Howard M: This is a nightmare situation.
First of all, the MooV suffix. Early versions of Quicktime only worked on Mac and used this suffix.
On Mac OS9 and earlier, it didn’t matter what suffix (ending) you put on a file name. This is because the ‘metadata’ (embedded information) in the file would tell the Mac what type of file it was, and it would work even if you deleted the suffix.
When Quicktime went cross-platform, Apple changed the suffix to ‘.mov’. This allowed it to work on Windows machines.
Interestingly enough, the new Mac OSX operating system is based on UNIX, and it also must have the suffix for it to work. So, a MooV file won’t work on Mac OSX unless you change it to .mov.
Now for Avid. For others reading this who aren’t familiar with Avid, they were one of the first to make non-linear video editing systems in the 1980s. They also make SoftImage XSI.
Avid is now finding it hard to compete in the editing world, due to competition from Final Cut Pro. This saga that Howard is going through will make you see why.
Avid screwed everyone. They don’t support their own codecs after a few years, trying to force everyone to upgrade to new Avids.
Even if you have an old Mac, Avid will not allow you to download the codec from their website. It would cost them nothing to have just left it their for people to use.
The only way out is to go back to the old Avid that produced your MooV file. You can get the codec from this Avid. It’ll be in the System Folder of the old Mac OS. If I remember right, it’s in the subfolder called Preferences. Anyway, the file name will have ‘Avid’ in it, so you can search for it.
You can then put this codec in another Mac that is capable of using Mac OS9. New Mac’s can’t use Mac OS9.
You need to convert it from an Avid MooV into a more common format, like a normal Quicktime MOV in one of Apple’s standard codecs. Apple have supported all their old codecs over the years.
Either use a compositing app, or Quicktime Pro (from Apple’s website) to convert this file into another format.
Remember, you can’t use a Windows machine to do your conversion, as all the old Avid codecs are Mac-only. However, Quicktime Pro can convert a movie into an AVI, or a more common Quicktime codec.
Good luck, and a big thumbs down to Avid!