[Resolved] QuickTime Player Unable to Open MP4, MOV, or AVI Files

QuickTime is one of the most popular built-in media players for Mac. This media player lets Mac users enjoy various file formats, personal media, and web videos in great quality. It has a clean design and easy-to-use controls that make it accessible to all Mac users.

This media player is popular for its:

- It has a clean interface that enhances your viewing experience for all your favorite content. - It supports various Windows formats such as MPEG-4 files (MP4, MP3, m4V). - QuickTime Player features a handy slider that lets you enjoy movies at any playback speed according to your preference. - It delivers outstanding video quality, ensuring a fantastic viewing experience for users.

These features make it one of the most popular video players on Mac. However, there are times when you are unable to open a file in QuickTime; why is that?

Why can't QuickTime Player open video files?

There are times when QuickTime is unable to access your video files, which can be frustrating if you were hoping to show an important business video to your boss or watch your favorite web series. Before troubleshooting, it's good to know the possible reasons why your video won't play.

There can be several reasons why a video player is unable to play your video. Some of these reasons may include:

• Your system might be infected with malware. It's recommended to scan your Mac with a reliable antivirus software.
• The video file might be missing an encoder.
• Your file could be corrupted.
• There might be some internal errors in your Mac's software.
• It could be an internal issue with QuickTime Player. Your version might be outdated and requires an update.

Regardless of the reason, you can still play the video with the appropriate method to resolve the issue.

How to Effectively Troubleshoot Issues with QuickTime Player Not Opening

Here are five methods that can help you resolve issues with QuickTime Player not playing videos:

Fix 1: Repair corrupted videos using the Fixo Video Repair tool

Fixo Video Repair Tool is a dedicated video repair tool for Mac users. It repairs corrupted videos from Mac, SD cards, external hard drives, SSDs, HDDs, and other storage devices. You just need to add the damaged video and fix it with a single click.

It has an advanced video repair option. If the video repair fails, you can add some sample videos to help the tool analyze and successfully fix the corrupted file on your Mac. We have prepared a pictorial tutorial for you. In case you are not sure how to proceed, check out the steps below:

Step 1: Launch the Fixo tool on your Mac

Download and run the Fixo tool on your Mac. Click on “Video Repair” from the left panel, and then hit “Add Video” to upload your corrupted MP4/MOV/MKV/3GP video file.

Step 2: Select the Damaged Video and Start the Repair Process

Select the video you want to fix, then click the "Repair" button to start the single video repair process. To fix all videos, select them all and click "Repair All."

Step 3: Preview and Save the Repaired Video

Wait a few minutes for the tool to repair the damaged video, which should take as long as it does for the program to scan the file. When it's finished, click “View repaired” to preview the video. To save the repaired video, click “Save.” If you need to save multiple videos, select “Save All.”

Step 4. Run the Advanced Video Repair Process

If the Quick Repair didn't work, try the Advanced Repair mode. Click "Advanced Repair" to start the process. Upload a sample video, then click "Confirm."

Step 5: Preview and Save the Repaired Video

A detailed window about the corruption and the sample video will pop-up. Click on “Repair Now” to start the repairing process. Once it's done, you can view the repaired video and click on the “Save” button to save the repaired video file to your desired location.

Solution 2: Use a different codec

Digital video is compressed so that it can be combined with other multimedia streams, such as audio, and encoded using algorithms that enable the connection.

Codecs are also used to convert digital information into a readable format. So if your file won't open in QuickTime, your Mac might not have the codec needed to read the video. You can find out which codec your file uses by following these steps:

Step 1: In the open movie's Window panel, choose Show Movie Inspector.

< strong > Step 2 : A dialog box will appear showing the source, format, FPS, dimensions, file size, and bitrate of the video. Look under “Format” to see the codec for all of the media.

Here is a list of all the audio and video codecs that QuickTime supports:

Video codecs: MPEG-2 (OS X Lion or later), MPEG-4 Part 2, H.264, H.263, H.261

Audio codecs: AAC (MPEG-4 audio), HE-AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3

Make sure your video has one of these formats. If not, activate codec support for them. You can also download third-party apps to help QuickTime recognize all video and audio formats.

Fix 3: Play the file with a different media player

If none of the above solutions work for you, try using other media players installed on your Mac. When QuickTime fails to play your files, you can turn to VLC and MPlayer.

Here are some steps you can follow to play the video on VLC instead of QuickTime:

Step 1. Install VLC on your Mac, then right-click the video file you want to play in VLC.

Step 2: From the options that appear, select “Open With,” which will bring up a dialog box. In that box, choose the “VLC Player” option.

When you're done, you'll be able to play your video in the VLC media player.

Solution 4: Convert the file to a format that QuickTime supports

If your file doesn't play in QuickTime, try transcoding the original video to a codec that QuickTime Player supports. You can often change the file's extension to do this. Rename the file and replace the .mp4 extension with .avi.

You can also download third-party software to convert the video into a format that's compatible with QuickTime Player.

Repair 5: Repair corrupt video files using online video repair tools

At times, videos might get corrupted resulting in unplayable state in QuickTime media player. To fix the lost/corrupted video and make it playable on QuickTime media player, you need a professional and 100% secure video repair software.

< a href="https://repair.tools.com/">Online Video Repair Tool< /a> is a free video repair tool that can help you with unplayable videos. It supports fixing videos that have been damaged during recording, shooting, converting, or transferring. This free video repair tool allows you to fix corrupted videos on various devices, such as repairing YouTube videos or videos from PC, Mac, and mobile devices.

Repair OnlineWorks for all video types

It also supports all the video formats you could need, including .mp4, .mov, .mkv, .avi, mpg, and more!

Step 1: Open the online video repair tool and upload the problematic video.

Navigate to the Online Video Repair tool page: , click "Upload Video," or simply drag and drop the corrupted, broken, or unplayable video into the designated area on the right side for uploading.

Step 2: Enter a valid email address and start repairing the video

Please enter a valid email address, then click "Start Repair" to upload and fix your video.

Step 3. Wait for the automatic upload and repair to complete

This online repair tool will automatically upload and fix your damaged or corrupted video. You can keep the repair page open and continue with other tasks.

Step 4: Enter the extraction code and download your repaired video.

Once the repair process is over, you can preview the video in the right panel. Besides, you'll receive an email containing the video extraction code.

Locate the encoded file, and then reopen the Online Repair page. Click Download Video, enter the extraction code, and click OK to start downloading the repaired video.

Fix 6: Install the latest version of QuickTime

If your video isn't playing in QuickTime, try installing the latest version of QuickTime. QuickTime 7 Pro is the most recent media player that handles all video formats, allowing you to play and open any video file without issue.

To check your version, click the QuickTime Player tab, and then click About QuickTime Player.

Conclusions

While QuickTime usually plays videos without any codec errors, it can sometimes cause issues with playing your video. These methods should help with playing MP4 or MOV videos in QuickTime. Just read through and follow the steps to resolve any issue of QuickTime Player not opening my file.

It's also worth mentioning that Fixo Video Repair is one of the best tools to repair videos, allowing you to play them on media players without compromising audio or video quality. You can download this software worry-free, knowing that your videos won't be lost.