Not playing back .mov

Question

I have 10.8.5 osX and QT 10.2 -
I have exported .mov from iPhoto into a folder, and when I open in QT I get this..
QuickTime Player can't open "IMG_0917-2.MOV" because the movie's file format isn't recognized. I clicked on the "tell me more" button to find out what formats QT supports, and of course, .mov is one of them. So why is it not letting me playback? I've tried several movies, and made sure they are not just images and are really .mov files (my initial mistake - i didn't export from iphoto as "original")..
I'm sure this has been asked but I can't find any threads that give me an answer.,.
Thanking you! Bec

Answer 1

Sorry! I'm an "Early to bed. Early to rise." type of person. Just got up, noted you additional comments, and will now try to respond to some of the topics you mentioned...
Ok. I'm not sure but it was taken on an iPhone 3, exported into iphoto then exported out of iphoto into a photo as "original file type".
Any "source" video taken on an iPhone should be QT compatible with all Apple QT based apps—including QT X player, QT 7 player, GarageBand, iMovie, QuickLook previewer, etc. If it isn't, then the workflow used to move, sync, copy, or otherwise "export" the video content from the source device to the target application would normally be suspected of causing playback problems or file corruption. However, since you later indicated the source files do play, it looks as if you don't have a problem here. Do, however, wish to point out that checking of the "source" video file managed by iPhoto is the first logical step in tracing iPhoto "export" problems.
Basically I'm trying to clean up my iphoto, becuase I have used it with albums (rather than smart albums or events), and it still has every photo ever imported into it, including ones deleted and not used in the albums, as I have tried several things to delete these unused/unwanted pics, but there are thousands of them.
Not sure if you are aware that the deletion of files in iPhoto is a "multi-stage" process. This means that iPhoto "protects" its content by layering user options. For instance, deleting a photo or video in iPhoto merely "marks" it for deletion. To physically delete a file from iPhoto, you must also use the "Empty Trash" option to complete the file deletion process. Further, the deletion of "modified" file content does not normally delete the "original" source file—rather, it merely deletes the "reference" file created by iPhoto as a particular edited "version" of the original file.
If I'd realised earlier I would have nipped it in the bud but we are way past going thru every single pic to see if it's been used.. So the easiest thing to do is export all the pics / vids from the albums (ie photos to keep) and erase everything from iphoto, and reimport.
I would normally trash the files currently "marked for deletion" and see what is left. That is, if after trashing files you find the "original" versions of files you want deleted are still present, then you would need to re-mark and trash them also to physically remove them from iPhoto. Of course, you can also do it your way but this means you have to spend the time and waste additional file space saving the "keeper" files to a target location before deleting the entire iPhoto library and then re-importing the "keepers." To me, your way seems like more work.
I wanted to make sure these movies work before deleting the originals. Maybe there is a different way to do all this?
There are hundreds of short videos, so to reexport each one into a different format is going to be very time consuming. Any suggestions?
Well, I can't fault your caution here. All too often users seem to make the deletions and only later determine that their workflow corrupted their supossedly "saved" standalone backup files. Actually, there are many ways to "backup" your library. These may include but are not limited to...
1) Backing up the entire library to a secondary target drive using the built-in create library option and then perform your deletions on one library retaining the other as a comlete and total backup library.
2) Opening the iPhoto library at the Finder level and copying the "Master" (or "Year within the Master" or "Month within a Year within the Master" or "Calendar date within a Month within a Year within the Master") folder to a target location where you can delete all unwanted content normally using either Finder and/or app file preview/player/delete options.
3) Of course, the easiest way to create a "Keeper" file folder might be to simply create the target folder on a drive, select the files in the iPhoto window that you wish to keep, and simply "drag" them to the target folder. Then you can delete the original library content and re-import the "Keeper" folder collection of files. (Just remember that what you "drag," whether the original version of the file or its modified copy version, is what gets copied to the target location.)
4) Use the essentially same workflow described in paragraph 3 but use the built-in copy/paste user option to copy one or more iPhoto selected files to a target folder.
There are too many options and variations on options to get more specific here. Basically, you need to determine which type of a workflow is most comfortable for you to use and go with it.
There are hundreds of short videos, so to reexport each one into a different format is going to be very time consuming. Any suggestions?
While there may be a maximum number of files that can be selected simultaneously for copy to a target location, I have yet to surpass it. (My guess would be 65,535 might be a reasonable minimum limit and I don't have that many files.)
So! It will playback the original file.. so all i have to do is work out how to separate the used pics and videos from the unused ones.. which is a different matter.
Depending on how many files you wish to copy in a single batch, I would recommend the following:
1) Open iPhoto.
2) Select the window in which you wish to work. For instance, if you wish to be able to select from all files sequentially or non-sequentially, open the "Photos" window. If you wish to work from a sub-set of files, open a general "Events", "Faces", "Places", or sub element like a particular event or album.
3) Select the files (all, sequential, non-sequential, or individual) you want to keep in either their original or modified form. (I normally select only the originals for backup and select modified versions when moving specific file versions to another application for use in their modified form.)
4) Drag or copy the selected files to your target folder (or application).
Hope this may help.