AVI file refuses to open

adambyte

adambyte

Registered
Can anybody help me out with this one? I received an AVI file from a friend with a PC and webcam... when I try to open it with QuickTime, QuickTime says "QuickTime is missing software required to perform this operation. Unfortunately, it is not available on the QuickTime server." When I play the video, I can hear the audio, but there is just white where the video should be. I've also tried to open this in Windows Media Player for Mac in OS 9, but to no avail. I suppose QT is missing some sort of special AVI decoder or something. ANyway....

Does ANYbody know of an app (hopefully OS X native) that can open this little sucker? Or convert it?
 
This is one shortcoming of Quicktime. Quicktime does not have the codec to decode the video for some types of AVI files. As far as I know the only solution is to install Windows Media player...I'm not sure if there is an OSX version or not. I don't even bother with files like this.

I do wish that Quicktime could play all of these proprietary windowz formats though.
 
there are also problems with avi files when they dont fully download. they will not topen in almost all players. I have yet to see a player that can handle this. It might be files that are encoder in a certain wway, or possibly all avi files that are affected like this.
 
The playback is all codec related though. You can encode several differnt file types with one of a dozen or two codecs. If you pick a codec that nobody else has, they won't be able to play the video. There is a certain codec that a lot of avi's use that Quicktime does not have. I don't know the name of it...Who the hell would use avi over mpeg anyway??
 
I don't think the Mac version of Windows Media Player is guaranteed to play all AVIs. Some files need a Windows box. Which is seriously obnoxious.
 
To play avi files I use Divx Player 1.0b10, i believe it's called. I think you can get it at download.com. It works pretty well with most avi's I still have problems with them sometimes because as a file format it sucks on the mac. I think there might be an osx version, but I'm not guaranteeing anything. Also, if you continue to have problems with playing certain files, you may have to run the divx doctor that is built into the prog. It converts it to a .mov file. Hopefully this helps you. later
 
There is a codec for quicktime which allows divx avi's to play under OSX. Do a search at version tracker to find it. It has a problem sometimes with audio but there is a command line tool supplied to help.

philby
 
Do a search for divx or avi on versiontracker.com and you should find a few divx players.

I'm a big anime fan and most of them are in avi format. In Os 9 I use Windows media player with the divx;) player. I haven't installed 10.1 yet (it takes a bit longer to get to Canada apparantly :) ) but there is an even better player out for Os X. It's called divx for X (not divx4x that one sucks bad!!).

Check this url:

http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=11952&db=mac


Good luck, next week I'll be in the same boat as you :)
 
The first player I was talking about was the divx;) player. UBB did not post this right because the smilies where not disabled.
 
For everything being codec-related, yes. If you still can't get the AVI to play, then look up in movie properties what the publisher and/or codec name is. Then do a web-wide search for the codec. I have successfully gotten True-Motion videos to play by doing this, but the only thing is I deleted the install, and now what was formerly Duck Multimedia stopped releasing the True-Motion codec. BTW, it was for decoding a FF7PC disk's movies. :D
 
Thanks for all your suggestions. Good to know you guys care :)

Unfortunately, I've tried ALL of the above suggestions, and still cannot get the dang thing open. I downloaded it again, to make sure it got the whole thing. I installed BOTH of the decoders I found on VersionTracker.com into my library/quicktime folder... and STILL, it wouldn't open... I also tried opening it with RealPlayer, WIndows Media Player 6.3, and WMP 7, too! As well as Divx Player 1.0b10, and NOTHING will open it. I know it's a valid file, because I could play it on a friend of mine's crappy PC with realplayer... however, there's no conversion software, so I'm stuck. Any other suggestions? Otherwise, thank you for your time... grr... wish AVIs worked on Macs....
 
Apple has three Indeo Video codecs available which will work in Mac OS 8.0-9.2.1. AFAIK they are not available for OS X. Will not work in Classic Environment either since it passes Quicktime calls to OS X. You must be booted into OS 8-9.2.1.

Here is the link to the Indeo Video 5 download page:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60366

Also on this page are links to Indeo Video 3.2 and 4.4. Download and install all three codecs into the Extensions folder in your Mac OS 9 System Folder.

If the AVI in question uses any of these three codecs you can now play it.
 
HAHAHAHAAAA! *insert REALLY REALLY HUGE grin here* Indeo5 was the missing link! I started in 9, installed it, and It WORKS! IT WORKS! THANKYOU! HHAHAHAHAhahahaaa!
 
Originally posted by adambyte
HAHAHAHAAAA! *insert REALLY REALLY HUGE grin here* Indeo5 was the missing link! I started in 9, installed it, and It WORKS! IT WORKS! THANKYOU! HHAHAHAHAhahahaaa!
Click to expand...

You mean you installed the indeo5 codec for classic Quicktime, and the avi file plays in X Quicktime?

Please elaborate.
 
Sorry if my post was incomprehensible... I was just so extremely happy that I could finally see my long-distance love via her webcam after months of not seeing her.

So... no, I...
1. Installed the Indeo5 extension for Mac OS 9 in my extensions folder.
2. Then, started the CLASSIC QuickTime Player in the Classic environment, and opened the AVI file using the classic Quicktime player
3. Used my Classic QuickTime Player to export the AVI to a regular QuickTime Sorenson file I can play in the OS X native version of QuickTime, since the QT for X can't get any Indeo decoder yet.

So I used classic to open the AVI and make it a QTmov, which I find much more convenient to use.

P.S. And, no, we didn't meet online. :p
 
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