Note: Windows 7 has native support for MP4/M4A/M4V/MOV video/audio so do not use this patch with the Windows 7 WMP12/WMC as it will screw things up, this is useful only to XP/Vista. To read more about WMP12 check out this entry. 

I'm also no longer developing/maintaining this patch (bought a Synology NAS with built in media server), the info required to properly tie in third party formats to WMP seems unavailable and I have never seen anyone else do it so I've given up. If you own a PS3 or Xbox 360 and want a hassle free way to stream media from your Windows PC get Windows 7.

This registry patch will tie MP4/M4V/M4A files into Windows Media Player [WMP11] and Windows Media Center [WMC]  allowing them to play this file type but also stream from WMP11 these file types to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360  However there are caveats as it is not possible to tie a third party codec 100% into WMP without developing some sort of plug-in. Also available are patches for Flac, M2TS and MKV/MKA. I have moved M2TS off into it's own entry to keep it separate if you are looking for it click that M2TS link.

This process is compatible with 32/64-bit Windows XP/Vista with WMP11 present, Windows Home Server if WMP11 is installed should work as well. I would recommend though it is not necessary that you create a system restore point before applying these just so you have a point to return too.

Step 1: If running 32-bit Windows download this MP4/M4V/M4A registry patch.

If running 64-bit Windows (see FAQ entry) download this MP4/M4V/M4A x64 registry patch. The 64-bit registry patch includes the keys for 32-bit compatibility.

Step 2: Uninstall any codec packs or prior installs of ffdshow and Haali media splitter.

Step 3: Download ffdshow tryouts & Haali Media Splitter then install both.

Step 4: Double click on the registry patch to apply and it will make the changes to add MP4/M4V/M4A support to WMP11.

Step 5: Reboot your computer (don't skip this).

Step 6: Now start WMP11 and if all goes well you should see any MP4/M4V files that are in monitored folders appear in the video library & M4A in the audio library, now enable file sharing and you should be able to stream the audio & video to the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.

That's all there is to it, if you are still having problems see trouble shooting section at the end of this page also there is a FAQ a little further below which I strongly recommend reading. 

Finally check out my H.264 video encoding guide for the Xbox 360/Playstation 3 as it will generate a compatible H.264 video & it covers pretty much all you need to know plus the limitations peculiar to each console though I primarily focus on cross compatibility in the guide. Also Windows media center v2 extenders have the same H.264 profile as the Xbox 360.

*** Important***

• MP4 = H.264/AAC & is playable on both the Playstation 3 & Xbox 360.
• M2TS = H.264/AC3 & is playable only on the Playstation 3 (Read more about M2TS at this link).
• M4V = H.264/AAC & is playable on the Xbox 360, to play M4V files on the PS3 you must rename the file type from .M4V to .MP4 on your PC and only then will it play on the PS3.
• M4A = AAC audio & is playable on both the Playstation 3 & Xbox 360 (X360 only supports AAC LC 2ch).

FAQ: 

«» My registry patches aren't in any way tied to ffdshow/haali so any directshow decoder should work but generally I would stick to this combo.

«» Do not install or use the WMP Tag Media Support Extender plug-in it is incompatible with my registry patch and will screw up WMP. If you already have it installed & wish to use the MP4/M4A registry patch uninstall it before applying the registry patch.

«» For MP4/MKV playback in 64-bit Windows Vista Media Center (WMC) read this link. Under Windows Vista 64-bit WMP11 is set to the 32-bit version by default instead of the 64-bit version so no need for 64-bit codecs if all your doing is streaming MP4 files to PS3 or Xbox 360.

«» This will also enable MP4 streaming from Windows Vista Media Center to Windows Media Center Extenders (MCX) with H.264 support like the Linksys DMA 2100/2200. The Xbox 360 MCX unfortunately does not support H.264/MP4 only the dash.

«» For playing H.264 MKV files on the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 read this link.

«» If your wondering why the MP4/M4V thumbnails in explorer & WMP/WMC are largely black this is down to the fact that the thumbnail generator cannot properly read into the MP4 file and so it takes the first frame in the video which on movie conversions is almost always a black screen. If you were to cut away that portion & straight into the movie the thumbnail would be from wherever you made the cut.

