What program do I use to play Windows Media Files? Is it even possible?

Yes, it is quite possible. You can use mplayer to play all of your media files, at least I've never had a video format it couldn't handle. The mplayer homepage www.mplayerhq.hu.

Make sure you install the codecs for windows media player and quicktime.

~Andrew

I installed mplayer using synpatic (RH9) and also installed the windows codecs as well as the browser plugin and mplayer still won't play wmvs. Everything else works fine, though (at least every other format I have tried), except for realvideo.

Is there something else I should try? I don't get any errors, they simply don't play.

-dave

Just try to install it from source and get the codecs from the mplayer website.

If you already installed mplayer with synaptic there's no need to go and reinstall from source.
Just go to the mplayer website, grab the latest win32 codec pack and unpack them in your /usr/lib/win32 folder.

Also you might try to play .wmv files with Xine, mplayer doesn't play all the .wmv files where I still have to find one that Xine doesn't play.
Same goes for quicktime files btw.

Edit: If it still doesn't work you might want to give this site a look and install the Xine libraries.
In fact I can't remember anymore what fixed the .wmv files not playing but the more I think of it the more I think that these rpm's did the trick.
Anyway, with these files you can't miss, wmv files will play!

I dont' have a /usr/lib/win32/ folder.

well you'll need to get the codecs from mplayer's site or many other places.

Make the directory. I did.

BTW, its not a folder, its a directory.

Create it and unpack the codecs you donwloaded into it.
This is all you have to do really.

Hmmm... mplayer will play the wmv files if I save them somewhere and then play them, but the mozilla plugin does not seem to be able to handle them.

-dave

Xine with win32 codec still doesn't play wmv...

mplayer does

i like xine best for playing anything video