.avi to .mov conversion nightmare

[towarmforacoat]

I needed to convert some .avi files to .mov files by exporting them in Quicktime.

I was using a PC and a Mac that were networked to do this.

Naturally, I went with the G4 to convert the files.

When I opened the .avi in Quicktime on the G4, the videos were black, but the audio was still there. I converted the files anyway, and upon completion, the videos were instead white with audio, and now a .mov.

When I checked the files on the PC, the .mov files were white, but the .avi files were fine. Stupidly, I deleted the .avi files and now all that remain are the white .mov files on both computers. I tried converting them back to no avail.

I converted the remainder of the .avi files to .mov files on the PC with no problem.

Can anything else be done to save the other footage?

[Baldrick]

You could try play the mov files with another player like vlc media player and see if it's also white to rule out any playback problem. If it's white you can't do anything to restore the video.

[towarmforacoat]

Yeah, its totally white.

What is the cause for this? Is is my fault?

[poisondeathray]

QT has poor support for all things AVI, even if the actual video codec used is compatible, the AVI container often makes it incompatible for QT.

I think there are some plugins that you can download for Macs, but you probably didn't have the correct one. When you did the conversion to MOV with QT, it basically "recorded" what it saw - which is nothing (white screen). Nothing you can do to fix this.

[towarmforacoat]

Thanks guys.

Good to know for the future.

Now I just have to figure a way to tell my boss.