.flv and .avi Thumbnails in Mavericks

The quickest solution for your situation would be to download VLC for Mac if you don't already have it. You can then choose the folder in which the files are kept on your camera, drag the folder (or a selection of your video files) into the VLC icon in your dock and all the files can be skipped through by using the fast forward or skip chapter button. It would be as quick as using the old preview method.

I don't see how this kind of attitude is helpful to anyone. I have no issue viewing png files.

Go to finder/view/show view options, and make sure you have "show icon preview" ticked. Someone feeling a bit silly now I guess. Please check your attitude at the door next time before going off half cocked.

I understand your frustration, as most here have the same issue. The file formats have never been Mac generic and are in todays terms, very out dated formats and have always needed third party plugins to allow previewing. It won't be fixed, that's for sure (unless someone picks up the development of Perian), so we either live with it, or do batch converting for then next few months. I've converted around 5TB over the Christmas period and do a few dozen files at a time, usually over night. I use VidConvert, its a great tool to just drag and drop as many files you like into it the window and they're converted in sequence. It uses the ffmpeg conversion engine, not Apples coremedia tools, which I find far superior to any of the conversion tools around.

Cheers

Give Media Pro 1 a try. It can catalog movie files from different locations, drives, etc. and should be able to show what's on a memory card via a card reader.

It only creates thumbnail aliases to the original source so no importing of the actual file is done. Works on images, movies, PDFs, and many more types of documents. It's cross platform compatible.

Download and give the demo version a try on a memory card.

OT

This Newbie Mavericks OS X 10.9 user, (experienced Maverick Meerkat ubuntu user) uses this solution.

Install Maverick Meerkat in VirtualBox, share disk between Mavericks and Maverick, use VLC in OS X,

and now I have instant viewing of all content in OS X, and instant reviewability/editability in ubuntu.

This gives me the best of the closed Mac world and the best of the open linux world.

Slight complexity involved in setting up is rewarded with persisting ease of use afterwards.

1. Install VirtualBox

2. Acquire 64 bit ubuntu ISO image

3. Run VirtualBox, make a new VM, tell it to use the ISO image

4. Install ubuntu, give yourself a login name (I will use "yourname"), login, and launch a terminal

4.1. sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade; sudo apt-get install dkms;

5. Tell VirtualBox what directory (folder) you wish to share (i.e. legacy)

6. Remove ubuntu ISO image

7. Reboot VM

8. Tell VM to use /Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso (I used a soft link)

7. Follow instructions for installing Guest Additions

8. Launch a terminal

8.1 mkdir ~/Desktop/legacy; sudo mount -t vboxsf -o uid=1000,gid=1000 legacy ~/Desktop/legacy

9. Now the Mac legacy folder is visible in ubuntu, and both may operate on the contents at will.

To make the mount persist across boots, edit the ubuntu file /etc/rc.local, and before the final "exit" command put this:

mount -t vboxsf -o uid=1000,gid=1000 legacy /home/yourname/Desktop/legacy

I've uploaded a QuickLook and Spotlight plugin that thumbnails and indexes .avi, .flv and some other file types here:

https://github.com/Marginal/QLVideo/releases

Hello,

How do you install or run this plugin

I have downloaded the zip file and run the main app file. Terminal window opened for log-in then log-out information. Nothing else.

• Download the latest .pkg file (the green button) from https://github.com/Marginal/QLVideo/releases .
• Double-click on it.
• The Installer app will walk you through the installation process.

You will need to allow applications downloaded from "Mac App Store and identified developers" under System Preferences → Security & Privacy :

Give iMovie a try too.

Thank you Marginal..

Worked fine..!! 🙂

This worked perfectly! At last, all of my thumbnails are back.

Thank you for fixing Apple's immensely frustrating and ultimately self-serving fail.

You've restored sanity to my movies and clips.

Mavericks simply does not support other file types such as .avi, .mkv, etc. I overcame this by installing Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate then using it to convert to .mp4. Voila, all movie files now have picture icons (ps. average conversion time is around 4 minutes)

Thank you! Works!

Another one getting crazy here, Perian we miss you 😢 (even if, actually, someone is trying to keep it alive here: https://github.com/MaddTheSane/perian/releases ), I'm currently resolving using Handbrake ( https://handbrake.fr ) as a video converter (just drag the .flv or .avi file over Handbrake dock icon, and click "Start", the preset is ok, quick and easy and will output a decent .mp4)

Main issue with Handbrake: you have to put files in one by one.. but exports can be saved to queue.. it's not as fast as dragging multiple files in, but it's still a free, quick and very good solution

PS: I said good because it's finally time to get rid of flash video contents, flash born as a technology to animate vectors fro graphic artists, using it for anything else (and actually even for everything, in 2014) it's just a misuse started years ago that leaded to this pain today (you may say thanks to superficial and ignorant developers)