MP3 sent by an e-mail, does not play?

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Level 1

11 points

MP3 sent by an e-mail, does not play?

Hello,

I've just bought my iPhone 3G last Sunday. My friend sent me an mp3 of his own music (well, we're both musicians so we exchange our tracks quite frequently). His track was around 1:20 long, but when I received an e-mail on my iPhone, it did not play fully for some odd reason 😟

What I do, is go to the Mail, open the e-mail that I've been sent, it's got an attachment, so I click on it, then QuickTime pops up, and it starts playing - but stops suddendly afer about 15 seconds or so. Does anyone know what might be the problem and how could I solve it?

Also - is there any way for me to save an attachment, so that I could listen to the track that I've been sent on the iPod feature, and not the QuickTime? Just a question aside. Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards,

Dynamitri

PC, Windows XP

Posted on Aug 19, 2008 11:10 AM

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Answer 1

Ansuz82

Level 6

8,291 points

Aug 19, 2008 11:14 AM in response to Dynamitri

Since QT on your computer had issues with the file, there is probably a glitch in the encoding or its using an unsupported codec. Chances are this is why it would not play on the iPhone.

For your second question, yes. Just save the file and import into iTunes. Then sync to the iPhone.

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Answer 2

Dynamitri Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 19, 2008 11:21 AM in response to Ansuz82

Thanks for a quick response. What I meant exactly (not sure if I was clear enough) is that I do open my Mail app. on the iPhone etc., I do everything on an iPhone. When I play the file on my computer, it's totally fine. Only my iPhone does a sudden drop when playing the file (through the QuickTime, as this is the application that opens the file automatically, haven't tried anything besides that, because I'm not even sure if I'm able to run it through anything else... Still new to the iPhone)

For the second answer to my second question - that is a way, indeed. But what I meant is if I can actually:

Receive an e-mail with an attachment -> Save the file that has been received on my iPhone to the iPhone's memory -> make it playable on the iPhone through the iPod application. Therefore omitting slash excluding the step of connecting the iPhone to the computer and doing the iTunes Sync thingy.

Sorry if I was not clear enough first time and thanks for the help.

Best,

D.

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Answer 3

Ansuz82

Level 6

8,291 points

Aug 19, 2008 11:23 AM in response to Dynamitri

Its also possible that the file was encoded with a codec or at a sample/bit rate the iPhone does not support. For MP3s I believe the iPhone only supports up to 320kbps.

No, you are not able to save the file directly to the iPhone and then listen to it with the iPod function.

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Answer 4

Dynamitri Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 19, 2008 11:29 AM in response to Ansuz82

The sample/bitrate is 128kbps/44 kHz Stereo, so it should play fine. What might be the reason for the problems with playability through QT then?

Thanks for answering the second question, though. Much appreciated.

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Answer 5

Ansuz82

Level 6

8,291 points

Aug 19, 2008 11:31 AM in response to Dynamitri

Its all about codecs at this point. MP3 is just a container file - there are multiple ways to encode and decode files and still call them MP3s. While most desktop players have the majority of these codecs, the iPhone has very few.

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Answer 6

Kalagan

Level 2

257 points

Aug 20, 2008 3:32 PM in response to Ansuz82

it could also be that when you are playing it as an attachment, your email server might not be fast enough to play it. Remember that the file is being played/streamed from your Email Server, it is not a local file. that is proabably why it played fine on your desktop machine, once it was downloaded.

just a thought

kalagan

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Answer 7

Dynamitri Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 19, 2008 12:16 PM in response to Ansuz82

What should I do to ensure that the mp3s sent to me are playable via QuickTime, then? Any tips that I could forward to my music-making friends?

Thanks and best,

D.

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Answer 8

Ansuz82

Level 6

8,291 points

Aug 19, 2008 12:20 PM in response to Dynamitri

I don't know what MP3 codecs the iPhone supports of the top of my head.

Best bet is just use AAC if your are aiming for iPhone compatibility.

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