”mp4_auto_file”
”PerceivedType”=”video”
;”Content Type”=”video/x-m4v”
”Content Type”=”video/mp4”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.m4vShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.m4vShellEx{BB2E617C-0920-11D1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@=”{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}”
@=”{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}”
; WMPlayer extension
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMultimediaWMPlayerExtensions.m4v]
”PerceivedType”=”video”
”Permissions”=dword:0000000f
”Runtime”=dword:00000007
”UserApprovedOwning”=”yes”
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMultimediaWMPlayerExtensions.m4v]
”PerceivedType”=”video”
”Permissions”=dword:0000000f
”Runtime”=dword:00000007
”UserApprovedOwning”=”yes”
; WMP MLS Extension
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMediaPlayerMLSExtensions]
”m4v”=”video”
”m4v”=”video”
———————————————————–
The end result for all this:
- I can view and play mp4 files in Windows Media Player. With thumbnails.
- I can stream mp4 files to XBox360
- Explorer shows mp4 thumbnails
Notes:
- It would appear the mp4 (m4v) files have to be defined as video/mp4 in the HKCR/.xxx setting to make streaming to xbox360 work
- m4v works too by changing the mime-type from video/x-m4v to video/mp4 in HKCR/.m4v
- Installing VLC will reset some settings (thumbnails may break, streaming of m4v may break). You will likely have to reinstall Haali and check the mime-types to fix the situation.
- I transcode my video files to be iTunes/iPod compatible with Videora iPod Converter. They will thus work in iTunes, iPod, WMP11 and Xbox360
- Some converted mp4 files will be rejected by iTunes due to faulty mp4-tags. The files can be fixed with Tagger. Just open the mp4 file with tagger and save it. (Update: This was a problem with ReadyBoost. Since I disabled ReadyBoost I have had no problems with importing mp4 files.)
- Xbox360 will only display the mp4 video files through the dashboard (Video playback). The Xbox Media Center Extender will not play them (they will show up though).
Related links:
- Guide to Codecs in Vista Media Center– Installing the Haali media splitter and FFDShow. This makes mp4 playable on WMP11, but it broke my mp4 streaming (I think)
- Windows Media Newsgroups MP4 search– same problems but couldn’t find an aswer yet
- Vista Codec Package – I used a partial installation and it seems like a fairly good pack. But I just don’t like packs…
Leave a comment if my notes helped you. I can’t be much more help if you continue to have problems, but if you do get it working your comments would help others to find these notes more valuable.
OliverW.net 
Zune software seems to interfere with the mp4 setup. After my instructions try to install the Zune software and share folders with it. Seemed to help with one user.
Your notes also solved the ability to stream mp4’s to my Dlink DSM-520 Media Lounge via XP Media Player 11 media sharing – thanks for the custom registry tip! Works perfectly.
I managed to get wmp11 to add all the files i wanted on my library, but they still dont show up on 360…Shouldn’t it automatically share everything its on my library?
How do I get the "custom reg file" to work?? I tried putting it into a .reg file using notepad but regedit won’t let me import it into the registry
Nevermind I was just copying the registry txt wrong. For other people reading this, make sure you copy "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00" for the .reg file
The video shows up as a 2gb under the "other media" section of the library. It doesn’t work with my xbox. Thanks for messing my pc up.
Sorry about that. I turned on the vsffilter thing and it goes to videos in the library. However, even though it is in the library, it is not showing up on the xbox. It is in the public video folder. What is going on?
If the file shows up in the library but not on the xbox, then the likely reason is a wrong mime type.
Check the mime-type (or "content type") in HKCR/.mp4 or HKCR/.m4v and verify that it is video/mp4. For example:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp4] "Content Type"="video/mp4"
If this fails then there is something else going on and unfortunately I can’t help. My guide worked on my fairly clean system.
And if you didn’t know: MAKE BACKUPS / A RESTORE POINT before starting to fiddle around registry settings and installing codecs.
okay so i got it all set up and i have the autoload vsfilter set to yesbut my mp4 files still show up in my other media instead of videoany idea whats going on, or how to fix it?
