We have many videos with us and in many formats. There are so many video formats available today that sometimes it becomes very confusing as well. The most popular video formats are .avi, .wmv, .mpg but there are many others like .flv, .mp4 and .vob

While you can play avi and other formats directly, you need certain codecs to run flv and other video formats. The major problem linked with these video files is that while we can see the preview of a movie in avi extension in explorer, we are unable to see the thumbnail preview of these extensions .flv, .3gp etc.

Solution:

Method 1

But here is how you can make your videos in extensions like flv and 3gp to show thumbnail preview in the Windows Explorer just like the avi and wmv files.

1.    The following trick needs registry tweaking so you can either backup your registry or delete the key that you are just going to create.

2.    Open a notepad and copy and paste the following code as it is.

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.flv\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@=”{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}”

3.    Remember you need to copy the entire code and then save the file with any name but with .reg extension say abc.reg (If this don’t work then paste Windows
Registry Editor Version 5.00 before REGEDIT4 and try again)

4.    Double click this newly created file and click on yes afterwards.

5.    Congratulations, flv video files will show a thumbnail preview in the explorer.

Note:

Similarly, you can make the other video files like .3gp, .mp4, .mov or .vob to show thumbnail preview in the explorer. For that you just need to replace .flv with the extension you are making

Example:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp4\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@=”{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}”

This will create a new registry key that will show the preview of the video file.

Update:

Method 2

If the above method doesn’t work for you then the following will. Download and install K-Lite codec pack in the computer (if you have already done it, then you can re-install the latest version).

While installing the pack there will be an option (see below)

checking which the preview of the thumbnails will be shown in the explorer without any tweak. Yes it is very simple.

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