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Fix QuickTime audio for AVI movies from digital cameras Apps
After I recently reinstalled my OS, Flip4Mac, and Perian, I noticed that my sound didn't work for movies from my digital camera in iPhoto. A bit of googling found that this appeared to be a more common issue starting with Quicktime 7.5. I likely had this same problem before my hard drive died, but I wasn't watching lots of old camera movies.

When playing the camera video and looking at the information window (Command-I), I noticed that my Sony CyberShot camera video was listed as "Motion JPEG OpenDML," but listed no audio track. Through trial and error, I started removing each QuickTime component file (one by one) in these directories:
  • The top-level /Library/QuickTime folder
  • My user's Library/QuickTime folder
  • The system's own /System/Library/QuickTime folder
When I removed the QuickTimeImporter.component file found in the system's QuickTime folder, my sound returned! The date on this component is from May 2008, so I suspect this is a result of Apple protecting the OS during a recent security update. If I recall correctly, one of the security updates discussed protection from from malicious out-of-bound conditions that can exist in these sloppy implementations of so-called codecs used by many cameras. I'm thinking this component may only be a simple filter or such to shield the OS from the possibly horribly broken video files.

I hope this tip is helpful to many.

[robg adds: I always hesitate to remove key system components, as you really can't be certain what other functions those files may handle -- nor what security risks they may protect you from. If you're going to try this approach, I recommend keeping a backup copy of the file, just in case you need to put it back. I would also contact Sony about the problem, hoping for an official solution from the company.]
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Fix QuickTime audio for AVI movies from digital cameras | 4 comments | Create New Account
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Fix QuickTime audio for AVI movies from digital cameras
Authored by: tatilsever on Sep 03, '08 10:46:32AM

I've had a similar problem recently, where I could not hear any sound from the movies taken with my Casio camera. In my case, I had to remove the Casio AVI component from its Quciktime folder (sorry I forgot where exactly it was located) and installed Perian instead.



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Fix QuickTime audio for AVI movies from digital cameras
Authored by: Dr. T on Sep 03, '08 12:42:45PM

Trashing the import filter makes sense. I think robg is being overly cautious. The odds of picking up malware by connecting your own camera to your own computer are lower than the odds of winning a 50 million dollar state lottery. Perhaps a technically savvy enemy could 'borrow' your camera without your knowledge and modify it to send malware when you import movies. But, if that's the case, then computer malware woes will be the least of your problems.



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Fix QuickTime audio for AVI movies from digital cameras
Authored by: arcticmac on Sep 03, '08 01:09:00PM

I don't think robg is referring to the possibility of getting malware from your camera. The components are likely active for *any* media you may open (it's not likely to exist *solely* to protect the system from camera files), so by deleting the component, you open yourself up to attacks from videos you may encounter on the web, which certainly could be malicious.

The best course is probably to disable the component while converting all your videos to a different format, then re-enable it as soon as your done and before you do anything else.



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A half week later...
Authored by: ljkopen on Sep 04, '08 07:19:44AM
So I submitted my hint this past weekend -- and over the past few days have noticed two minor issues having this file missing.

* Some mounted .dmg's display a dark blank backdrop -- instead of the installing application's folder picture. This didn't prevent me from re-installing any of my trusty applications.
* Other web quicktime content is sometimes not properly figured out. Either I get a black box -- or the quicktime swoosh with a question mark.

In the end I put the file back... but now know where to go when the family is looking at pictures and movies over the upcoming holidays.

We'll likely never hear from apple on this as these camera movies are really not structured in a correct codec. When iMovie 08 was released we learned with that apple will generally break previous functional items to maintain security. I can not really blame them -- that's what codec's and standards are for.

Perhaps I'll transcode my previously imported moves someday (with MPEG streamclip <http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/win/58718>;) -- and in doing so lose my tags and correct timestamps. :( I just do not plan to take that action today.

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