Save 'unsavable' QuickTime movies

Nov 02, '01 02:55:49PM

Contributed by: robg

MacFixIt's OS X Page published a tip today for saving "unsavable" QuickTime movies. QuickTime content producers have the option of indicating that a certain clip should not be savable, which disables the "Save" option normally available within QuickTime Pro. MacFixIt details the steps necessary to save a movie from IE using only GUI tools. Give it a read if you'd like a GUI method for saving QT clips.

On the other hand, you can also use the Terminal to accomplish the same result in fewer steps (although it can be argued whether it's easier or harder than the GUI method!). If you'd like to know how, read the rest of this article. NOTE: You'll need the Developer Tools installed for this to work.

Per the MacFixIt article, make sure the "Save movies in disk cache" option is enabled in the QT preferences panel. In a browser (I used Mozilla), locate the clip you wish to save and let it spool completely to your drive (you don't need to watch it all, though). Once it's spooled, do the following in a Terminal session:

  1. Copy the downloaded file to your desktop (for ease of use):
    cd "/tmp/501/Temporary Items"
    ls -al
    This will list all the files in the Temporary Directory. The cached movie should start with "QTPlugInTemp...". Type
    cp QTPl[tab] ~/Desktop/MyMovieFile
    Replace [tab] with the actual tab character; this will auto-complete the filename, assuming you only have one movie cached. Obviously, change MyMovieFile to whatever you'd like to name the movie.

  2. We need to tell the Mac that this is a QuickTime movie. Still in the terminal, do this:
    SetFile -t "MooV" -c "TVOD" ~/Desktop/MyMovieFile
    This sets the type and creator for the movie file.

  3. There is no step three. You're done. Make sure you read the notes, though, for a way to make this even easier the next time!
The icon should change itself into a QT icon if you simply move or copy the file to a new location from your desktop. If you'd rather force it, follow the steps on MacFixIt for setting the preferred application. Although the GUI method is much less intimidating, I find the Terminal to be much more effective in this particular example (hence the beauty of having both methods available!).

NOTES: If the "SetFile" command does not work, the command may not be in your path. You can either type "/Developer/Tools/SetFile" instead, or add the /Developer/Tools path to your normal shell. To do the latter, you need to do a couple quick things in the terminal -- 'mkdir ~/Library/init' then 'mkdir ~/Library/init/tcsh' then 'cd ~/Library/init/tcsh'. This creates two new directories and changes into them. Then type 'pico path' and enter one line:
setenv PATH ${PATH}:/Developer/Tools:/Developer/Applications
Make sure you put a carriage return at the end of the line! Save and quit the editor and then close and re-open the terminal, and the Developer Tools are now part of your path.

If you want to do this often, consider creating an alias to change the type and creator. In the same directory as above (~/Library/init/tcsh), create or edit (if existing) a file called 'aliases.mine'. Add this one line
alias makemv 'SetFile -t "MooV" -c "TVOD" \!:1'
(again, make sure there's a carriage return at the end). Save the file, quit, and close/reopen the terminal. In the future, just type makemv NameOfMovieFile and you'll change the type and creator with one quick command!

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