Haali media splitter does have a feature in it's properties section that instructs it to take a thumbnail from x number of milliseconds but it only works with MKV/MP4 files & under Windows XP reliably (in my experience).  I have written another guide on how to enable MP4/MKV thumbnails in Explorer using Haali with the offset feature if you want it.

«» Something to keep in mind is that if your own files are in some fashion incompatible with the device your streaming to this patch won't make them playable all this enables is streaming MP4/M4V from WMP11. There is no transcoding going on in the background into other formats lowering quality like some media servers do so this relies on native playback.

«» Although it is fine for streaming audio/video WMP11 can be a little odd in how it treats MPEG4 files. You will notice that the time length of the video is not displayed in the library and if you play a video by double clicking on it in the library you will not be able to seek (jump to any point in the video) however you can actually do this if you open the MP4/M4V through explorer by double clicking on it (assuming WMP is set to be the preferred player) I do not know why this behavior happens and it is something I would love to figure out but in the mean time I would recommend using Media Player Classic Home Cinema or Zoom Player as your video player as they natively support these file types.

«» I have now added M4V and M4A support, these are just Apples renaming of the MP4 container with M4V for video and M4A for audio. Streaming MOV files are another matter as Apple's MOV container can hold a variety of Apple proprietary audio/video codecs, renaming the MOV to MP4 may work if the file contains just H.264/AAC. Use MusicBridge to make WMP read the M4A tags of your music because it does not natively support reading them & the metadata must be converted to the WMP format which is what MusicBridge does.

«» What else can be streamed from WMP11 ?

Well with the above in place to the Xbox 360 - DivX/XviD in AVI : WMV7/8/9 + VC-1 in WMV : MP3 and WMA audio.

For the PS3 DivX in AVI : VC-1 in WMV : MPEG-2 in MPG : MP3 and WMA audio, so pretty much the basics are covered and you get a nice virtual folder layout too (on the PS3 look in folders section). For more info about the media capabilities of both consoles read this link.

«» If you ever want to undo any of the changes just look at the registry files and go into regedit and delete the entries that were made and your back to where you were, no mess left behind with codec packs and the like.

«» Finally my registry patch does not automatically associate the file types with windows media player through explorer (it is possible) because you may already have the above file types associated with another player like the ones linked to above. If you wish to associate the file types the easy way it to just right click on a video then select "open with" then select WMP and make sure the box is ticked for always use this application and that's it.

Trouble-shooting - if you run into problems try this;

Step 1: Disable media sharing in Windows Media Player (you cannot complete step 3 without doing this).

Step 2: Enable hidden files and folders, in Windows Vista open Explorer and click Organize->Folder and Search Options->View->Show Hidden Files and Folders, in Windows XP in Explorer click tools->folder options->view->show hidden files and folders.

Step 3: Now under Vista browse to C:\Users\Your user name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player & delete the contents of that folder. Under Windows XP browse to C:\Documents and Settings\Your user name\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player\ & delete the contents of that folder.

Performing step 3 will not delete the files in your library it will merely delete the catalogue or database that WMP built up, it is a good idea to do this as with custom file extensions WMP might not always add them to a pre-existing database of files. Now start WMP11 again and see if the videos show in your video library section.

The registry patches I have made are best done on a clean install of Windows, any systems with prior large registry tweaks to enable MP4 support have a strong likelihood of encountering problems unless you undo the changes. Registry tweaks which just added MP4 to the HKEY CLASSES ROOT\.mp4 are okay and you should not have any problems as my reg tweak should over-write that.

WMP Media Server Issues  - If WMP no longer shows as a media server over the network the most common cause is because for some [insert reason] the network settings have changed in Windows Vista from a "Private" to "Public" mode. In public mode media sharing is auto disabled without any prompt to the user so you may find yourself wondering why it's not working any more.

The simple solution is go into control panel\network and sharing center, click the customize button & change your network from public to private and that will set it straight with re-enabling the media sharing from WMP11.

Stopping & Re-Starting the WMP Media Server Service - If you are having problems with WMP not showing even though sharing is enabled try stopping and re-starting the server service (simply disabling and re-enabling sharing in WMP is not effective enough). Go into the control panel\administrative tools\services and look for the "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" right click on it and select properties then click on "stop" and wait. Once the service has stopped click on "Start" to start it up again, you may also want to try changing it from automatic delayed start to just automatic instead.