Still trying to get this MP4 to play...

[M A V I C]

Previous thread: https://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,2594522

I installed QT7, and it can play the video. Anyone know where to find its codecs and where to copy them to in QTX to make QTX use them?

I did some basic searching and digging in /Library/QuickTime and ~/Library, but it didn't help.

I also tested this video on a third machine, and it plays fine there too. The goal is to make this video editable in iMovie. It used to work, then it stopped working a month or so ago. I'm not sure if the video format changed, or if something on the laptop changed.

[Sarcany]

I know you said you don't want to transcode, but the best option is transcoding.

Easy peasy: Use Handbrake. (Most people don't realize that it transcodes video files. They think it's just for ripping DVDs.)

Just leave the transcode job running overnight if the Mac is slow.

[M A V I C]

There has to be another way. It used to work. It works on two other machines.

The other challenge is transcoding creates a lot larger files than the original. This is a shared family laptop, and there's not enough storage to deal with transcoding.

I managed to get iMovie to update. The Mojave version has a feature to check media compatibility. It says the media is supported.

[Sarcany]

Going back to your original thread...

I grabbed another .mp4 file from a different source, and it plays fine. So It seems to be specific to videos from Twitch and this laptop. I compared codec versions between this and the other machine, and they're the same.

If it's just the one file, and a file with the same codecs works fine then it's probably corrupt. Some players can play corrupt video better than others.

Transcoding will either fix it or make a garbled file. If it gets garbled then the original was almost certainly badly corrupted.

You said you'd tried the file on different Macs. This Mac is slow? Transcode it on another Mac.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

M A V I C, you’re old enough now to know better than to waste time tilting at windmills. I guarantee it would have taken your kid less time to figure out how to use VLC than you’ve spent chasing down a solution to this “problem.”

We’re supposed to get wiser as we get older, pal.

[M A V I C]

Sarcany wrote:
Going back to your original thread...

I grabbed another .mp4 file from a different source, and it plays fine. So It seems to be specific to videos from Twitch and this laptop. I compared codec versions between this and the other machine, and they're the same.

If it's just the one file, and a file with the same codecs works fine then it's probably corrupt. Some players can play corrupt video better than others.

Transcoding will either fix it or make a garbled file. If it gets garbled then the original was almost certainly badly corrupted.

You said you'd tried the file on different Macs. This Mac is slow? Transcode it on another Mac.

It's any file from Twitch. When it was working, he would record a few a day and then edit. So it's not as simple as just resolving one file. He also doesn't have other Macs in the house he can use. Transferring 3-5 files a day, transcoding, transferring back, editing... is just a mess. It should just work. The same files on two other Macs play fine in QT (and thus are editable in iMovie.)

[M A V I C]

N-OS X-tasy! wrote:
M A V I C, you’re old enough now to know better than to waste time tilting at windmills. I guarantee it would have taken your kid less time to figure out how to use VLC than you’ve spent chasing down a solution to this “problem.”

We’re supposed to get wiser as we get older, pal.

And I probably shouldn't have assumed you all know what Twitch is He likes to make recordings while he plays video games, then edit them and upload to his YT channel. It's a continual thing. He's been bugging me for weeks to fix it. If he uses VLC to transcode, the drive will fill up. Plus when he's not on it, his sister or mom are on it so it can't be dog slow while they're using it.

[Sarcany]

Stupid question: How are the exported files named?

If not ending in .m4v, try renaming one of the twitch files to end in .m4v and see if they'll play in your player of choice and open in iMovie.

[M A V I C]

.mp4 Changing it to m4v didn't help. Thanks for the idea.

I installed Resolve, the free version, and it can't edit or play the files either on this machine

[N-OS X-tasy!]

M A V I C wrote:
[quote=N-OS X-tasy!]
M A V I C, you’re old enough now to know better than to waste time tilting at windmills. I guarantee it would have taken your kid less time to figure out how to use VLC than you’ve spent chasing down a solution to this “problem.”

We’re supposed to get wiser as we get older, pal.

And I probably shouldn't have assumed you all know what Twitch is He likes to make recordings while he plays video games, then edit them and upload to his YT channel. It's a continual thing. He's been bugging me for weeks to fix it. If he uses VLC to transcode, the drive will fill up. Plus when he's not on it, his sister or mom are on it so it can't be dog slow while they're using it.
I know what Twitch is. :RollingEyesSmiley5:

The scenario you described in your last post is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT than that described in your original post — now we’re talking about recording, editing and uploading, not just downloading and viewing.

Given all the other considerations and concerns you’ve cited, I think your best move is to upgrade the family MBA to an M1 model with some external storage added.