<p>Well the program that encoded the file that works was Apple QuickTime so not much of a suprise that it's working. QuickTime can be a little picky when it comes to mpeg4/h264 encoded files.
I looked at the files and possible factors are the encoding profile and maybe the GOP setting. Basline Profile Level 3.0 for the broken one and Main Profile Level 3.1 for the working one. GOP setting of M=1, N=120 and N=1 for the broken one. Could be that the Quicktime Plugin wasn't made to handle that.</p>

<p>An easy fix would be to re-encode it with Quicktime Pro or the free and open source tool Handbrake <a href="http://handbrake.fr/" rel="nofollow">http://handbrake.fr/</a> and choose one of the Mobile presets for apple devices or simply the "Normal" preset.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-22T23:19:55.013Z
2014-04-22T23:19:55.013Z
timonsku
<p>I have a video that fails to play in the QuickTime plugin in Internet Explorer on Windows 7, but it plays fine in the standalone QuickTime player. I suspect that this may be an encoding problem, and I wanted to ask the experts. I did not personally encode this video, but I am assigned to troubleshoot the problem. If it is, in fact, an encoding problem, I would like to be able to point to specific evidence. </p>

<p>The file: <a href="https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/digital/video/9781587143991/ccent_icnd1_media/video/0_0_0_0_0_icnd1_video_intro.mp4" rel="nofollow">https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/digital/video/9781587143991/ccent_icnd1_media/video/0_0_0_0_0_icnd1_video_intro.mp4</a></p>

<p>A file that works (if it helps): <a href="https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/digital/video/9780321765147/9780321765147_01.mp4" rel="nofollow">https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/digital/video/9780321765147/9780321765147_01.mp4</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-19T21:35:49.410Z
Looks pretty standard, and nothing I tried it on complained. MediaInfo says there's a stream with ID #2 it calls "Menu". Could that be messing up IE? What is the failure -- does it play at all, or play badly (corruption etc)?
Jim Mack
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-19T22:22:41.127Z
Have you tried it on more than one computer?  My guess is something is wrong with the configuration of how IE tries to use QuickTime on that particular computer.
AJ Henderson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T13:23:50.877Z
@JimMack It doesn't play at all. I get a question mark over the QuickTime icon. I wasn't able to determine any way to access an error log or similar from QuickTime.
Dustin Rasener
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T13:24:53.887Z
@AJHenderson I'm able to play the video in many other ways. I'm trying to fix this particular use case not for me, but for other users who have this issue. A workaround is OK (i.e. use another browser, or download and open in QT proper), but a fix on our side would be preferable.
Dustin Rasener
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T13:29:24.677Z
@DustinRasener - I thought I mentioned it, but I see now I did not.  I tried your link in IE and it works fine on my computer.  My guess is that the problem is either the client or the way it is embedded.  Are you able to include a link to where the video is actually embedded?
AJ Henderson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T13:37:14.503Z
@AJHenderson I get this issue in a non-embedded scenario. It's attempting to play through the QuickTime plugin, in the browser (IE 8), when I navigate directly to the video. Screenshot: http://imgur.com/EypGeFj Thanks for your time and attention on this! It's perplexing.
Dustin Rasener
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T13:41:57.330Z
@DustinRasener - I've tried it on two computers so far.  On one without Quicktime, clicking the link you provided results in Windows Media Player opening and playing the file fine.  On one with Quicktime installed, the video plays in browser just fine.  I do have a bunch of codecs and additional video support on the machine that I tried with Quicktime though, so I'll give it another shot tonight with one that is closer to a consumer machine.  So far, I have not been able to replicate the problem in any version of IE though, so I doubt it is exclusively the fault of the video file.
AJ Henderson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-20T13:46:48.757Z
@AJHenderson I agree that it probably isn't the fault of the video file, per se. My suspicion is that the file has a ... quirk? that the QuickTime plugin is not able to handle, while other players can.
Dustin Rasener
<file-formats><encoding>
Video fails to play in QT browser plugin. Encoding problem?
Dustin Rasener
# Video fails to play in QT browser plugin. Encoding problem?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-19)

I have a video that fails to play in the QuickTime plugin in Internet Explorer on Windows 7, but it plays fine in the standalone QuickTime player. I suspect that this may be an encoding problem, and I wanted to ask the experts. I did not personally encode this video, but I am assigned to troubleshoot the problem. If it is, in fact, an encoding problem, I would like to be able to point to specific evidence.

The file: <https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/digital/video/9781587143991/ccent_icnd1_media/video/0_0_0_0_0_icnd1_video_intro.mp4>

A file that works (if it helps): <https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/digital/video/9780321765147/9780321765147_01.mp4>

**Tags:** file-formats, encoding

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Looks pretty standard, and nothing I tried it on complained. MediaInfo says there's a stream with ID #2 it calls "Menu". Could that be messing up IE? What is the failure -- does it play at all, or play badly (corruption etc)?  
> **username_2**: Have you tried it on more than one computer?  My guess is something is wrong with the configuration of how IE tries to use QuickTime on that particular computer.  
> **username_0**: @JimMack It doesn't play at all. I get a question mark over the QuickTime icon. I wasn't able to determine any way to access an error log or similar from QuickTime.  
> **username_0**: @AJHenderson I'm able to play the video in many other ways. I'm trying to fix this particular use case not for me, but for other users who have this issue. A workaround is OK (i.e. use another browser, or download and open in QT proper), but a fix on our side would be preferable.  
> **username_2**: @DustinRasener - I thought I mentioned it, but I see now I did not.  I tried your link in IE and it works fine on my computer.  My guess is that the problem is either the client or the way it is embedded.  Are you able to include a link to where the video is actually embedded?  
> **username_0**: @AJHenderson I get this issue in a non-embedded scenario. It's attempting to play through the QuickTime plugin, in the browser (IE 8), when I navigate directly to the video. Screenshot: http://imgur.com/EypGeFj Thanks for your time and attention on this! It's perplexing.  
> **username_2**: @DustinRasener - I've tried it on two computers so far.  On one without Quicktime, clicking the link you provided results in Windows Media Player opening and playing the file fine.  On one with Quicktime installed, the video plays in browser just fine.  I do have a bunch of codecs and additional video support on the machine that I tried with Quicktime though, so I'll give it another shot tonight with one that is closer to a consumer machine.  So far, I have not been able to replicate the problem in any version of IE though, so I doubt it is exclusively the fault of the video file.  
> **username_0**: @AJHenderson I agree that it probably isn't the fault of the video file, per se. My suspicion is that the file has a ... quirk? that the QuickTime plugin is not able to handle, while other players can.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-04-22. Score: 1

Well the program that encoded the file that works was Apple QuickTime so not much of a suprise that it's working. QuickTime can be a little picky when it comes to mpeg4/h264 encoded files.
I looked at the files and possible factors are the encoding profile and maybe the GOP setting. Basline Profile Level 3.0 for the broken one and Main Profile Level 3.1 for the working one. GOP setting of M=1, N=120 and N=1 for the broken one. Could be that the Quicktime Plugin wasn't made to handle that.

An easy fix would be to re-encode it with Quicktime Pro or the free and open source tool Handbrake <http://handbrake.fr/> and choose one of the Mobile presets for apple devices or simply the "Normal" preset.


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