Problem playing this AVI file on Quicktime...

AVI files are tricky because there are so many variants. You need to find the correct codec to play the file. Try flip4mac, divx 6, 3ivix etc.

 

If you see a white screen, that probably means that you're missing a video codec. You'll need to find out which one it is or find another way to encode the file to another format. Unfortunately, I do not know how to find out what codec is being used so I cannot help you there. Good luck!

 

You can use the free utility iSquint to convert the file. Many programs use the x264 codec to encode H.264 video and QuickTime has no problem with it. The AVI file is probably using some quirky Windows codec, as AVI is a Microsoft container and not at all universal.

 

Do you have Perian installed? If not, go download and install it. Try Divx too. If that doesn't make it play, it probably won't play. Should though if VLC can play it once you have those installed. There are some errant files that might not work no matter what you do, like those using the Indeo codecs, but QT can certainly play files it has created, I don't know where you heard it didn't.

 

For the uninitiated, I have around 30 different codecs installed on my system, including all the popular ones that vary from 3ivx, Flac, flip4mac, Sorenson and Perian. Yet, there are still a couple different types of AVI's which simply don't play within QuickTime Pro but that's not the end of the world. They do play fine with the open source VideoLan Player...

I don't get it either...
I think when it comes codecs, the Mac has a long way to go!! Oh well...

 

We all have our perspectives, but my experience is different. Two points:

The first--H.264 is part of the MPEG-4 standard. The older MPEG-4 standard and the newer H.264 part are standard codecs in the QuickTime frameworks. There are non-standard implementations like h264 and x264 that may require additional codecs. Windows Media is a proprietary Microsoft format. The Redmond Monopoly allows Flip4Mac to support up to Windows Media 9. It does not support Windows Media 10 or Windows Media 10. Microsoft has not given Flip4Mac access to any version of its DRM for Windows Media.

The second--having said that, I rarely encounter an audio-visual file that my installations of QuickTime codecs can't handle. Following Microsoft's blessing of Flip4Mac, WMV 10 and WMV 11 seem to have lost traction. The Windows side of things seems to have settled on WMV 9 which Flip4Mac handles with aplumb. As for files using one of the H.264 codec clones, I have yet to find one that I can't play.

If you can open a file in VLC, then you can use it to determine the formats of its audio and video tracks. This information will help you to locate the appropriate codecs required to handle them. If you can't find them, then I am certain that someone here can help you.

 

My problem with AVI playing on Quicktime is missing sound.

I don't know how to validate or check what I am missing at all. I got nice pictures, no sound.

Any advice?

 

Flip4Mac, Perian and DivX are the three essential codec packs for anyone who watches a lot of videos on their Mac. If you have them you shouldn't have any problems (unless the video file is corrupted).