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Author Topic: Can't see movies  (Read 4555 times)

stamper

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Can't see movies
« on: June 21, 2013, 10:50:22 am »

I have a Nikon D600 camera and I have been trying to shoot movies. If I take a few movies and import them to my computer there are always three or four that can't be viewed in Windows media player. The rest can be seen. I have tried VLC viewer as well without success. The movies all have the Quick Time Movie type tag and the file size. However the ones that aren't recognized in the Windows media player don't have a time length and the ones that can be viewed have the time length. This is the warning I see.

<Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file.>

Surely if the codec was missing then it would be missing for all of the movies? TIA :'(

BTW I have checked the file for a windows permissions issue and they seem to have the same permissions as the viewed movies.

Checked the tab > Details in the properties of the movie file and there isn't any information listed in the Video part such as Length> Frame width> Frame height> Data rate>Total Bitrate> Frame rate. The movies that can be viewed has the information.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2013, 11:01:41 am by stamper »
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Christopher Sanderson

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2013, 12:33:32 pm »

When you transfer the MOVs off the card, what is the file size? Should it be less than a few KB, likely there is no video recorded.

I have had this happen (Panny GH3) when the Record button is pressed momentarily and then re-pressed. It seems the camera has time to create a MOV file container but one with no content...

stamper

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2013, 04:46:17 am »

Chris I have pressed the button a few times before I should have and pressed it again immediately to stop the recording. Regarding file size then in my latest attempts there were five files that ranged from 31,976 to 92,318 that aren't showing in the media viewer. Some of the files that showed are smaller. I am wondering if it is a corrupted card. It is a Lexar 32GB 400x card that was advertised as being suitable for video. Thanks for the answer. BTW the VLC viewer that I downloaded on a camera magazine recommendation has a couple of nasties in the download which I will have to deal with. Too many of the downloads nowadays have them attached. :o
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 04:49:24 am by stamper »
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Sareesh Sudhakaran

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2013, 09:52:12 am »

Can you play them back on the camera itself? If no, then the data is corrupted.

Secondly, have you tried a different card? If no problems surface with a different card (I don't have experience with Lexar, only Sandisk and Transcend), then the card might have issues.

Have you tried ingesting it in an NLE? If this works, then it might be a file-writing problem and you might want to get the camera checked.

Also, have you tried Quicktime? If this works, then I know there's a Nikon-Apple conspiracy...just kidding.

If VLC+QT+NLE can't play it back, then I usually give up hope.

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stamper

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2013, 10:15:20 am »

Thanks for the reply. I will try using a different card. So far the movies I have taken aren't important because I have been trying different exposure modes.

kaelaria

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2013, 12:19:24 pm »

I agree, sounds like corruption.  Try a different card reader and cable as well, or simply try transferring via USB right from the camera to test too.
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stamper

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2013, 10:22:02 am »

It seems like "operator error" I shot a lot of movies today and checked everyone afterwards in the LCD to see if they recorded. They did and all were transferred to my hard drive successfully. I think I may have been shutting the camera off too quickly and not allowing the movies to be written to the card before shutting down. You live and learn! :)

kaelaria

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2013, 12:33:44 pm »

I would be surprised if that was the issue.  On Canon bodies the power switch is the same as the stop button, nothing is lost.  The only way to do that would be to pull the battery mid-record.
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stamper

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Re: Can't see movies
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2013, 03:55:14 am »

If it was a corrupted card then is it possible that I was using a different part of the card? I doubt that is possible. Yesterday I shot more than I have done before so more of the card was used. The solution about shutting down too quickly was posted on another site where a poster was having the same problem. I have a Sand disk card in the post which means I will switch if the problem arises again. A software file inspector program I downloaded confirmed that there wasn't any information written to the card despite the fact that the information about the Quick time tag being present and the length of the movie was to be seen. However I am still open to suggestions with respect to the problem. Ironically it was a brand new card and in thirteen years of digital shooting I have never had a problem with corruption.
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