QuickTime Plug-in Failure

QT X 10.x has abandoned support for some 'legacy' codecs. Although a movie may be in an MP4 'container' the codec may me old.

If you are able to use FF to download the movie (QuickTime Enabler is the add-on) AND play it successfully in QT X, please tell us - as the codec MAY not be it

Each website needs to re-author their pages to HTML5 specifications for FF & Chrome to play them in the page - most all of youtube has been done

If your movies are 'non-commercial' -- educational, say - the content provider might not go to the trouble of HTML5 conversion of their pages - right away - but eventually, all the browsers will conply and then download and play locally will be it.

Although I cannot test Safari 8.0.6, I can test a real early version - good to go on #1 & #2

(not so much on the " .webm " version - copy paste the filename after the URL = gobbledygook)

Firefox (TenFourFox 31.7) = no good on either #1 or 2

Key on #2 when I get to the download pane via [View Video] contextual menu is " Matroska video "

Although I cannot explain why FF is having an issue, I think Wikipedia may shed light on Safari 8.0.6... see its section in the table = all RED NO support for .webm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5_video#Browser_support

I am not a HTML5 author, but if I were to investigate further, I would reverse engineer YouTube's code for HTML5

I see this when I view a video

• "Firefox does not support this format" (like the grey box in Row 2, image 1)
• THEN... it loads the HTML5 version and begins playing

Oops... Perian not "Installed" in its Preferences Pane - with Perian installed, I get funtionality "in browser" - BUT - with QT Player Pro 7.6.4 I get a white video display w/ audio, so I leave it off. VLC fails completely to run.

FF plays it now - although it nowhere near what I experience on YouTube

1. I Click your original link to the HTML5 version > http://dig1.gcsu.edu/frank_lowney/ipod/letterman/
   
2. [View Video] contextual menu opens a Dialog
   
3. [OK] to {Open with TenFourFoxG3} opens a NEW Window (????) that plays the movie at normal size
   

Now.... after all that brouhaha... that is still nowhere near finding out what's what with Safari not supporting webm, now is it? 😕

Lastly... "Matroska video" - from earlier without Perian installed - this FAILED miserably... wants to use Perian to somehow open in QT Player

I see how the page source is so very simple... ±40 lines with 2 that are germane...

just doesn't seem to work as advertised. Line 23 is 'not QUITE true' -- or is it?

Now.... after all that brouhaha... that is still nowhere near finding out what's what with Safari not supporting webm, now is it?

Lastly... "Matroska video" - from earlier without Perian installed - this FAILED miserably... wants to use Perian to somehow open in QT Player

I'm actually starting to get a headache trying to follow the various explanations, so if you will allow, I'll simply post my understanding of the situations:

Basically, a media file is playable if, and only if, three requirements are met:

1. The target system is configured to recognize and support the media file format (container),
2. The target system is configured to recognize and support the media file compression formats contained within the file type, and
3. The playing software (media player, browser, plug-in, etc.) is programmed to recognize and process the combination of file type and codecs used.

Since each software manufacturer is free to program their software as they think best, individual users are free to configure their systems as they please, and web site programmers are free to post content in any file format and compression format they choose on a web page programmed for playback in any manner they choose, there are quite a number of possible permutations when it comes to playback possibilities on any given system.

In the case of the WEBM file, neither QT X nor QT 7 natively support the playback of On2 VP8 video or Vorbus audio content. On the other hand, if Perian is installed, then the QT 7 player and the QT 7 plug-in can play this content employing user added support software. Unfortunately, the QT X player cannot access the Perian support for playback purposes and is not programmed to use it for conversion purposes. As to whether or not HTML5 WEBM programmed Safari playback is possible, it is impossible to tell at this point since the order of your playback test conditions automatically selects the first HTML5 (MOV file) option for my system—thus it never reaches the WEBM test. (I.e., you would have to try reversing the order of the playback tests (or simply delete the first option to see if the HTML5 WEBM option is also viable in Safari v8.0.6 on my system.)

With regard to the Matroska file type, in this case it is the file type that is not natively supported by either QT X or QT 7 embedded OS structures. Once again, if the Perian codec package is installed, QT 7 based software can process/play the files but QT X based software cannot play or convert the content since the software is not programmed to recognize/handle MKV files even when the compressed data is compatible.

