Windows Media Player

From MozillaZine Knowledge Base
Revision as of 08:56, 29 March 2005 by Vectorspace (talk | contribs) (Added before you start, Intro & test sections, and fixed incorrect external link)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Warnings

  • If you use the Adblock extension, you need to disable the Obj-Tabs setting. Otherwise, the ActiveX plugin will run almost any ActiveX control regardless of how it is configured.
  • Each version of the ActiveX plugin is only compatable with a small number of browser versions. If you install it in a browser that it is not compatable with, the plugin will not function properly and you will likely experience conflicts with the Flash plugin.
  • When you update your browser, the plugin will often remain and will be installed in the updated version too. If you update to a version that is not compatable with the version of the ActiveX plugin you had, the plugin will stop working properly and you will likely experience conflicts with the Flash plugin.

Introduction

Some Embedded/Streaming Media (such as those on launch.com) use an ActiveX Control to invoke Windows Media Player. ActiveX is what Internet Explorer uses instead of the plugin system adopted by Netscape. It is a set of controls that allow a website a measure of control over a browser viewing the page, in order to allow for more complex web page content. Some of the ActiveX controls allow websites to (for example) execute code on the user's computer, or to silently install files to it. This can be a big security risk, and is one of the more serious security vulnerabilities in IE. The ActiveX plug-ins for Mozilla/Firefox almost as functional as IE's ActiveX, but by the end of the installation section the plug-in will have been configured to only run the Windows Media Player controls. Windows Media Player does provide a plugin for non-IE browsers to use, but apart from not being to play ActiveX-embedded media it is old and severely limited. Installing the ActiveX plug-in will not only add support for ActiveX-embedded media, but will improve the functioanality of the WMP plug-in.

Before You Start

  • You need to have the Windows Media Player plug-in Files. These should have been installed when Windows Media Player was, but this is not always the case.
  • Type about:plugins into the address bar to view the browser's plug-in information.
  • If there are entries for the files npdsplay.dll, npwmsdrm.dll, and npdrmv2.dll then the WMP plug-in is fully installed. If not, you may have to re-install Windows Media Player.

Installation

For Windows users running Firefox 1.0 - 1.0.2 only

For Windows users running a recent version of Mozilla Suite only

  • Install the Mozilla ActiveX Plug-in. (More information about the ActiveX control.)
  • Download this browser.xpi file. (Do not click on the link. Instead, right-click it and select "Save Link As...".) Rename it to browser.zip, open the ZIP file, and extract the npmozax.dll file to your Firefox plugins folder (usually C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\plugins). It will be located within the ZIP file under the ZIP's plugin folder. [1]
  • It it also recommended that you edit activex.js and replace it with the text below to enable only Windows Media Player to run (unless you need to run other ActiveX controls). Normally, activex.js is located in C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\defaults\pref\.
pref("general.useragent.vendorComment", "ax");
pref("security.xpconnect.activex.global.hosting_flags", 9);
pref("security.classID.allowByDefault", false);
pref("capability.policy.default.ClassID.CID6BF52A52-394A-11D3-B153-00C04F79FAA6", "AllAccess");
pref("capability.policy.default.ClassID.CID22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95", "AllAccess");
  • Download this file to your desktop: http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/resources/wmp9.reg
  • Double-click on the file and click 'Yes' to add the information in it to the registry. It solves a problem where Mozilla/Firefox will use version 6.4 of the Windows Media Player plugin instead of the actual version.

Test Plug-in Installation

Uninstall

  • Close all instances of your browser.
  • Go to the program folder (the location you installed your browser to to).
Firefox's default location: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\
Mozilla Suite's default location: C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\
  • Go into the plugins folder and delete the file npmozax.dll.
  • Go back to the program folder, and then go into the components folder, and delete the files nsIMozAxPlugin.xpt and nsAxSecurityPolicy.js.
  • Go back to the program folder, and then go into the defaults\pref folder, and delete the file activex.js.

Addendums

  • The ActiveX Plug-in for Firefox 1.0 is pre-configured to only run the Windows Media Player controls. To make it run other controls, you will need to edit activex.js. Normally, activex.js is located in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\.
  • To get Yahoo! Launch to work, you need to spoof your user agent as a Netscape 4.x or a Netscape 7.1 browser.
  • For some versions of the ActiveX plugin, the Flash plugin will not load unless it was already loaded after you install the ActiveX plugin. You will need to reload the plugins by typing about:plugins into your Location Bar upon starting Firefox.
  • The Mozilla ActiveX Plug-in comes with a npmozax.dll plugin, but if you use Mozilla Suite it is recommended that you use the one in Netscape's browser.xpi.
  • The version in Netscape's browser.xpi is not compatable with Firefox versions 1.0PR and newer.

External Links

  • MozillaZine Forums threads on the subject:

Original post written by Vectorspace, applies to Firefox 0.8.

Updated guide writen by AnonEmoose, applies to Firefox 0.9 and 1.0PR.

Latest guide written by Vectorspace, applies to Firefox 1.0, 1.0.1, and 1.0.2.

Launch.com guide written by Vectorspace, based on AnonEmoose's guide.

Retrieved from "http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=Windows_Media_Player&oldid=10396"