QuickTime 10.0 - Not opening .wmv files w/ Flip4Mac

Question

QuickTime 10.0 - Not opening .wmv files w/ Flip4Mac

Hello all,

I was on my computer today, and I was accessing a very important video for my online school. It was supposedly a .wmv file. Before you say to try third-party QuickTime Player plug-ins, I want to say that I have the most recent version of Flip4Mac and DivX installed on my computer. They aren't seeming to be working.

What I Did:
1. Opened the file link in the online school. (Note: It's a website, not a program.)
2. It opened QuickTime.
3. QuickTime popped up with the same error 10 or more times, saying, "The movie "XXXXX.wmv"can't be opened." In smaller text it reads, "You may need to install additional software to open this type of file." (Word for word)
4. I tried adjusting Flip4Mac settings, and all configurations I tried didn't seem to work. I definitely didn't try all options though.
5. It was then I downloaded and installed DivX; it made no difference.
6. I contacted my school tech support, and they couldn't resolve it either.

OTHER TECH SPECS:

By default for my school, I use the most recent version of Firefox. (Not the Beta) I tried Safari, and it actually had a player in the browser where the video should be, but it was without video and sound.

Ok, I don't think I missed anything. If you need to know more, just let me know. I need this resolved ASAP, so if you need any more details, don't be afraid to ask. Thank you for your time!

-Justin

Message was edited by: Justin: Mac Man

iMac7,1, Mac OS X (10.6.6), Intel Core 2 Duo

Posted on Jan 31, 2011 12:16 PM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

411,259 points

Jan 31, 2011 2:51 PM in response to Justin: Mac Man

Any reason to suspect the file might be protected? I don't think there is any wmv player for the Mac that will play protected files.

Sometimes with this kind of question it helps to provide a link to the file unless it is private.

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Answer 2

Jan 31, 2011 3:33 PM in response to Limnos

Ok, the file is private unless you have log-in credentials - which I have. Unfortunately, I don't think I can provide a working link to the file - but I'll list one anyway.

Link: n/a

No idea if it will show the problem I'm having, but it's worth a shot. Let me know if find any possible solutions.

EDIT: I tried the link from Safari, it doesn't work. No bother posting it. It leads to a generic page. Any ideas are still appreciated.

Message was edited by: Justin: Mac Man

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Answer 3

Limnos

Level 10

411,259 points

Jan 31, 2011 3:35 PM in response to Justin: Mac Man

Any reason to suspect the file might be protected, as in DRM protection?

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Answer 4

Jan 31, 2011 3:51 PM in response to Limnos

I highly doubt it, as they were apparently recorded off of ActivInspire flipcharts. Or they were homemade, so there shouldn't be any rights applied to them.

I know for a fact that it's only Mac computers having this problem. People who have Windows in the school can open and view the files fine.

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Answer 5

Limnos

Level 10

411,259 points

Jan 31, 2011 6:12 PM in response to Justin: Mac Man

Try using free VLC and open the URL for the video.

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Answer 6

Jan 31, 2011 6:59 PM in response to Limnos

Tried this but it seemed access was denied by the school website... any other ideas? I think VLC would've worked if it could get through the restrictive access.

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Answer 7

Limnos

Level 10

411,259 points

Jan 31, 2011 7:40 PM in response to Justin: Mac Man

Might be useful at this stage to try playing a wmv file from another source just to see if it is Flip4Mac or if it is those particular wmv files.

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Answer 8

Apr 5, 2011 11:04 PM in response to Justin: Mac Man

hello

I use a basic mac book with quick time player version 10.0 (90.3)

The same wmv files play well in windows.

i am facing the same problems and I have tried the recommendations:

-I installed flip for mac but still get the message" You may need to install additional software"

- Quicktime player plays mp4 files, therefore I converted the files to mp4 but it still wont play. However other mp4 files do play in quicktime player in macbook.

- I also installed VLC player for mac but it still did not work.

I cant find a windows media player for mac...it all points to flip 4 mac

any other suggestions?

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Answer 9

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Apr 6, 2011 1:58 AM in response to desiredgangz

Use Quicktime Player 7 instead of Quicktime 10.

Mac OS X 10.6 includes QuickTime versions 10.0 and 7.6.3. The QuickTime 7 player will only be present if a QuickTime Pro key was present at the time of installation, or if specified as part of a custom install, or individually downloaded.

http://support.apple.com/kb/dl923

Snow Leopard update 10.6.4 included an update to 7.6.6 (if installed). You can install it from the above link even though it says for 10.6.3. It's the same version of QuickTime Player 7.6.6.

(Only QuickTime Player 7.6.3 or 7.6.6 can be updated to "Pro".)

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Answer 10

May 16, 2011 7:33 PM in response to Justin: Mac Man

I have resolved the problem - the problem was that the video in particular was encoded in a screen format unrecognizable by Macintosh.

Apparently you're having a codec compatibility issue. That would usually mean they're using Screen (or Image) codec or a proprietary codec such as Go2Meeting which only have plugins available for Windows. Without a link I can't give any more details unfortunately.

Unsupported Codecs:
Screen (ACELP.net) (My videos are in this format.)
Image
Voice
Direct Show AC3 Filter
GoToMeeting (G2M)
GoToWebinar

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Answer 11

Dec 30, 2011 3:28 AM in response to Limnos

Same issues for me since OSX Lion I can no longer listen/view wmv files with flip4mac or VLC.

Not sure what is wrong and how to fix this

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Answer 12

Oct 20, 2013 12:29 AM in response to Justin: Mac Man

Could please tell me how you resolved the issue? Are you able to play Videos? I am having similar issue...audio is playing but there is no video.

Thanks,

Phal

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Answer 13

Nov 10, 2013 7:28 AM in response to Phalgun27

Hey Phalgun,

To my knowledge, there is no easy solution to this problem. I got the information I posted two years ago from the Flip4Mac forums, and things may have changed now with the release of Mavericks, although I remain lenient about whether or not there is a way to fix it at all.

Sadly, I think the only solution is using a Windows computer to view the video. 😟

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Answer 14

Nov 10, 2013 9:15 AM in response to Justin: Mac Man

Do these help?

http://www.wondershare.com/convert-video-audio/play-wmv-mavericks.html

http://www.wondershare.com/video-player/

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