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Ryan44's avatar
Ryan44
New member | Level 2
7 years ago

MOV file downloads to Dropbox with audio but without video

When MOV videos from my wife's iPhone download to our Dropbox desktop app, we can't view them.  The audio transfers but there is no video with it (black screen only).  I do not have this issue with my Android phone, which transfers as a MP4 file.

 

I also noticed that we are able to view her MOV videos from Dropbox.com, just not the desktop app.  I unistalled and reinstalled the Dropbox desktop app, but the problem persisted.

 

I use the desktop app to backup these videos on an external hard drive and have not been able to find a way to do this via Dropbox.com.  Please help me fix this issue!

 

Thanks,

Ryan

  • The issue is that on your computer you do not have the codecs (think library that decodes the video) to play it.

    You'll need to download them, or, the easiest way is to install VLC Player which has pretty much all codecs installed as standard.
  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    The issue is that on your computer you do not have the codecs (think library that decodes the video) to play it.

    You'll need to download them, or, the easiest way is to install VLC Player which has pretty much all codecs installed as standard.
    • dtcom's avatar
      dtcom
      New member | Level 2

      I have the same problem, but it is Dropbox that is the issue.

      When I upload a file to Dropbox and download it to my Windows computer, I get audio only.

      When I email the same file, it works perfectly.  The problem occurs going through Dropbox.

      • ivydst's avatar
        ivydst
        New member | Level 2

        I have the same issue, and I agree that Dropbox seems to be the issue.  If I copy the .mov file from my iphone to dropbox, and then to my laptop, it has no video.  It will play on certain players, but I can't convert it using RealConverter, and Camtasia doesn't like it either.    If I copy it from my iphone to google drive and then to my laptop, it plays just fine everywhere.

    • PJKL's avatar
      PJKL
      New member | Level 2

      Movie will open in dropbox and play appropriately. I also just used the suggestion to open it in VLC. My problem comes from trying to put the video in iMovie. The sound is still the only thing that appears.

    • Bgmello's avatar
      Bgmello
      Helpful | Level 5

      I have the same issue, and i dont think it´s a codec problem. My mov files from my ipad continues to work perfectly.

       

      Only mov files from the iphone 7 with iOS 11 do not work..

       

      I´ve already updated Quicktime.

       

      Somebody here has the same problem?

       

      Best regards!

      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        Bgmello wrote:

        Only mov files from the iphone 7 with iOS 11 do not work.


        And there's your problem... iOS 11. But before we get into why, remember that where video is concerned, the file extension (.mov, .mpg, etc.) means very little. That's just a container file for the encoded video within. In order to play that encoded video, you need a player that not only recognizes the file type (remember, just a container) but also a proper CODEC installed that is capable of decoding the video content within the container.

         

        Ok, moving on...

         

        Prior to iOS 11, the CODEC used by Apple was H.264/MPEG-4. This was (is?) the most popular video format, widely supported by almost all media applications and many hardware devices. Windows Media Player, Quicktime, etc., all supported it out of the box. I'm betting that your iPad hasn't been updated to iOS 11 yet, and this is why videos from it continue to work; they're H.264 videos in a .MOV container.

         

        With iOS 11, Apple is now using HEVC, or High Efficiency Video Coding. HEVC videos are still saved in a .MOV container, but the video within is encoded as H.265/MPEG-H. This new encoding requires that either your media player supports HEVC videos (most don't, as of this writing), or that you have a proper CODEC installed as well to handle the decoding.

         

        If you have a Mac and are running one of the newest versions of macOS, this shouldn't be an issue as Apple has obviously included support for their own filetypes, but other operating systems or older versions of macOS/OS X will require updated players and CODECs. VLC, in my opinion one of the best media players available, supports these new video files.

         

        There are A LOT of articles online that describe this much better than I ever could. If you need more information, I'd suggest you Google for iOS 11 HEVC.

  • Umair R.'s avatar
    Umair R.
    Helpful | Level 6
    VLC player or install the codec package and then you're sorted!
    • HighReach's avatar
      HighReach
      Helpful | Level 5
      Installed VLC player and works great.
      Installed new version of Quicktime and videos do not play
      Videos still do not play in windows movies and tv or windows media player
      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        HighReach wrote:
        Installed VLC player and works great.
        Installed new version of Quicktime and videos do not play
        Videos still do not play in windows movies and tv or windows media player

        Unless you identify the correct codec and install it yourself, the video will not play properly in Quicktime or the Windows players. VLC has most of the popular codecs built-in, which is why it can play the video.

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