Ive got a .Moov file that was exported from an old Avid system.
Its suppose to be a QT.
I am downloading through FTP to a PC from the MAC at work.
When I try to play it on a PC, it says QT doesnt understand the file, even if I rename it to .qt or .mov.
But it plays fine on the MACs at work.
hmmm…is that because theres some codec that Avid or Final cut puts on these macs, so they can read a .Moov?
or is the file getting corrupted by FTPing it?
THANKS!
wow .moov Thats from like QT 4 or earlier. Some of our newer MACs here at work won’t even read those files. I had to convert it to a .mov in QT Pro on one of the older MACs so the newer MACs and the PCs could read it. If its not working on your PCs, its got a codec in it that PCs don’t have. I would say export it from QT Pro with no codec, or something like the animation codec, then if it needs to be web ready use Cleaner or something.
If it’s from an old Avid system, it probably needs a custom Codec to play. Most online editing systems have custom codecs.
I would do some hunting online and try to find an codec to read those files.
Originally posted by m_luscombe
If it’s from an old Avid system, it probably needs a custom Codec to play.
If the moov was exported from an older AVID system it definitely has a codec in it. Thats probably why I had to use one of our older MACs to re-export our .moov’s to a QT format w/o a codec cause the newer MACs we have are Final Cut Pro, not AVID. :buttrock:
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!
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.
It’s in Extensions folder 
Originally posted by Eugeny
It’s in Extensions folder
hey, you’re right there, Eugeny. It’s been a while since I used the old Mac OS9. Everything on OS X is completely different.
Nice explanation Wanker, very thorough. I didn’t feel like typing all that in my response. Too lazy. :shrug: But yeah, you basically gotta get the codec from that computer that the QT was done in, then reexport it with QT Pro or something w/o any codec, or with a normal one like animation. We had this problem at work with a bunch of video clips I had exported on the older machines that we wanted to used in newer spots…so i ended up having to export them with QT Pro into a newer codec for the other machines to read…plus making it a .mov file not .moov. A PITA, but it worked.
Thanks for all the HORRIBLE info, but Im going to just have to get them to redigitize on FinalCut!
Thanks guys!
Avid still stands firmly on the top of my list of the companys I will never buy anything from again. They had the worst tech support I have ever come across, and it was the most expensive.
It amazed me that a company could charge so much for a product, then turn around and stab you in the back and say we are totally dumping your product, upgrade of forget about ever getting support again. What a bunch of jerks.
Avid is getting it’s Karma.
It’s professional editing market is collapsing. People no longer have to pay such huge prices when they can now move to Final Cut Pro instead.
Also, FCP is capable of doing many things that an Avid (of multiples the price) can’t.
The proprietary video cards inside the Avid systems are not that good. You get better vision quality from much cheaper cards like AJA / Kona.
Plus, hiding their old video codecs so nobody can use them is unforgivable.
Remember when Quicktime first appeared on the old Mac OS of yesteryear. It had codecs like ‘Cinepak’ and ‘Animation’ and others.
Today’s Quicktime has been ported to new OS’s like Windows XP and Mac OSX. But those old codecs are still there. Still usable. This means the original Quicktimes still play on today’s hardware and operating systems.
Avid does the opposite and actively tries to prevent users from accessing older Avid codecs, even though they were previously available for download.
Because Avid’s editing market is shrinking, they’re trying to move into other markets where there is less competition, like TV newsroom automation systems.
Originally posted by Wanker
[B]Avid is getting it’s Karma.
Very true. Karma is a b!tch sometimes. :wavey:
Because Avid’s editing market is shrinking, they’re trying to move into other markets where there is less competition, like TV newsroom automation systems. [/B]
I hope they fail here too, just for being such a useless company when it came to there overly expensive video editing products. 
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