FIX: You may experience a color smearing or bleeding effect when you play MPEG4 videos in Windows Media Player 9 or 10 (895181)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows XP
  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows Server 2003
  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 10

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 or 10, you may experience a color smearing or bleeding effect when you play some MPEG4 videos. This behavior often occurs when the video contains fast-moving scenes of varying colors.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because of an issue with the way that the MPEG4 codec handles motion vectors. Sometimes, the decoder mistakenly uses invalid motion vectors.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next release that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

English

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
DownloadDownload the WindowsMedia-KB895181-x86-ENU.exe package now.

Japanese

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
DownloadDownload the WindowsMedia-KB895181-x86-JPN.exe package now.

For more information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.
   Date         Time   Version      Size     File name
   ------------------------------------------------------
   23-Mar-2005  05:21  10.0.0.3911  391,928  Mp4sdmod.dll

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

The following hotfix is also addressed as part of this update:

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

872899 FIX: MPEG4 content may be blocky when you use the Windows Media Player

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/12/2005
Keywords:kbBug kbfix KB895181 kbAudDeveloper kbAudEndUser kbAudITPRO kbAudGeneralUser kbAudOEM
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