QT video not opening, plays in Preview

There is an error that says the QT file can't open because it is missing some kind of component file: "Untitled10-av-1". It won't play in either QT or FCP. HOWEVER, it will play in the preview window when I get its info.
Can I somehow work around this error? Its raw footage of my wedding. (Not all the files are like this only some)

I also tried dragging it into MPEG Streamclip to convert it, but encountered the same error.

Please someone help- my wife'll kill me if I can't get back this footage. I'm assuming the original tapes are lost by the videographer.

Where did the file come from (how was it created)? What is the codec? Did you try opening it in Final Cut Pro? Sounds like a QT Reference file and some of the components are missing but if it's "raw footage of your wedding", that wouldn't be the case.

More info - be as detailed as possible.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

The files were sent to me on 3 DVDs. Several of the files play without a problem. However a few exhibit this error message when I try to play them.

I tried dragging them into FCP as well with no luck.

Codecs: DV/DVCPRO - NTSC, Integer (Big Endian), Timecode

I shouldn't say its RAW footage (unedited is what I meant). It came from a DVX100a so it would have had to be digitized. I'm having trouble getting ahold of the original videographer. He didn't exactly do a stellar job on the edit so I told him just to send me the tapes. He said he didn't have the tapes anymore so he'd send me the footage as QT files.

OK- another good thing...

I can open it in VLC player. Any ideas from here?

> He said he didn't have the tapes anymore so he'd send me the footage as QT files.

Jesus! What the hell did the guy do with the master tapes?
Losing the master tapes is usually good cause for withholding payment. That's not "didn't exactly do a stellar job"; that's thoroughly unprofessional.

Sounds to me like he used a PC-format drive, or left "Limit Capture" on, or captured correctly but re-exported the clips wrong. There are many ways he could have screwed this up.

Sorry you had to go through this. You had a real lemon for a camera/editing guy.

The problem with QuickTime reference files, in my experience, is that they don't always reconnect correctly once the reference files' location changes. Are you copying the files to a computer drive before opening them? That's your best shot -- pool all the clips in one place and then try to access them. But frankly, given your guy's level of competence, there's no guarantee he would have gotten all the files to you.

And before you do anything, get a hold of the guy and tell him not to wipe any of his files from wherever he's storing them. Amateurs like this often delete files they don't think they need, only to get screwed later. If he's careless enough, you may even need to go to his computer and look at the media yourself to help him find it, or bring an FCP-versed person to help look.

Good luck.


www.derekmok.com

Then it's not "raw". If your original videographer digitized the footage into FCP, applied a filter to the footage and exported a Quicktime Reference instead of a Self-Contained Quicktime, your file will not open because the original media is not linked to it once it leaves his computer (hence the error...it is looking for that original linked media).

When you say it plays in "preview"...what does that mean?

Do you have Roxio Toast? You can try to open the clips right from the DVD within Toast and export DV/DVCPRO - NTSC clips.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

thank you very much for your thoughts...

yes, he was an amateur- a friend at film school (d'oh!) its really been a pain in my ass.

if you right-click and "Get Info" that window has a small video preview available. the file plays in that "Get Info" window.

I just discovered it also plays in VLC player without any trouble.

I don't have Roxio

I don't think it's DV/DVCPRO - NTSC. If the VLC player plays it, it's probably encoded (compressed) for DVD.

I really hate to hear someone losing something as irreplaceable and as precious as wedding footage, but unfortunately it sounds like your film school friend really had no idea what he was doing. This is why pros need to be employed for this...they know how to preserve your memories.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

yes, you're right. i made a big mistake in an effort to save money. i should've cut corners on the flowers!

Wait a minute...VLC plays it but QT doesn't. It's looking for an audio file. Have you tried demuxing the clips? Try this:

[ffmpegx.en.softonic.com]

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

working on it...

Your friend may have encoded the footage and embedded the audio in the footage. "Demuxing" will separate the audio from the video into 2 separate files then you can bring it into FCP & slap it together for export.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

its not recognizing the file either

I am not giving up yet...are you SURE it's DV/DVCPRO - NTSC? What is the physical size of the file and how long is the footage clip supposed to be? In order to attack this the right way, we MUST KNOW how the file is encoded. Open it in the VLC Player, look at the file's properties & list them here.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

under Media Information in VLC player its not listing ANY information

according to the "Get Info" listing its:
720x480
with the codecs I already listed
bit rate: 30,311

I'm not familiar with VLC Player. Does it have any kind of export function? If it does, maybe you can at least rescue a video-only version of the file that other applications will recognize. Joe says the missing reference file is probably audio. Does VLC Player play the audio, or is it missing?

Anything that plays can be rescued by circuitous means, we just need to find it.


www.derekmok.com

wait a minute. i didn't have all the extra components for ffmpegx. trying it now...

still a NOGO. i'm going to bed... i'll keep trying in the morning.

THANKs so much for giving me your time, and I appreciate you showing me that program. hopefully i can figure it all out.

THANKS AGAIN guys.

> "Untitled10-av-1"

This looks like a clue. If this was the full file name, "Untitled10" means that he likely ran a capture now and didn't label the capture. "av-1" means he could be capturing to a FAT32 drive and it was splitting the capture into bits. That's part 1 of his original capture, btw. He could have renamed the files or exported a reference movie from the timeline before passing it onto our dear friend here..

Okay, open it up again in VLC. scroll through the whole video. Are there any sections with a freeze frame (a frame that is stuck), or a black frame? What is the total duration of the video in VLC? Then check the total duration in QT player and tell us what they are.

I don't think it is muxed. I think it is DV-NTSC.

Need these information:

1. Size of the file (you can get that in the finder), right click, get info.
2. audio and video codec as listed in the inspector in QT player. Tell us everything it says from frame size to codecs to frame rate.

Then, contact your friend and tell him not to delete anything from his drive. He may need to re-export the rushes again.

>I'm not familiar with VLC Player. Does it have any kind of export function?

From what I remember, only stills.



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