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Video files won't play when downloaded to computer!

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Sep 21, 2010
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Video files won't play when downloaded to computer!

This one stumped me but hopefully will be child's play for you IT pros.

Anyway, I have a Möbius carcam which uses a class 4 micro SD card if useful info. When I move the files (.mov) to my computer, I cannot play them as they seem corrupted, e.g. can't open or only shows a frozen screen. However, I can play them directly from my carcam hooked up to my computer. I use vlc player.

TIA.
Last edited by tranquility922 on Jan 13th, 2018 3:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Aug 15, 2006
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tranquility922 wrote: This one stumped me but hopefully will be child's play for you IT pros.

Anyway, I have a Möbius carcam which uses a class 4 micro SD card if useful info. When I move the files to my computer, I cannot play them as they seem corrupted, e.g. can't open or only shows a frozen screen. However, I can play them directly from my carcam hooked up to my computer. I use vlc player.

TIA.
Sounds like a codec issue to me.... You need to update them
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East Gwillimbury
kcorscadden wrote: Sounds like a codec issue to me.... You need to update them
I don’t think so. He can play them from the camera directly attached as an external storage device using VLC

What’s the extension on the video files? Are they MP4?
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Download K-Lite video codec pack.

Also, whats the file extension?
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Doesn't sound like codec, but rather container issues (unable to open file).
If it can't read the container format, it doesn't know how to render the video. This came up a lot when mkv became popular but many people didn't have playback software outside of windows media player.

I would first try different players.
If you have chrome, try dropping the video into a new tab and see if it can play it.
Also try PotPlayer, it's like VLC but I find it much more universal in support.

For advanced users, try opening it with ffmpeg and do a stream copy dump to a new file.
ffmpeg can open pretty much anything.
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You could try reencoding the movie to a different format and it might play then.
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Gee wrote: I don’t think so. He can play them from the camera directly attached as an external storage device using VLC

What’s the extension on the video files? Are they MP4?
When playing them from the camera attached as an external storage device to the computer, the camera does all the heavy lifting. It basically uses the computer as a throughput and the only thing it uses is the monitor. So that's why it works cause the camera has the necessary codec to play it whereas the computer does not.
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East Gwillimbury
kcorscadden wrote: When playing them from the camera attached as an external storage device to the computer, the camera does all the heavy lifting. It basically uses the computer as a throughput and the only thing it uses is the monitor. So that's why it works cause the camera has the necessary codec to play it whereas the computer does not.
I doubt that it works that way. I think it is treated as a thumb drive when attached.

He mentioned VLC, if it played from the camera directly and using the USB as a pass through to the monitor, then VLC wouldn’t be part of the equation.
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Gee wrote: I doubt that it works that way. I think it is treated as a thumb drive when attached.

He mentioned VLC, if it played from the camera directly and using the USB as a pass through to the monitor, then VLC wouldn’t be part of the equation.
VLC is just the media player being used on the computer. The file, codec, etc is all on the camera, so it actually does make sense if you think about it. We need to know what kind of file it is as that would answer this.
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kcorscadden wrote: VLC is just the media player being used on the computer. The file, codec, etc is all on the camera, so it actually does make sense if you think about it. We need to know what kind of file it is as that would answer this.
I re-read the original post, it is vague. If he copied the file over and it doesn't play, then it is a codec issue. My assumption from initially reading it was that he played it directly from the camera using VLC
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Gee wrote: I re-read the original post, it is vague. If he copied the file over and it doesn't play, then it is a codec issue. My assumption from initially reading it was that he played it directly from the camera using VLC
That's the interpretation I am getting too as that he tried playing it off SD card from the computer using VLC and it didn't work. Plugged the camera into the computer with the SD card in the camera and used VLC and it worked.... Am I misunderstanding it? If VLC doesn't have the proper codec or tools, it will scan any device that is hooked up to the computer and thus because the camera was hooked up and had the codec installed on it, that's why it played.
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Gee wrote: I don’t think so. He can play them from the camera directly attached as an external storage device using VLC

What’s the extension on the video files? Are they MP4?
Argh, I forgot some info. It's .mov. Tx.

In case OP wasn't clear, here are the 2 scenarios again (both using VLC player):
1. WORKS: play file directly from carcam via USB (card still in carcam); and
2. NOT WORK: downloaded file onto computer and tried to open it.

I checked via VLC's own updating ftn in the player, I have the latest version.
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I think the additional clarification needed is the connection type to play back from camera via USB - do you mean as a simple drive playing the files (e.g. shows up as E:\video.mov), or as a video device (streaming)?

If the former, this whole thing makes no sense as the file is the file. Shouldn't matter where it's saved.
If the latter, then as described earlier, the camera is doing the decoding and just sending the video feed to VLC to display.
In which case VLC doesn't have the right codec to decode the file, while the camera does.
Try additional software/codecs.
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aqnd wrote: I think the additional clarification needed is the connection type to play back from camera via USB - do you mean as a simple drive playing the files (e.g. shows up as E:\video.mov), or as a video device (streaming)?

If the former, this whole thing makes no sense as the file is the file. Shouldn't matter where it's saved.
If the latter, then as described earlier, the camera is doing the decoding and just sending the video feed to VLC to display.
In which case VLC doesn't have the right codec to decode the file, while the camera does.
Try additional software/codecs.
I'm just hooking up my carcam via USB wire to the computer, going on the carcam drive and clicking directly on the file which plays on the VLC player. I dunno if the carcam is doing anything 'special' so that it works or if my computer is somehow 'corrupting' the file when it's saved there. I dunno.
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update your codec pack and try a different player like pot player
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leeoku wrote: update your codec pack and try a different player like pot player
How do I do that? On VLC?
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Can't you just drag over the files from the camera directly?

BTW, are these h.264 files? You said .mov but that doesn't tell us the codec. You can check from within vlc (or another player).
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EugW wrote: Can't you just drag over the files from the camera directly?

BTW, are these h.264 files? You said .mov but that doesn't tell us the codec. You can check from within vlc (or another player).
That's what I tried to do, drag them to the C drive, sometimes works sometimes corrupted. The codec is "h264-mpeg-4 avc (part 10)(avc1)" whatever that means lol.
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tranquility922 wrote: That's what I tried to do, drag them to the C drive, sometimes works sometimes corrupted. The codec is "h264-mpeg-4 avc (part 10)(avc1)" whatever that means lol.
That's h.264 (packaged in a mov) and most versions of it should be fine in vlc. If you can drag the files directly from the camera's drive, it sounds like somehow the files are getting corrupted.

Have you tried a different computer?
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download K-lite codec pack or CCCP. install it. That will get you more codecs.

Try a different player like pot player. Klite comes with Media player classic

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