mp42 and 3gp4 - going crazy here... help?

[aiiro]

I have two files off my Nokia (which I don't have anymore) and I have installed every codec I could find and a bunch of players and converters and none of them seem to let me play the files. The files have *.mp4 extension and header looks something like this:

ftypmp42 mp423gp4isom mdat

GSpot gives me this:

mp42: MP4 v2 [ISO 14496-14]
- 3gp4: 3GPP Media (.3GP) Release 4
- isom: MP4 Base Media v1 [IS0 14496-12:2003]

And KMPlayer gives me this:

Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42

[Video Info]
Decoder - No codec

[Audio Info]
Decoder - No codec

And VirtualDUB just tells me it doesn't recognize it. Yes, I have installed the MP42 codecs, or at least I have installed the "Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V2", which I presume should be right. I have also installed 3GP codecs I am sure, because I can play "normal" 3GP files from my girlfriend's Nokia (3GP rel 5 + AMR). I have also played with some renderers and filters in KMPlayer settings but not completely understanding what I was doing, I might have f....d something up there. And of course I have searched hours for this and I am totally clueless - what the hell is this format and how can I play it?! This is the first time in 10 years that I get so stuck that I must post in a forum about it...

I must mention that I am still pretty newbie about what concerns playing video files on PC. All I know is that I need a player and a codec to play video files, all those filters and splitters and muxers are complete mystery to me. (If anyone has a good newbie guide in a nutshell to recommend for reading about these topics, I would also appreciate that).

Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

[Baldrick]

Have you tried vlc and smplayer? THey have built in decoders for most formats.

[byteguy]

Apple's Quicktime plays MP4 and 3GP files. I use it for videos from my LG phone.

Of course, loading "every codec you could find and a bunch of players" may actually make a mess out of your computer. You can get competing and conflicting codecs that way.

Hopefully, you aren't too far gone.

[aiiro]

OK, thanks for the suggestions, I will try Quicktime first and if it doesn't work, I'll try the two players I haven't tried before listed above. Although I had the impression that KMPlayer can do everything that VLC can + some more. Anyway, I will report back the results.

What concerns making a mess, then yes, I know, I have done that before, but I have usually been able to dig my way out of it with configuration or uninstall/reinstall. So far I haven't lost any ability to play other files, although I haven't checked DXVA and hardware decoding yet. Good point anyway.

[aiiro]

OK, I have some progress. One of the programs, I don't remember which one, gave me the error "moov atom not found" and searching that I read that it's impossible to fix those files. So I guess it means case closed.