Unsupported file type: broken reference movie in ...

This happened to me today, and I wanted to record this for search engines to find. It's probably a rare event and hopefully, dear reader, it will not happen to you.
So I import my FCE movie into iDVD, and iDVD tells me, "Unsupported file type: broken reference movie in (filename)", and won't import it. Okay, this movie is not self-contained, so let's export it again and see if that fixes things. No such luck. Other things I tried which did not help:
* Exported movie both as a self-contained movie and a not self-contained movie.
* Tried cleaning all FCE render files and rebuilding.
* Looking through system logs with Console app.
* Quit/restart iDVD.
* Rebooting.
* Seems that a LiveType fragment in FCE was not rendered completely for some reason. I drill down to find the red-lined unrendered fragments and render them. Then I drill down futher and find more. I render them all.
After a while, I notice that QuickTime Player can play the movie just fine, and I begin to doubt that I understand what "broken reference" means.
I finally try exporting the movie from FCE to a different filename. iDVD is OK with that! What's in a name? Something has remembered that the filename itself is bad. Must hunt down the cause....
Looks like some bad data is stored in the /Users/YOUR-NAME/Library/Caches/com.apple.idvd plist. It says the 'isValid' property for this filename is 'No'. That can't be good. I removed the entry for the troublesome filename with Property List Editor (developers have this) and restarted iDVD. That fixed it!
Those without Property List Editor can delete com.apple.idvd -- it's a cache, and iDVD will create a new one. Actually, a better practice is to rename the file until you're sure you haven't seriously broken iDVD.

I'm thinking I likely would have deleted both preference files. The one for iDvd as well as FCE and then started over with a fresh export of the QT ref. movie from FCE => iDvd
com.apple.iDvd.plist
com.apple.FinalCutExpress.plist
That is i'm guessing this is the correct plist for FCE since mine reads:
com.apple.FinalCutPro.plist
lastly, i'd do this:
click here:

Similar Messages

Unsupported File Type: Broken Reference

I am trying to add a movie to iDVD and it tells me "Unsupported File Type: Broken Reverence". I have recopied the movie to my files, but still receive this message. All the other clips that I made with iMovie HD have loaded fine. It is just this one. It is only 51 seconds long.

You can create two kinds of Quicktime movies: self-contained movies and reference movies.
Reference movies are very small files and are basically just a set of instructions with path references to the elements used in the movie. If you move, delete or rename ANY of the elements used in the reference movie, the file can not be opened and you will get a 'Broken Reference' error message.
Self-contained movies are an actual, rendered final movie.
It sounds like your problem movie is a reference movie and you have moved or deleted one or more of the elements used in making the movie.

Unsupported file type (.mov)

I am using Adobe After Effects CS4 (9...)
I am trying to create Andrew Krammer's ,,crumble" effect (http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/procedural_crumble/)
If you skip at 23:44 you will see that he is adding an imported .mov file.
Everytime i try to import a .mov file, i get the following error: After Effects error: Can't import file "NAME.mov": unsupported file type or extension. ( 0::1 )
I think I have what I need: QuickTime 7.7.1 (it's the latest version I found, right from Apple's website)
(I don't know if this really helps:) When i click File>Export> QuickTime is disabled, not selectable. It says: QuickTime 7.4.1 or later required (even though i have 7.7.1)
I do not really want to convert the .mov into anything else because I saw that the .mov file (from Andrew Krammer's video) don't display the background, only the dust (in my case). Other video types DO display the black background. The files I try to import to AE work (they can be opened with QuickTime, no errors)

What is your OS? After Effects requires QuickTime. Is your AE up to date?

How can a .mov be an "unsupported file type"?

I've saved a PowerPoint presentation as a .mov and it plays fine on its own (as a quicktime movie.) It also shows up as availabe file in my "movies" pane. However, when I try to drag it into a drop zone, I get the following error message: "Unsupported File Type: Unknown Format" but it's a .mov file!??
What's going on?
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I'm going to answer my own question so others may benefit
After some serious thinking I did the following and it worked: I imported the .mov file (in this case a PowerPoint presentation) into iMovie where it became a simple clip, then saved that as a new .mov, and now it's suddenly recognizable to iDVD! Simple, huh? I bet it works with all kinds of "unsupported file types" as long as you can get them into iMovie...
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

DVD-MOV mpegstream clip error: "File open error: unsupported file type"

I do it all the time this is the only time i've gotten this error, i use mpeg stream clip. I have a dvd I got from a DVR recorder, I open the dvd which shows 2 VOB files in the TS folder. the MENU gives "Warning: the stream may have timecode breaks." I "Fix Now" and it works fine. But i dont want the menu. the other VOB file in the TS folder, which should be the "movie I want" gives this error when opened,
"File open error: unsupported file type"
when I open anyway, I get an audio bar which has no sound, and no video.
ANY IDEAS? I've been on this for hours PLEASE

Hi,
Do you have the [MPEG-2 component|http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2> installed on your computer? If not, you will need it to be able to convert VOB files.

