"Media could not be played" error in Edge

Do you have a specific error?

Try running DISM to correct errors in your system. Open cmd.exe with Run as Administrator and run:

dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Restart when complete and test.

what type of videos are you trying to play in Edge ?

If you are having trouble watching videos, the problem may be Flash Player. Edge comes pre-installed with Flash Player so you don’t need to install or update it, but you will need to make sure that it is enabled. Go to the “. . .” section of the Edge Menu, and click on Settings. Find Platform controls and you will see a heading named Adobe Flash Player. Make sure that it is switched to On, and then refresh your web page to see if the video now works.

tried that, did not help.

What link are you using to play the videos ?

As Zaheer suggested, update your question with an exact URL of a video which fails to play.

Trying to guess at an answer, without a URL, will be a challenge.

all videos have the issue. they work in Chrome fine.

A URL will be helpful, independent of other browsers where video plays.

No way to really proceed without an actual URL, where problem replication can be attempted.

Did you try DISM as suggested? That fixes many issues.

If not, try a non-destructive Windows 10 Repair Install (Keep Everything).

Go to the Media Creation Link

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Windows 10 is running, so click on the Download button (not Upgrade Button, select Open (Run) but NOT Save. Allow the program to run. Allow drivers to update. Then select Keep Everything

Try below from MS

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4023560/windows-10-what-to-do-when-microsoft-edge-not-working

Zaheer

Disabling 'smart screen filter" fixed it.
Thanks,