avi files won't play, do I need software ??
 

My brand new iMac (Quicktime 6.2 Pro) won't play any avi files off the net, these files are online violin lessons with moving images and sound.

What do I need to do to make my computer play these files?

Here is the link to one of them:

www.stephenredrobe.com/lesson4strch..avi

I just get a message saying something like Quicktime is missing a plugin or the plugin is not on the Quicktime server??

Thanks in advance.

The CODEC that those files uses isn't part of Quicktime, try using VLC instead. It should play those PC movies for you.

here here for VLC, nice player

No, it still dosn't work. I downloaded the player and clicked on the link above and nothing. Any more ideas?

You have to download the movie and play it locally with VLC. I just tried it and got an error about the sound format. I think that you will find that you have a lot of problems playing this movie. This is a pretty common occurance on movies generated on a PC.

You need to download the avi to your local system then you can open it with VLC..

I've done this loads with other AVI files, however, I've just tried it with the one you gave and it does not work, it reports loads of errors in the AVI file..

Cheers,
--Zed :cool:

It won't let me download it, click on the link above and you will see what I mean, unless it's me been stupid, I thought the thing had to finish playing before you could download it.

You can't do a 'save as' until it finishes, and it won't finish, because it dosn't even start.

How can I download the file a on my first post?

i use the 3ivx quicktime codec to make most AVI files playable in Quicktime Player.

for the rare items that won't play with that setup, i use MPlayer.

(the DIVX codec is an alternative to 3ivx, but works slightly less well in my experience. MPlayer has a much nicer interface than VLC, in my opinion.)

The only way I was able to play it was in Classic using the old Quicktime 5.02. I have a few old avi CODECs installed, namely 'Indeo® Video3', 'Indeo® Video4', and 'Indeo® Video5'. These are availble from the Apple support website, but only for OS 9.

If you have QTPro, wait until it finishes loading and then click the arrow key at the right of the movie. Select save as source and away you go..

or just option-click the link to download the file

This is what I'm saying, it dosn't load, nothing.

Where can I download a plugin of some discription that will make Quicktime simply open and play this godforsaken Windoze files?

After this I'm giving up, to hell with Windoze files, if they wan't to exlcude Mac people, fine.

Just for the record. Do Windoze users have this much trouble when they find a Quicktime movie?

I managed to download the file by control clicking on it and then tried to open the thing in VTL player, yes it opens, but just sound, a message comes up saying plugin or some thing is missing??????

Any other ideas, it must be easier than this, or is it just this stupid Microsoft thing???

Not if they have Quicktime installed. Yes if they do not.

iMan,

as stated before, if viewing this file is important, you have some other options to try:

- 3ivx Component (play file in Quicktime Player).
- DIVX Component (play file in Quicktime Player).
- MPlayer (standalone player).

the 3ivx and DIVX Components conflict. use only one at a time.

i'd try MPlayer first.

iMan, note that these componants above only work if the file is encoded with the DIVX CODEC.

you speak the truth.

MPlayer works with everything I throw at it tho, even more than VLC, and with a better interface to boot.

I'll have to take a peek at MPlayer. Thanks.

I don't have VLC, but MPlayer plays this file fine, but audio only, is there actually video, or is it just audio, QuickTime reports it is in IV50 format.

There is video. I was able to see/hear the whole thing in QT5/Classic.

Nope

I can play avi's on both my mac and my PC no problem. However I did not try to download those files you are talking about.

This file uses Indeo 5.0 codec (use Get Movie Properties - Command+J or MENU Movie -> Get Movie Properties in Quicktime Player* Select Video Track from the left popup and then Format from the right popup menu). *of course, when QTP tells you it has problems with the file you have to choose continue, not cancel.

None of the Indeo codecs work with QT Player under OS X (I suspect this is an Intel licensing issue - the In in Indeo). MPlayer works with Indeo 3.2, but it's such a sucky player (give me a controller bar, and don't make me keep reloading the file to replay it, and I might revise that opinion).

As mentioned a few times above, the clip does play fine with QT Player classic. You will need to install QT under classic. Then you'll be able to play it fine (with the ability to seek and replay easily, which seems essential for an instructional vid).

--Now if we can get windoze folks to wait until a codec is finished (e.g., all those MPEG4 versions out there) before they start distributing them, we might get standards to work -- HA!

Yes, avi's, but the question was about the ease or difficulty of playing Quicktime Movies (.mov) on windoze, not avi's. What happens when the average windoze troll encounters, let's say, a Sorrensen encoded QT .mov file?

I suspect the one's smart enough to look will notice a reference or link to Apple's QT download page (if such facility exists to accompany the post - Donkey users should be saavy enough to figure it out). They go get the installer and move on. While windoze video 'producers' use obscure or alpha and beta codecs and then put the onus on the recipient to play a file that should have been made correctly in the first place.

last in my trifecta post

I left this hanging a bit...

go to Apple's QT download page
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

and select the OS 8.6/9 installer, mount and turn it, it will launch under classic

hopefully it works (as I added OS X to an OS9 installation, I can't totally vouch for it)

Once you have downloaded the video to disk (control+click or right-click, and select download to disk), you might consider using Get Info and change the 'Open with' to specifically use the Classic install of QT P (you will have to select All Apps on the popup that directs Recommended Apps in the file selection dialog to enable selecting the Classic App. Then the vid will open the correct player in the future.

Unfortunately, all of this adds up to one thing -- you can't just click on any avi in your browser and have it play (as it should). You have to save the file to disk first (by going back to the link, not from the QT plugin driven window). And for 'bad' video's that are embedded in a page, you'll have to read the page source to find the file's address and create an html page with that address as a link (e.g. the link file would look like this:

<html>
<a href="http://www.badcodec.com/fullpath/filename.avi">here's that barking video</a>
</html>

save it as, perhaps, link.html) and then load that in your browser to enable downloading the file.


-------

I shan't be elaborating any more.

I stream quick time movies online with my pc. I can download .mov and play them on my PC (canon did all their interactive service training in quick time, and I copied those off the CD and onto my PC).

I am not sure where you are getting this information about windows "video prodcuers" as you said, but I am not quite getting the connection here. Either you don't have the proper codecs, the files you are downloading are corrupted, or janky. One thing that I will say on the PC side, wether it be linux or windows, that there is just about any kind of media player for just about any kind of format/codec.

I will try to download that file tomorrow probably when I have more time, and I will do it on my G4 and my PC just for grins. Thats if I don't stay out late tonight and not sleep, then I might forget :)

depending on the codecs for the AVI file, I can still get trouble on my PC with those files. I have loaded so many codecs though that it is nearly impossible for me to NOT have a codec used. I download a lot of star trek episodes, and some people use some waaaaaay out there codecs... so far none of them have had a problem with OSX though (after a little hlep from this msg board that is)

I would definitely consider downloading flip 4 mac. Once you install it, open System Preferences and click on the flip 4 mac icon on the bottom row under 'Other'. Go to the tab 'Movie' and click the 'Open AVI files' box at the bottom.

Then once you download your avi files, you should be able to open them using Quicktime no problems.

Mind you I did try and play the file myself. I also tried to download the file.. but it doesn't seem to be linked correctly.

Has anyone been able to actually play this file. Mac or PC

Good Luck!

Indeo 5.0 was purchased by someone back in the late 90's. Apple had a license under the previous owner and supported it in the OS 9 version of Quicktime. Since then it hasn't been supported. If you can run OS 8 or 9 on your computer either natively or through SheepShaver, you could play the video with the old Quicktime.