# Trouble opening .mov files on QuickTime



## tintin2009 (Aug 1, 2009)

I digitised some old home videos and all worked very well, except that now some of them won't open on my iMac (OS X 10.5.4). The files are all .mov files and only one of them opens without any problems with Quicktime, with the rest i get a message saying "The movie could not be opened. This is not a movie file". At the Mac support counter I was told that I just need to download a codec and that should solve the problem - but I lost the piece of paper where he wrote down the name of the that codec and I can't remember what it was now... done tons of googling and nothing seems to match. 

Can anyone help? 

Thanks!


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## MisterMe (Aug 1, 2009)

Two things:

Run *Software Update* to update your OS.

As for losing the piece of paper with your codec information, nobody here has admitted to being clairvoyant. Until someone comes along, download and install *Perian*. You might also check your camera manufacturer's website.


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## Randy Singer (Aug 2, 2009)

tintin2009 said:


> At the Mac support counter I was told that I just need to download a codec and that should solve the problem - but I lost the piece of paper where he wrote down the name of the that codec and I can't remember what it was now... done tons of googling and nothing seems to match.
> 
> Can anyone help?



For Windows Media Video files, download and install the free Flip4Mac plugin for QuickTime:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx

For just about everything else, including AVI and Flash, download and install the Perian plugin for QuickTime, which is also free:
http://perian.org/#detail

These two plug-ins don't conflict with each other. Install them both.

Now you can use QuickTime to view just about any and every video format you might encounter. If you download a file that doesn't automatically open in QuickTime when double-clicked on, do a "Get Info" on the file and designate QuickTime as the default player for all files of this type.


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## tintin2009 (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks for your replies.

- I've run software updates 
- Already had Perian installed but it didn't make any difference
- I've now installed Flip4Mac plugin as well, but it doesn't help me in this case

I should have clarified that I used iMovie on an old iBook for the digitising (OSX 10.3.9) and the files played fine on Quicktime on that computer - however this laptop died and now none of those .mov files but one play on my new Mac. When I'm looking at the spec for the files that play and don't play I can't see much difference - both state clearly that they're QuickTime movie files, the file size is similar,  although the files that I can't play don't give me any information in the 'more info' section, whereas the file that does play states dimensions (720x576), codec (DV-PAL, DV), Duration, Channel count, Total bit rate, last opened. 

Anything else I could try?


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## outaru (Aug 2, 2009)

have you tried VLC 1.0.0, it now plays any movie file without you requiring to download any codec.


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## tintin2009 (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks *outaru*, that worked! I can now open the files with VLC and view them.

However... 

Importing them to Final Cut Express still doesn't work. I get an error message "File error: 1 file(s) recognized, 0 access denied, 1 unknown". The whole point was to edit these videos in FC... 

Any other advise, there MUST be something else I can do?


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## outaru (Aug 2, 2009)

can you open the file in itunes? then let itunes convert it to m4v then open that with FCE?

have you tied third party video converter like visual hub?


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## tintin2009 (Aug 2, 2009)

Unfortunately it doesn't open in iTunes. Only with VLC. I'm at a loss! Don't have the camera anymore so can't re-do the digitising (and the camera was a pain to source in the first place as we're talking OLD 8mm video here) - I've GOT to get these files working! 

Any other ideas...? Anybody?


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## outaru (Aug 2, 2009)

you can also transcode using VLC.. 

"This allows to save a stream to a file. The can be reencoded on the fly. Whatever VLC can read can be saved."

under File-Streaming/Exporting Wizard


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## MisterMe (Aug 2, 2009)

tintin2009 said:


> ...
> 
> Any other ideas...? Anybody?


You made a critical mistake that is becoming ever more common on this forum. You have a problem that is centers around a device--in your case, a camcorder. However, like a growing number of posters, you have not stated which model camcorder you have. Your problem is that you installed a codec or codecs on your old machine that you have not installed on your new computer.


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## tintin2009 (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks, *outaru*, you've been very helpful. Do you know what settings I should choose for the transcode?
Video codec: 
Video bitrate:
Audio codec: 
Audio bitrate:
Encapsulation format: 


*MisterMe*: I don't think my problem centers around the camcorder, hence I've not included details of the camcorder here.


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## MacUserX (Sep 26, 2009)

Hello, I've been having a similar problem and can't find a solution either.  However, I may be able to shed more light on the problem.  I was attempting to add text tracks to my quicktime movies.  However, after I added the text track over the video, I accidentally saved and closed the video rather than saving the video as a self-contained movie.

Now, quicktime cannot recognize the file and gives me the same error message mentioned in this thread.  However, VLC plays the video just fine.  Since VLC only reads video and audio, I'm guessing the text track has been saved to the video in a manner that is preventing quicktime from reading it.  And VLC can play it because it's only reading video/audio.

Would anyone happen to be able to provide guidance on how I can remove that improperly embedded text track without using Quicktime?  I imagine the poster of this thread would probably be able to follow the same instructions and remove whatever is improperly embedded in his video (maybe some data file from his hardware?).  Thank you everyone for your time and guidance thus far.


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## ex2bot (Sep 26, 2009)

If these are .mov files, they shouldn't need a codec, should they? Maybe.
Is it possible that the .mov files are damaged?

Bot


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## MisterMe (Sep 26, 2009)

ex2bot said:


> If these are .mov files, they shouldn't need a codec, should they? ...


This is completely untrue. A .mov video means that it is contained in a particular container format. It tells you nothing about the codecs used to encode the audio and video tracks.


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## MacUserX (Sep 26, 2009)

Let me clarify: my video was an .mp4 that worked just fine in quicktime.  I was following <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/chaptertracks.html">the procedure to add chapters</a>.  However, after having pasted the text track into the .mp4 file, rather than saving the result as a self-contained movie, I accidentally just clicked "Save."  Then I closed the file.

It saved the file in the .mov container since I saved it in Quicktime, but I don't think the change to a .mov file should have any effect.  When I "Save as a self-contained movie" the final video with chapter info is a .mov file which works fine in quicktime.  I think the problem is that by not saving as a self-contained movie, and instead just saving the file, I have embedded the text track info in a way that is confusing quicktime.  If there's a way to undo that save of a text file (maybe using a hex editor?) then I think Quicktime should be able to read it fine.  I'm just not knowledgeable enough to figure out what to do.


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## MacUserX (Sep 26, 2009)

Success!  Just used my own advice and compared the info between a working and nonworking video in a hex editor.  It's the same problem as when you trim a selection in quicktime and accidentally save it.  The entire file exists but when you open it, it only opens to the selection.  The fix is: open the video in a hex editor, do an ASCII find and replace for the word "free" with "moov."


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## progginRay (Sep 27, 2009)

Somehow I doubt that it's a missing codec, that usually results in displaying a white screen in quicktime. I'd rather believe that the files simply got corrupted. vlc can still open them but Quicktime can't like with mpg files that haven't been downloaded entirely. Have you checked in vlc if these files are DV codec?

If there's no solution for your problem in the end, all you can do is transcode them in vlc, using the streaming assistant. That may be lots of work and not the best treatment of your medias, but it may be your last option.


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## ex2bot (Sep 27, 2009)

I think I didn't word my post above well enough. I understand that you can use different codecs with .mov, but it's unusual. When people make .mov files on Macs, they're usually using Apple codecs. More likely the file's corrupted. I've had problems with corruption in .mov files I've made.

And that appears to be the case.

Bot


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## progginRay (Sep 28, 2009)

ex2bot said:


> I think I didn't word my post above well enough.



Nah, I was stupid enough not reading the second page in this thread. Sorry for being a moron...


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