Help needed to open a file

[skullerello]

Here's what I'm too computer illiterate to manage myself: our Compac with VISTA will not play video recorded on our Panasonic DMC LZ3. It seems the file gets down-loaded, but we don't know what to open it with; if we're equipped to open it at all. What's the solution? Thanks in advance!
Oh, BTW just to warn you all, I'm just going to use the info you all provide to post a short clip of my uber-advanced offspring "talking" at 3-months old. He's definitely an Indigo... Hell, he's an Ulra-violet, he's so freaking advanced!:D:D:D

[elgarak]

It should be a .mov file, i.e. Quicktime. Downloadable for free from Apple here (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/).

Another good and free player that comes with codecs to play (nearly) everything is VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/).

Also, the video files coming from the camera are not very compressed, i.e. very large for the quality they offer. You should look for some converter program to convert it into something smaller, and maybe something playable with Windows standard software if you want to share a lot. Sorry, I switched to Mac/Apple recently and forgot which software I used on Windows... Maybe some other people can recommend a good conversion program.

Another way of sharing is uploading the video to a video sharing service, like youtube or Picasa web albums (by google). They should accept .mov/Quicktime files.

[Ratatoskr]

A big hint would be what file type the movie is. Is it .avi, *.vob, *.mpeg, *.mov, *.ts or another? Different file types uses different codecs (and sometimes even different codecs within same file types)

[elgarak]

A big hint would be what file type the movie is. Is it .avi, *.vob, *.mpeg, *.mov, *.ts or another? Different file types uses different codecs (and sometimes even different codecs within same file types)
The Panasonic Lumix cameras make Quicktime files (.mov). I have two of those cameras myself.

[Ratatoskr]

The Panasonic Lumix cameras make Quicktime files (.mov). I have two of those cameras myself.

That explains why you were so certain :)