Importing .mov "Unsupported File Type : Unknown format" error

I have a .avi video from a camera and wanted to burn to a dvd to watch on dvd player. I converted the video to .mov but when I dragged into iDVD I received an error stating "Unsupported File Type : Unknown format". I converted to a .mp4 hoping that might work and had the same error. As far as I remembered .mov and .mp4 should work in iDVD and iMovie but I had the same error in both programs.
Converted to .mov with iSquint, and to .mp4 with Quicktime.
Any suggestions?

hi,
thank you for responding... i followed your instructions and this is what comes up when i try to open the movie:
QuickTime Player can't open_______.mov
To see if additional software is available that will enable QuickTime Player to open the movie, click Tell Me More.
i've done nothing different with this movie. it's the 2nd part of a longer project that i had to break into two parts. the first part was successfully burned to disk. i'm at a loss as to why this one is 'different' and why anything else might be required to make it work properly.
btw, here's the info from the entire project:
format: DV/DVCPRO - NTSC, 720 x 480 (853 x 480)
Linear PCM, 16 bit little-endian signed integer, 2 channels, 48000 Hz
fps: 29.97
data size: 42 GB
data rate: 30.31 Mbit/s
current size: 853 × 480
rsvp...
~ tj

Unsupported File Type : Unknown format - idvd surely knows .mov

I have just installed IDVD 7 03 (ilife'09) and it won't take in .mov or .mp4 or any other video format.
I'm on macbook pro 10.5.8.
Unsupported File Type : Unknown format - comes up when I drag it over.
Begging for help here! Have a client waiting on a DVD i promised!

I don't really know but feel doubtful as
DVD is as standard - interlaced SD-video with a frame rate of 25 fps (PAL) or 29.97 fps (NTSC)
the feeding it progressive material in HD and in some cases as 24 fps - must be problematic.
I would
a. Import my movie into iMovie
b. Share to Media Browser and as Large (not HD or other res. as result will suffer)
c. In iDVD import from Media button and Movie and here find Your movie and drop it into iDVD menu window
Yours Bengt W

Quicktime .movs error Premiere CC. Damaged or unsupported file type.

I'm having major problems with Quicktime .movs (anims & prores) in Premiere CC - which is making it completely unuseable.
Sometimes the files load and work but 90% of the time I get the unsupported file type error.
I've double checked the files are fine on various computers and they are, but Premiere CC refuses to work properly with them.
A project with 10 clips - each time I open a few open fine and work - but never all of them and it randomly changes which ones work and which ones are unsupported.
Any ideas would be most appreciated!
Windows 8 64bit
Premiere CC
Quicktime 7.7.4
Quadro 2000 - have tried both latest official driver and the later Beta driver with no difference.
Cheers

I wondered if the fact different ones load and then it stops was a memory issue.
Can you suggest the best way to encode my clips for HD Quality on Premiere CC for PC? Would it be image sequences?

IDVD: Files exported from iMovie 11, one works, one "Unsupported File Type : Unknown format"

I used footage from the same camera (taken on the same weekend using the same settings) in several different iMovie "projects". All were shared from iMovie 11 as "File" using the quality setting "SD 480p".
In Quicktime Player, all ".mp4" files will play and they show the following info in its inspector:
Format: H.264, 854 x 480
AAC, 48000 Hz, Stereo (L R)
FPS: 29.97
One exported file will drag, drop, and burn in iDVD just fine. The other two files show the error "Unsupported File Type : Unknown format" as soon as I try and drag them into iDVD.
The only difference I can find is that the one file that works is about 803MB, while the files that don't work are 1.87GB and 3.98GB.
All files and the iDVD project are in the same folder on my startup volume. I've tried deleting com.apple.idvd but that didn't help. I've tried rebooting and starting the iDVD project from scratch but I get the same results.
Mac OS 10.9.1
iMovie 10.0.1
iDVD 7.1.2
Any ideas?

