<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="problem"
      id="video-sending">

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="media#videos"/>
    <desc>Check that they have the right video codecs installed.</desc>
    <revision pkgversion="3.4.0" date="2012-02-19" status="outdated"/>
    <revision version="13.10" date="2013-10-23" status="review"/>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
      <email>gnome-doc-list@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
  </info>

<title>Other people can't play the videos I made</title>

  <p>If you made a video on your Linux computer and sent it to someone using
 Windows or Mac OS, you may find that they have problems playing the video.</p>

  <p>To be able to play your video, the person you sent it to must have the
 right <em>codecs</em> installed. A codec is a little piece of software that
 knows how to take the video and display it on the screen. There are lots of
 different video formats and each requires a different codec to play it back.
 You can check which format your video is by doing:</p>
<list>
    <item><p>Open the <link xref="files-browse">file manager</link>.</p></item>
    <item><p>Right-click on video file and select <gui>Properties</gui>.</p></item>
    <item><p>Go to the <gui>Audio/Video</gui> tab and look at which
 <gui>codec</gui> is listed under <gui>Video</gui>.</p></item>
</list>

  <p>Ask the person having problems with playback if they have the right codec
 installed. They may find it helpful to search the web for the name of the codec
 plus the name of their video playback application. For example, if your video
 uses the <em>Theora</em> format and you have a friend using Windows Media
 Player to try and watch it, search for "theora windows media player". You will
 often be able to download the right codec for free if it's not installed.</p>

  <p>If you can't find the right codec, try the
 <link href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/">VLC media player</link>. It works on
 Windows and Mac OS as well as Linux, and supports a lot of different video
 formats. Otherwise, try converting your video into a different format. Most
 video editors are able to do this, and specific video converter applications are
 available. Check <app>Software</app> to see what's available.</p>

<note>
  <p>There are a few other problems which might prevent someone from playing
 your video. The video could have been damaged when you sent it to them
 (sometimes big files aren't copied across perfectly), they could have problems
 with their video playback application, or the video may not have been created
 properly (there could have been some errors when you saved the video).</p>
</note>

</page>

