I cannot play mp3 files in FF27 and I've tried whatever help I can find.
When I try to play an mp3 file in FF27 I get a black screen that says:
"Video can't be played because the file is corrupt"
The web console shows this:
"Media resource http://tomwhelan.ca/commercial_2014.mp3 could not be decoded."
Any ideas?
This is on an XP machine that is fully updated.
Thanks,
V
Chosen solution
Starting in Firefox 26, Firefox on Windows XP will attempt to play MPEG-encoded media like MP3s natively in the browser. This requires that the necessary components be present on your system, but perhaps they are not? To switch off the native player and go back to using a plugin such as Windows Media Player or QuickTime for this kind of media, you can make a settings change under the covers. Here's how:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.
(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste media. and pause while the list is filtered
(3) Double-click the media.directshow.enabled preference to switch it from true to false.
I don't know whether that changes takes effect immediately or after you exit and restart Firefox.
Note to Other Readers: Windows XP uses DirectShow (DirectX). Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1 use Media Foundation to natively play MPEG-encoded media. That's a different setting.
Read this answer in context 👍 4All Replies (6)
Chosen Solution
Starting in Firefox 26, Firefox on Windows XP will attempt to play MPEG-encoded media like MP3s natively in the browser. This requires that the necessary components be present on your system, but perhaps they are not? To switch off the native player and go back to using a plugin such as Windows Media Player or QuickTime for this kind of media, you can make a settings change under the covers. Here's how:
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.
(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste media. and pause while the list is filtered
(3) Double-click the media.directshow.enabled preference to switch it from true to false.
I don't know whether that changes takes effect immediately or after you exit and restart Firefox.
Note to Other Readers: Windows XP uses DirectShow (DirectX). Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1 use Media Foundation to natively play MPEG-encoded media. That's a different setting.
Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
Hi,
Thanks!
That worked well. It means that Quicktime is the way MP3s get played back. I do not have any problem playing back MP3s with 'WMP' so I wonder why the native player gets confused and thinks that MP3s are video.
I guess this will have to do. I'll be updating to a new OS soon anyways.
V
I have this same problem, but when I click on the button "I'll be careful, I promise!" nothing happens.
Reloading the page does nothing and the icon to the left of the address bar is orange and states, "This is a secure Firefox page."
I am also running an XP PC - Professional version with SP3 and fully updated.
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).
- Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.
Yes! Starting in Safe Mode and following the directions, I was able to resolve my issue with .mp3 playback in the browser. Thank you very much!
You're welcome