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Was there a WMV JW player that went away?

I have a site where I am using JW Player, and I need to play some older .wmv files. Obviously, they don't play with the default JW Player. In looking around the support area here, I've come across the same response in multiple posts (as recently as 4/2014) that points to this link:

http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-wmv-player

However, that link just redirects to www.jwplayer.com. I see other posts that say you simply can't play wmv files with JW Player at all, and that video files have to be converted. I've also seen other posts around the internets that refer to a JW WMV player that uses/d Silverlight, but again, no dice. Did there used to be a supported WMV player that went away?

Thanks.

3 Community Answers

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MisterNeutron

User  
1 rated :

It's still out there, but hasn't been touched in over seven years:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/WEB-Design/Web-Design-related/JW-WMV-Player.shtml

Far, far better to convert to MP4, a format that's supported on almost all platforms (Windows, Mac, mobiles), than to stick with WMV, which is restricted to Windows platforms. That old JW Player utility required Silverlight, as well, which many users no longer install.

Converting couldn't be simpler - use Handbrake with its default settings, plus check "Web optimized." You can convert single WMV videos, or turn it loose on an entire folder of videos. Reliable and free:

http://handbrake.fr/

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sedwards

User  
0 rated :

Yeah, that would be great if I didn't have over 500 to do.

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MisterNeutron

User  
0 rated :

If you can put those 500 videos in one folder, you can set it up in Handbrake in about 2 minutes, click "Start," and go have a cup of tea. And remember, you'll have to do it only once, rather than having to come back to this problem over and over again.

And if you stick to WMV, you're eliminating all Mac and mobile users. Forever.

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