Re: Downloading mp4 from drop box to my desktop not working

lcg · ‎05-13-2018

I have tried downloading mp4 videos from drop box to my desktop both individually and as a zipped file and the videos will not play in quicktime. The zipped folder does not open at all.

Mark · ‎05-13-2018

If its larger than about 2gb the zip files can get corrupt. Download them one at a time, or, install Dropbox (www.dropbox.com/downloading) and let them download locally that way.

You do, however, need to make sure that the computer has the appropriate codecs to play everything installed.

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behzod · ‎05-16-2018

Hi,

There might be number of reasons why QuickTime is not playing your mp4 files. But the main reason i believe is unsupported codec used in your MP4.

First of all, MP4 is just a container with packaged video and audio streams that can be encoded with number of different codecs. And Apple's QuickTime supports only certain video and audio codecs in your MP4 format. If your mp4 file has unsupported codecs QuickTime will not play it.

I'd recommend you to use VLC Media Player (https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html) or K-Lite codec pack that comes with Media Player Classic (https://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm). Both of them are free, constantly updated and support virtually all existing video and audio codecs.

View solution in original post

Mark · ‎05-13-2018

If its larger than about 2gb the zip files can get corrupt. Download them one at a time, or, install Dropbox (www.dropbox.com/downloading) and let them download locally that way.

You do, however, need to make sure that the computer has the appropriate codecs to play everything installed.

- - - -

Did this post help you? If so please mark it for some Kudos below.

Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Solution' button to help others find it.

Did this post not resolve your issue? If so please give us some more information so we can try and help - please remember we cannot see over your shoulder so be as descriptive as possible!

Lusil · ‎05-15-2018

Hi @lcg, thanks for posting your question on the Forum & welcome aboard! :ship: I just wanted to follow-up on this matter.

Were you able to check back with @Mark's suggestion or were you able to resolve your concern in the end? If the situation persists though, could you let me know the size of the files & that of the .zip folder? Could you also provide me with a screenshot of what you’re seeing, including any error message?

Please keep us updated & if you have any questions, please feel free to get back to us here. Thanks in advance, and I hope you have a great week ahead!

Lusil
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

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behzod · ‎05-16-2018

Hi,

There might be number of reasons why QuickTime is not playing your mp4 files. But the main reason i believe is unsupported codec used in your MP4.

First of all, MP4 is just a container with packaged video and audio streams that can be encoded with number of different codecs. And Apple's QuickTime supports only certain video and audio codecs in your MP4 format. If your mp4 file has unsupported codecs QuickTime will not play it.

I'd recommend you to use VLC Media Player (https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html) or K-Lite codec pack that comes with Media Player Classic (https://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm). Both of them are free, constantly updated and support virtually all existing video and audio codecs.

DrSteven · ‎05-25-2020

This worked, but I no idea why. If I use Finder and go to Dropbox most all video, show as not playable, but the data are there. I also found that trying to copy from Dropbox and paste on my desktop did not work. I then used the Dropbox app, and though I only tried it for a few videos, it worked. Why????

fancy_socks · ‎05-15-2021

I just used the desktop app to sync a folder of videos and I'd say 75% of them did not work after syncing to desktop. I downloaded one directly and it worked.

Comparing the two, I noticed that the working one had the following in More Info (when I used command-I to get info.)

Codec: AAC, mp4

Dimensions: 1800x900

The broken media files do not have any codec, dimensions, duration or color profile stuff.

Dropbox: why are my files that sync via the app not retaining those pieces of data?