Member Avatar for soloalpinist

I'm running Windows XP Media Player 11. I have sound from Music CD's and other sources but DVD's play with no sound. Any suggestions?
Also...when I put in a music CD it brings up the Itunes site and plays there by default.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Doctor Inferno

Dani AI

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Good troubleshooting so far — because had you try a different player and confirmed that player restored the sound, this is almost certainly a decoder/driver issue in the Windows/DirectShow chain rather than a broken DVD drive or speakers.

Quick checks you can do now (in Windows XP):

  • Verify the system playback device: Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices and on the Audio tab make sure the default Sound playback device is your speakers (not an S/PDIF/digital output you don’t use).
  • While a DVD is playing in Windows Media Player, check the volume controls (both the system mixer and WMP’s volume) and any soundcard control panel for muted channels.
  • Confirm the DVD drive model so you can look for bundled software: right‑click My Computer > Manage > Device Manager > expand DVD/CD-ROM drives and note the model string.

What’s actually missing: commercial DVDs usually use MPEG‑2 video and Dolby (AC‑3) audio. If WMP11 doesn’t have a suitable MPEG‑2 decoder and an AC‑3/Dolby decoder available to DirectShow, video may play while audio is silent. To fix that for WMP you can either install a reputable DVD/MPEG‑2 + AC‑3 DirectShow decoder (many OEM drives came with a licensed player such as PowerDVD/WinDVD), or keep using a player that bundles decoders internally.

Safety notes and tips:

  • Prefer official or well‑known decoders; avoid mysterious “codec packs” from unknown sites (they often bundle adware).
  • Create a System Restore point before installing decoders so you can roll back if something goes wrong.
  • If you’re not comfortable changing system codecs, using the alternate player you tested is a perfectly fine long‑term solution.

Credit to for pointing toward the missing audio filter idea — installing a proper AC‑3 (Dolby) decoder alongside an MPEG‑2 decoder is the usual, correct remedy.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

I'm running Windows XP Media Player 11. I have sound from Music CD's and other sources but DVD's play with no sound. Any suggestions?
Also...when I put in a music CD it brings up the Itunes site and plays there by default.

first ,for the default player ,go to my computer ,right click on the cdrom icon and go to tools /auto run anf there you can set the program you want to play music cd's .
are the dvd in question made by you or are they rental dvd's

Member Avatar for soloalpinist

Commercially made, Movies all dvd's don't play.

Member Avatar for caperjack

sounds like codex problem,
try this player to see if it works, http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ ,if it works then you need dvd codex for media player ,did you get dvd player software with the dvd player when you bought computer ,like power dvd or some other software ,if so try install or reinstall it .

Member Avatar for soloalpinist

I saved the download to desktop...do I just run it now and it will install itself? Let me know and I'll give it a try. A buddy "built" this computer for me out of variuos parts...so I don't have any software for the DVD player...any way I can tell what model, etc the DVD player is and possibly track down software to make it work? Thanks for all your efforts on this...

Member Avatar for caperjack

I saved the download to desktop...do I just run it now and it will install itself?..

yes you have to click on it to install it .

Member Avatar for soloalpinist

Ok...I downloaded VLC Media Player and the sound is back> :-)
Suggestions for what to do next about fixing media players sound? Again...thanks for any and all help.

Member Avatar for soloalpinist

I went to the download site...not sure which to download ( a movie codex or audio codex just to fix the sound problem?) Sorry... I'm not very good with computers.

Member Avatar for caperjack

common sense prevails ,sound codex of course

Member Avatar for soloalpinist

Thank you CaperJack and Dr Inferno for the Codex info and fix...all is right with Media Player Sound. I really appreciate your time and help!!!

Member Avatar for caperjack

your welcome ,good to HEAR it worked

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