MOV file downloads to Dropbox with audio but without video

[Ryan44]

When MOV videos from my wife's iPhone download to our Dropbox desktop app, we can't view them.  The audio transfers but there is no video with it (black screen only).  I do not have this issue with my Android phone, which transfers as a MP4 file.

I also noticed that we are able to view her MOV videos from Dropbox.com, just not the desktop app.  I unistalled and reinstalled the Dropbox desktop app, but the problem persisted.

I use the desktop app to backup these videos on an external hard drive and have not been able to find a way to do this via Dropbox.com.  Please help me fix this issue!

Thanks,

Ryan

[Bgmello]

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@Bgmello wrote:

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@Rich wrote:

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@Bgmello wrote:

Only mov files from the iphone 7 with iOS 11 do not work.

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And there's your problem... iOS 11. But before we get into why, remember that where video is concerned, the file extension (.mov, .mpg, etc.) means very little. That's just a container file for the encoded video within. In order to play that encoded video, you need a player that not only recognizes the file type (remember, just a container) but also a proper CODEC installed that is capable of decoding the video content within the container.

Ok, moving on...

Prior to iOS 11, the CODEC used by Apple was H.264/MPEG-4. This was (is?) the most popular video format, widely supported by almost all media applications and many hardware devices. Windows Media Player, Quicktime, etc., all supported it out of the box. I'm betting that your iPad hasn't been updated to iOS 11 yet, and this is why videos from it continue to work; they're H.264 videos in a .MOV container.

With iOS 11, Apple is now using HEVC, or High Efficiency Video Coding. HEVC videos are still saved in a .MOV container, but the video within is encoded as H.265/MPEG-H. This new encoding requires that either your media player supports HEVC videos (most don't, as of this writing), or that you have a proper CODEC installed as well to handle the decoding.

If you have a Mac and are running one of the newest versions of macOS, this shouldn't be an issue as Apple has obviously included support for their own filetypes, but other operating systems or older versions of macOS/OS X will require updated players and CODECs. VLC, in my opinion one of the best media players available, supports these new video files.

There are A LOT of articles online that describe this much better than I ever could. If you need more information, I'd suggest you Google for iOS 11 HEVC.

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Thanks!

I believe you got the point! Right now I´m updating my video codecs to solve this. 

I will post the conclusion as soon as possible.

Best Regards,

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Codec updated! Problema solved!

Thanks a lot!

[rutholin]

Did not resolve. VCL can't play it either. Freemake Converter can

't open it . How can I play this file?

[dtcom]

I have the same problem, but it is Dropbox that is the issue.

When I upload a file to Dropbox and download it to my Windows computer, I get audio only.

When I email the same file, it works perfectly.  The problem occurs going through Dropbox.

[ivydst]

I have the same issue, and I agree that Dropbox seems to be the issue.  If I copy the .mov file from my iphone to dropbox, and then to my laptop, it has no video.  It will play on certain players, but I can't convert it using RealConverter, and Camtasia doesn't like it either.    If I copy it from my iphone to google drive and then to my laptop, it plays just fine everywhere.

[SGP1]

I am still having this same problem. I’ve had a professional account for years and never had this problem before. I started about 6months ago. Some of my .mov files will play, others will play only 3seconds of audio but be a black screen. Sometimes if I download the video to my iPhone or iPad, and upload it again it will be okay. The files do not seem corrupted at all they are just completely inaccessible on Dropbox. I’m unable to share links as it will not work for anyone I share the link with. It doesn’t play on my Windows laptop or Dropbox.com or any other device. It occurs on random files, some that I used to view with no problem at all but now it won’t play. I’ve googled and searched Dropbox forums for help and it seems most of the time advice is given outside of Dropbox but Dropbox is my problem in this case. I run a business and pay for an account and I shouldn’t be having issues on perfectly good files. 😞

[PJKL]

Movie will open in dropbox and play appropriately. I also just used the suggestion to open it in VLC. My problem comes from trying to put the video in iMovie. The sound is still the only thing that appears.