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iphone 4s videos won't play in Quicktime

Hello. I've recently downloaded the lastest iphone 4s software (this may have nothing to do with the problem I have) and I've discovered that whilst the videos I've taken with the iphone camera video play on the phone itself, they won't play in Quicktime (or Real) when I've synced the phone ot the computer. The audio plays but the screen is black. I've taken 6 videos and all are the same. I've played an earlier video taken some months ago and that does play both sound and pictures. Funny thing is, when i upload the movie file (the one that plays only sound with ablack screen) from my computer to You Tube, the picture magically reappears again!


Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

iPhone 4S, Windows Vista

Posted on Sep 30, 2012 9:12 AM

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75 replies

Oct 3, 2012 10:42 PM in response to JRiggs888

exact same problem. I upgraded my iPhone 4s to iOS6 and now my videos won't play when I import them onto my PC. I can play them through VLC media player and also through windows media player, but Quicktime and iTunes will not play them. Well . . . that's not entirely true. I can hear the audio, but the screen is black. The only way I can get them to play correctly (video and audio) in iTunes or Quicktime is if I export them first to an .mp4 file using a program like Handbrake or Freemake Video Converter. But that's an extra step that shouldn't have to be done. My videos all worked just fine before I upgraded to iOS6.


Also, my wife has an iPhone 4 (not a 4s) and I upgraded her software to iOS6 as well. Her videos are playing just fine. So it seems to be a problem only with the 4s.


Come on Apple. Get this fixed! What a pain.

Oct 4, 2012 7:29 PM in response to tzahner

iPhone 5 now supports 1080p MP4. Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format, If you video is not supported format. Refer to the below guide if you'd like to preserve 1080p quality. http://www.video-converter-mac.org/convert-youtube-to-iphone-5-on-mac/

Oct 6, 2012 7:22 AM in response to Nick17700

Just wanted to add my voice to this one too. Same problem. I copy the files to my computer (windows XP) and double-click on the videos and they open in quicktime (like always) but although I hear the audio, the video is black.


If this is because of an improvement in the iphone videos then I would think the bug (so to speak) is now with Quicktime.


Also, just FYI, when I open pictures (in an older version of ACDC) they still always are upside down!!


Scott

Oct 7, 2012 7:26 AM in response to scott2eh

I am using an iPhone 4S recently upgraded with iOS 6.0 and started having the same problem with playback on Quicktime Pro 7 on a WinXP PC. All of my videos recorded on the same phone with previous iOS playback normally on the same PC and app. I even removed and reinstalled QT Pro withno change. Interestingly, the same video plays back normally on Quicktime for Mac (using MB Air with OSX Lion) - also plays back using DivX Plus Player for WinXP on the same PC. I concur with Scott2eh - it's most likely a QT Pro for Windows bug/incompatibility with the new iPhone iOS camera upgrade - maybe just on the 4S. Would be interesting to know if iPhone 5 users have this issue aswell.

Oct 8, 2012 8:55 PM in response to Nick17700

Exact same problem here.


But it's not as simple as switching back to the older version of QuickTime - if you want to edit and produce the videos on a PC. That only solves half the problem.


Neither Camtasia Studio 8.0.2 nor Video Spirit Pro will recognize the videos filmed on my iPhone 4S iOS6 so I can't import them into these video editors and do anything with them. Just like in QuickTime, they play back with just the audio and a black screen. This has ground my video work to a halt.


Uploading a video to YouTube in order to download it, edit it, and reupload the finished version, is a bit too time-consuming and has a negative impact on video quality.


Looking forward to some help and guidance from Apple on this as soon as possible... It's been 10 days since this thread was started. I'm a brand new Apple user (besides having used iPods and iTunes in the past with no problems)... hoping to be able to form a good first impression of how quickly their support team addresses issues like this with their products.


Do Apple representatives usually come by and comment with updates in these forum threads at some point?


I wonder if this issue actually started 20 days ago on Sept. 20th with the upgrade to the new OS. I've only noticed it recently when trying to view and edit these videos using QuickTime 7.7 and the editing programs.

Oct 9, 2012 5:24 AM in response to edwardjc

My 'broken' QT version was Quicktime Pro 7.7.2, which generally provides most of the video editing features I need. I uninstalled this version and installed version 7.7.1 (found this on a third party site, because I could not find it on apple.com support site). The older version works (playback, and editing) with new (and old) iPhone recorded videos. I'm not even sure what 7.7.2 has that 7.7.1 does not..


Note: QT Pro is QT with a 'Pro license' key purchased & installed to enable editing features so, before uninstalling 7.7.2, I went into the Windows Control Panel, opened Quicktime settings, and copied the user name and license key strings on the first tab, and pasted this into a notepad file (the QT uninstall process requires a sys reboot, which clears the paste buffer). I was able to paste this back into the QT settings in Control Panel after installing the older version.


I'm a community newbie so, not sure if Apple reads these threads but clearly they should..

iphone 4s videos won't play in Quicktime

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