Hello Bengt and thank you again for the replies.
As I mentioned in my previous posts, I'm using iMovie 10.0.1 which has very limited quality adjustments. In every case I chose the smallest size, which iMovie 10.0.1 calls "SD 480p (854 x 480)". I used this same setting on all exports.
I still have iMovie HD (6.0.4) and iMovie '11 (9.0.9) on my iMac so I tried both of them. In both cases, they could import only the file that works in iDVD. Both older versions of iMovie choked on the longer movies shared from iMovie 10.0.1.
I have many many hours into the editing of these clips and I do not want to have to go back and redo everything in an older version of iMovie. Might I be better off going with a different DVD creation software? Or am I out of luck? Because I can't really change iMovie 10.0.1's export settings, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to get it to export it as something that iDVD can use (really, I can't even tell why it's different and why iDVD doesn't like it).
The software "WonderShare DVD Creator" has no issue with any of the files I've exported from iMovie 10.0.1.

Can no longer send pictures in text that I once did. "Unsupported file type"

The other day my phone began saying I could not longer send pictures in MMS. Pictures I sent the previous week are now an unsupport file type. They are .jpg and .pngs. I have to take a screenshot of them all now, crop out the excess stuff, and then send them.

Taking a screenshot or cropping will tell nothing .mov or .wmv format for example looks the same, one is supported by Apple QuickTime the other with Microsoft Windows Media Player, it's all in the codec. What is the exact file type? Or in what format were they saved and with what?

Unsupported file type: unknown format

When importing .mov file into IDVD i get the following error messeage
unsupported file type: unknown format

Hi jdydel
Welcome to apple discussions. I see this is your very first question / post to the iDvd forum. I need to point out that we've been having others asking about files that originated as copy protected video (which we can't advise on due to apple's TofU) and then somehow where eventually converted to a .mov from their original source. We're assuming you aren't one of these folks and that when you post a question to this forum that we are NOT dealing with any copy protected material. You may wish to confirm this for us from the very start of your question/s.
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

Unsupported file type: unknown | File type: Video_ts.bup

I have a home made DVD made on a Windows machine. I made a copy of the DVD with Toast 6 without a problem. However, when I try to import the same file into iDVD it gives me the notice stated in the caption -- unsupported file type: unknown. Does anyone know a way to convert Video_ts.bup into a supported file type?
Thanks,
Jim

I don't really know but feel doubtful as
DVD is as standard - interlaced SD-video with a frame rate of 25 fps (PAL) or 29.97 fps (NTSC)
the feeding it progressive material in HD and in some cases as 24 fps - must be problematic.
I would
a. Import my movie into iMovie
b. Share to Media Browser and as Large (not HD or other res. as result will suffer)
c. In iDVD import from Media button and Movie and here find Your movie and drop it into iDVD menu window
Yours Bengt W

Trying to import dvd into iDVD,it says Unsupported File Type:Unknown format

Hi there,
I just had a home movie transferred from vhs to dvd. Now I am trying to import it into iDVD and when i try to the message appears : Unsupported File Type :Unknown format
Logical Volume Identifier/VIDEO_TS.
I wanted to put the home movie to music (it allowed me to import the song, not the video).
It says the kind of file is UNIX Executable File.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

to do this you would first need to convert the DVD (mpeg 2) to QT so you can import to iDvd which btw involves a quality hit. There are apps out there that can do this at a marginal level ... for example:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.products.htm

Error message "unsupported file type"

I know I saw this topic before, but never saw an answer. I am using mpeg streamclip...can convert all .vob files to .dv but cannot do the 1st .vob file and it is part of the home movie! I get the error message "unsupported file type". I don't have a problem with any of the other 4 .vob files.

Another thing to try is renaming it with a .htm or .html extension.
If that doesn't work either, do you have any other files from your old system? In particular, if you have your old places.sqlite file, you could use that to overwrite your new places.sqlite (bookmarks+history) file.

I tried to change the file type of the movie, but now I am unable to open/edit it in iMovie, HELP !

I tried to change the file type of the movie, but now I am unable to open/edit it in iMovie, HELP !

Thank you very much! This is exactly what I was looking for.
I appreciate your time and effort in solving my question : )

Unsupported file type: broken reference movie in ...

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for