Sounds like either the "PerceivedType" or "WMP MLS Extension" parts are missing from the registry. Verify the registry changes. Did you reboot?
okay well i have the registry coppied right and i just got done rebooting and it still doesnt show up in my video library it stays in the other
will this work with windows xp?
> Win XP
I haven’t tested Windows XP, but it is very likely that this will work in XP too.
> still doesnt show up in my video library
Then it will require systematic analysis and testing of your registry and WMP settings. It took me hours to find my solution and additional hours to verify the results. I hope my guide will help others, but there are so many things that can go wrong that there is no simple way to guarantee results.
I suggest you look at your registry settings to try to find overlapping settings. Related values that my list does not set but might change WMP behaviour.
What does it mean to "Run the custom registry file to:"?? I don’t understand what it means to "run" the file…what file??
T
> What does it mean to "Run the custom registry file to:"?
> T
I left it ambiguous as a minimum knowledge level required. If you didn’t identify the registry file format or know how to import and export registry settings, then you shouldn’t be touching them. You might not be able to fix some horrible mistake.
Check the Wikipedia entry for Windows Registry more information and come back if you feel confident.
on x64 vista you need to substitue "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node" vs "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE"
This doesn’t seem to work on Vista 64. I don’t understand Toby’s instructions as there is barely anything in that registry part. Right now the files show up in the library but does not play properly – shows up as 0 secs and can’t fast forward. If I double click the file, it plays just fine.On the 360, the file doesn’t show up at all – regardless of extension (avi or mp4)
> I left it ambiguous as a minimum knowledge level required.dude. seriously? i know how to modify the registry but throw me a freaking bone here. i mean, a wikipedia link? honestly? i appreciate the thought, but if you’re going to help, then help. just throw a disclaimer in there. the only thing i can think of is to paste that into a notepad file and save it as a .reg file. and that didn’t work. so how about a little follow through, please?
> the only thing i can think of is to paste that into a notepad file and save it as a .reg file. and that didn’t work
The first line of the .reg file must be "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00".
Make sure it really is saved as a ".reg" file, not a ".reg.txt" file.
Don’t include the last "————-" -line.
Hey man… I know this is old but I was wondering if you could please help me… I cant get the mp4s to be added to the video part of the library.. they only show up as "Other Media"… I use ffdshow but Im not sure what exactly I installed to get mp4s to play in wmp11 (they do just fine btw)… they just dont show up as videos on the library…heelp a n00b out please
I did try the registry thing… it said it was added to the registry successfully but the videos are still not at the library
Ok…so I thought I had figured it out but now, even though the files do appear on video tab of the library my Ps3 (lol, I know you might not know how to fix this) sees them as mpeg-2… and when I try to play it gives me an error message…. any clues?
> … my Ps3 sees them as mpeg-2… and when I try to play it gives me an error message…. any clues?
My best guess is the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp4\ContentType value. Make sure it’s "video/mp4".
Thank you Oliver for providing this great registry tweak! I was able to the .reg file, reboot, and add .mp4 and play videos on both media player 11 and media center on XP Media Center Edition 2005. Could you help me with one additional step?
I have an xbox 360 set up as a media center extender device. I can now see the .mp4 videos on my xbox, but I cannot play them on my xbox. You said: "The Vista Codec Pack for example allows streaming of mp4 to the Xbox360." Do you know of a solution for XP?
> I have an xbox 360 set up as a media center extender device. I can now see the .mp4 videos on my xbox, but I cannot play them on my xbox. You said: "The Vista Codec Pack for example allows streaming of mp4 to the Xbox360." Do you know of a solution for XP?
The Xbox360 media center extender does NOT play streaming mp4. You have to use the normal xbox360 dashboard.
I created and updated my registry and my mp4 registry says that the content type is video/mp4… Yet I still have the same problem as someone down below. All my mp4s are pulling up as "other media" on WMP11. Any suggestions?
> All my mp4s are pulling up as "other media" on WMP11. Any suggestions?Check the MLS and WMPlayer registry settings again. They assign mp4 files to the video category. It that doesn’t help. then I have no idea what the problem might be. Maybe some installed codec pack has added some other configuration options.
