vlc media player - How to associate MMS protocol in Windows 7 with VLC?

Control Panel\Programs\Default Programs\Set Associations does not give a choice - Windows Media Player is the only option. I have tried modifying the registry for MMS (shell\command key) but MMS is still associated with Windows Media Player

Answer

The problem with associating mms streams is that they are not, in the traditional sense, files that have an extension and thus you will not find something to associate with. These streams are actually a url. For example:

mms://a1729.l2168647534.c21686.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/1729/21686/v0001/reflector:53822

In the registry you can find the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WMP11.AssocProtocol.MMS - URL:mms Protocol

There is a subkey below this level that uses a shell open cpommand, you could, if you haven't already, try changing the default handler in the location.

To open an mms stream in vlc you can select, from the toolbar, Media/Open Network Stream and paste a url, such as the one above, directly.

If you always want vlc to open a stream from within your browser, it will depend which browser you use. If you're using the installer version of vlc it should add the plug-ins for browsers such as firefox and the activex controls for IE.

if the plug-ins have been added correctly, the first time you open an mms feed you should receive a prompt:

If you have the 'zip' version of vlc you will need to do things manually. see the readme.txt in the activex folder in the unzipped vlc directory.