As to why systems with the same OS handled files differently, you have yet to indicate how these systems are have been user configured for codecs and file types nor traced, in all cases, which resource file is actually being accessed or how. E.g., to actually test the WEBM file version, I had to manually access and download the media resource since the manner in which the alternate web pages are programmed controls which files are accessed by the different browsers. (E.g., entering the URL http://dig1.gcsu.edu/frank_lowney/ipod/letterman/letterman_GC&SU_iPod_H264.webm in Safari automatically downloads the WEBM file but if I enter the URL http://dig1.gcsu.edu/frank_lowney/ipod/letterman/ then the web page automatically plays the MOV file using HTML5 at HTML5 defined dimensions but entering the complete http://dig1.gcsu.edu/frank_lowney/ipod/letterman/letterman_GC&SU_iPod_H264.mov URL plays the MOV file via the plug-in at the file's own encoded playback dimensions. Therefore, recommend the original poster program and test web page coding, media content, and browser combinations individually and one-at-a-time in oder to achieve his goal—whatever that may be. (I.e., I still don't know if your goal is to avoid plug-in failure modal messages or the coding of your web page for use by all possible bowsers on all possible platforms, using all possible configurations for a specific form of media or something else entirely different.)

Frank

I had hoped that our continued conversation - keeping the thread 'current' - would finally attract a user that lives and breathes QT - and we finally got a one of the best - Jon Walker (thanks Jon!)

If he cannot figure this out with you, it likely cannot be done!

best regards - I will follow with interest in learning something

ÇÇÇ

Sorry for taking so long. Dog had an appointment for shots and we were there about an hour longer than expected.

The latest version of OS X (10.10.3) which includes Safari 8.0.6, issues a "Plug-in Failure" error message on some computers attempting to view the web-based video at http://sleepy.gcsu.edu/iPod/Letterman/ and other web-based video that call the QuickTime Plug-in via embed code. All things being equal, this should not be the case. Yet, we see a number of vaguely worded complaints in these Apple Discussion pages citing this Plug-in Failure error message in connection with QuickTime.

The problem, then, is figuring out what is not equal. I have a laptop that does not throw the Plug-in error message and a desktop that does. The fact that Firefox successfully uses the QuickTime Plug-in when Safari does not seems significant in that the QuickTime Plug-in could not be corrupted. Both are at OS X 10.10.3 and, so, both use Safari 8.0.6.

Now that I know which file is causing you grief, I downloaded it and took a closer look. While settings technically look okay based on a 502x373 Main Profile, Level 2.1 non-anamorphic encode at 15 fps, further examination indicates there may be a problem using the VFR encoding mode here since your target frame rate has an excursion of 14.493 to 32.258 fps which may exceed the ability of some systems (video card) to support the Main @ L2.1 standard. I.e., I would try any of the following to see if it avoids triggering the "Plug-in Failure" modal message:

1. Increase the encoding level and keep everything else the same,
2. Use the constant frame rate encoding mode and keep everything else the same, or
3. Decrease encoding dimensions or encode as an anamorphic file and keep everything else the same.

Basically, I suspect Apple's tendency to "optimize" systems based on the hardware capabilities may be triggering the failure messages seen on some platforms but not others. In this case, the ability of a system to support your current encoding dimensions should vary inversely with respect to the instantaneous frame rate. E.g., a 502x373 Main, L2.1 encode should have no problem on any system at 15 fps but would be optimally limited to an anamorphic 352x576 encode at 25 fps or an anamorphic 352x480 encode at 30 fps. Thus, since the VFR encode varies between <15 fps to >30 fps, some systems ignore the variation while others don't depending on the capabilities of the video card or card mode in use.

This is just as guess, so take it with a grain of salt and assumes both systems are running correctly without any software corruption or conflicts. If it helps, I have encoded and posted both a non-anamorphic CFR Main @ L2.1 and and anamorphic VFR High @ L4.1 versions of your file that you can test on your web pages to check for more consistent playback across platforms using the Safari v8.0.6 browser.

http://downloads.walker4.me/Temporary_files/letterman_GC%26SU_iPod_H264-1_Consta nt_fps.mov

http://downloads.walker4.me/Temporary_files/letterman_GC%26SU_iPod_H264-1_L41.mo v

Success! This was the solution for this problem in this particular case. The heuristic to remember is to use the Console and Logs to find out where the problem resides. I have been updating this system using Migration Manager over several computers over the years so, inevitably, have a lot of cruft that tagged along. I may find that some eSellerate validated app will refuse to run at some point in the future but that may not matter. It could be something that I no longer use.

I take it that this software was creating a conflict with playback of the file on just the one system and the problem was eliminated by deleting the software to which you refer?