By far the most common reason for all of the problems above is not having the latest version of the DivX or XviD codecs installed. Older versions of codecs will tend either not to play files encoded with newer versions at all, or play them poorly.  This is encountered more often with XviD-encoded files, as now DivX codecs are future compatible, i.e. even though DivX 5.05 is not the latest version of DivX, video encoded with later versions of DivX can still be decoded with 5.05 (although this is not true for all DivX series - you can read more HERE). This is not the case with XviD, however, you always need not only the latest version, but a good one as well.  Since XviD is an open source codec, there can be many versions of it, but only certain ones are approved by the original authors.  We recommend always having Koepi's Build XviD installed.  To ensure that you have the latest and good versions of DivX, visit our homepage often, we keep the site updated with downloads or links to the latest codec versions.  The above is true for other codecs as well, not just DivX or XviD.

Direct Show Filters

Sometimes you do have all the latest codecs installed but your avi still won't play or won't play well.  Another reason for this can be because your player is not actually using the specific codec that the avi was encoded with.  Instead, it might be using a Direct Show Filter, which acts as a substitute for codecs like DivX and Xvid.  Some users prefer using Direct Show filters to decode their video files, as it alleviates the necessity of installing different codecs for different video formats.  However in our experience these filters can fail to decode some files properly, and sometimes not at all.  For instance, FFDShow can be found in many codec packs which users install, and unfortunately they are usually older versions which cannot decode newer DivX or XviD content properly.  You may not even know that a Direct Show filter is being used to decode your video file instead of the XviD, DivX or other codec required for the file you are encountering problems with.  This is often because the filters are programmed to override other codecs by default.  Direct Show filters can cause other problems as well.  For more information go HERE.

Worst Case Scenario - Bad Frames or Corrupt File

If your video is freezing and you have tried all of the above, your file can contain bad frames or be corrupt.  For more information, read about it HERE.