For those of you whose mp4 files show up as "Other Media", it seems to be a problem with the existing library having a record of them. If you simply delete your existing library from c:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player\ (close media player and stop the network sharing service, rename folder to .OLD) and restart media player, it will add you mp4’s to the Video section instead when it rebuilds the library. This method maintains custom library watch folders, as they are stored in the registry, so it should restore media player to the same state minus play counts and star ratings…
thanks alex fix worked fine for me vista x64 ultimate
Hey great post. I got all the videos working fine but had a question about thumbnails. Only some of them came up. This goes for every file type. A couple wmv, avi and mp4 have thumbnails but the rest and any new files dont. I tried deleting the files from WMP and reimporting them but the same files only show thumbs. Have you heard of this or know of a fix?
> I got all the videos working fine but had a question about thumbnails. Only some of them came up.
I’ve had some problems with thumbnails too, but I’m not sure how I fixed that issue.
I suggest you to set change the following settings:Haali Media Splitter: Explorer integration / Thumbnails offset. Set this to 0.ffdshow video decoding settings, DirectShow control / Multiple ffdshow instances setting.
It still might not help, but in my case those settings did cause explorer crashes when trying to generate thumbnails. I still don’t get all thumbnails for all files (eg m4v-files), but I’m okay with that.
Thanks Oliver got it working on the computer just fine. Now I just got to figure out how to get the thumbs to show up on the 360 dashboard. Only the previous ones still show up with thumbs. I tried resetting the thumbs cache in Vista and WMP11 but that didnt work.
Hi, Great post! Stoked to get mp4 streaming up and running from windows xp WMP 11 to my PS3. Great work. Files added to the library easy, had a media server error at first but its seemed to have fixed itself and files are pooping up on the ps3 no probs. One problem I am having though is the ACC Audio stream is broken and drops out to 0kbps and the Video playback stutters because of it. The video stream is fine at around a constant 2.5mbps. Its only happening with mp4 files. Do you know what might be causing the problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers
i changed to parts of registry entry as Toby suggested, but I still get an error saying ’Cannot import mp4_to_wmp.reg. The file specified is not a registry script. You can only import binary registry files from within the registry editor. whats up with that?
> I still get an error saying ’Cannot import mp4_to_wmp.reg…Make sure the file structure is correct. F.ex the first line must be "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00".Then just launch the file from Windows Explorer (double click).
awsume thanks alot..
WTF, i really don’t know what you must do, maybe because i’m Dutch, what do you have to do with the text ??you have copy it and do it in a text file, and call it WMP_to_MP4.reg??and where do you have to save the file,?? with all the other videos??
> copy it and do it in a text file, and call it WMP_to_MP4.reg?? and where do you have to save the file,?? with all the other videos?Save it anywhere (on the desktop is fine), then run it (double click it). Make sure it’s really a .reg file, not a .reg.txt (or similar) file. It will enter the data into the registry. Reboot and see if it works.This is unfortunately somewhat low level Windows configuring, and it’s very hard for novice users. Sorry.
Oke thnx dudee :)but can you also do it if you have Vista ??
I’d like to thank OliverW.net for his Blog on XBox360, Vista Media Player 11, MP4 video streaming,
here => https://weinioli.wordpress.com/2007/08/07/xbox360-vista-media-player-11-mp4-video-streaming/
I did what it said followed it through and all worked great! I could see thumbnail etc… But I was still unable to add files to my library in WMP11. So another search was done and I found another article
here=> http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/fixing-when-windows-media-player-library-wont-let-you-add-files/
I followed the instructions which enabled me to clear the database from WMP11 as it was not letting me add files to my WMP11 Library. I rebooted and presto!
I now have Windows XP SP3 with WMP11 Media Sharing Enabled & Streaming to my PS3.
Paluuviite: playing videos on xbox 360 streamed from PC - Fires of Heaven Guild Message Board
Paluuviite: MP4 File Support in Windows Media Center / Media Player | Ebersviller.com