(Solved) Windows Media Player Won’t Play MPEG - Errors and Fixes

Windows Media Player is a popular audio and video player installed natively on every Windows computer. Many Windows users are used to playing various media files in Windows Media Player. But sometimes, there may be unexpected playback errors, for example, Windows Media Player cannot play MPEG or MPG, especially after a system upgrade to Windows 10.

If you are experiencing the same problem, don't worry, this article will teach you what to do when Windows Media Player can't play MPEG videos. First, let's take a look at why Windows Media Player won't play MPEGs.

To know why Windows Media Player won’t play MPEG, we first need to understand how Windows Media Player works.

Like other media players, Windows Media Player uses codecs (decoders) to decode and play media files. However, it is important to note that Windows Media Player does not include all codecs, which is why you cannot play certain media files, such as MPEG files, in Windows Media Player.

In fact, since Windows 8, Microsoft has removed the MPEG-2 codec, which happens to be the commonly used codec for encoding MPEG or MPG files. If you just upgraded your system to Windows 10, you can no longer play MPEGs in Windows Media Player. Errors you may encounter include MPEG only playing audio and MPEG not playing at all. Likewise, you cannot play VOBs in Windows Media Player properly because VOBs are also MPEG-2 encoded.

The good news is that it is possible and easy to fix this unsupported video format problem. Below, you will learn two simple ways to play MPG in Windows Media Player smoothly. Continue reading.

Converting video to a format supported by Windows Media Player is an effective way to troubleshoot video playback issues, including Windows Media Player not playing MPEG. All you need is a reliable video converter program.

WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory is a powerful and free media converter on Windows 10 that can convert between all major video and audio formats. It can help you easily convert MPEG/MPG to Windows Media Player supported formats like WMV, MP4, H264, MPEG4, AVI, etc. with just a few clicks. Let’s free download free download the software to start converting right away.

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Other Common Windows Media Player Problems: MP4 Playback Errors | MTS Playback Errors | DVD Playback Errors | MKV Playback Errors

Now, these are the best two methods to fix Windows Media Player won’t play MPEG. You can choose to re-encode the MPEG file or download the MPEG codec to solve the problem depending on your preferences. If you want more ways to play MPEG files, you can also try a different MPEG player, such as VLC media player, Media Player Classic, and so on, which can help you play MPEG files without converting and installing codecs.

That’s all I want to share in this article. Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

Since Windows 8, Windows Media Player no longer supports MPEG playback because it lacks the MPEG-2 codec required for decoding MPEG files.

On Windows, there is plenty of programs to play MPEG videos. Such programs include VLC media player, Media Player Classic, GOM Player, PotPlayer, etc.

You can easily open an MPEG file in an MPEG player like VLC. If the media player can’t open your MPEG files, you can convert the format type or install codecs to make your MPEF playable again.