SMPlayer/VLC no video!! only sound

i installed smplayer and vlc a couple days ago, and everything worked perfect.

now, all i get is sound, NO VIDEO!

the only thing i can think of changing is removing compiz (which i have reinstalled since).
it still does not give video! i tryed uninstalling and reinstalling smplayer, mplayer, and vlc multiple times, no success!

what could possibly be going wrong where i get no video, just audio?? someone help!

 

That's usually a symptom of not having the right codec installed, but as you say it was working before...

 

under smplayers info and options for the video, under video codec tab, i have about 200 codecs! including multiple divx, xvid, and 3ivx ones. ffompeg, "the whole 9 yards". i have a bad feeling im going to be doing a linpus lite system restore once my 4gb usb arrives JUST to get my divx function back. im a linux newb and im at a real dead end (16 hrs of research the past two days and a few posts on here=no answer)

 

UPDATE: If i play around with maximizing/restoring window, and going to and fro fullscreen, i can sometimes get the picture to come up. maybe it is an issue with compiz..?