That old chestnut - Quicktime

me_again wrote on 5/18/2026, 6:00 AM

Greetings,

For years now, I've been using Quicktime Alternative 1.8.1 mainly because I occasionally use MPEG Streamclip which requires it and MS2025 works with it.

During a bout of certifiable stupidity I uninstalled Qalternative. "Oops" I thought, well the Anglo Saxon version anyway, and reinstalled it.

Mpeg Streamclip works but the MOV clips in MS2025 I'm editing load but the viewer is black and the timeline files are white. I thought "oops" again and loaded in the latest version QA322 with the same result.

After a couple of cups of tea, I uninstalled the Alternative and installed Quicktime v779. MS2025 now plays the MOVs as it should BUT Mpegstreamclip wants the MPEG2 plugin for Quicktime which is nowhere to be found.

Any suggestions?

a slightly miffed AndyW

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 5/18/2026, 8:22 AM

@me_again

Hi Andy

. . . . QT + Any suggestions? . . . .

Easiest route is to convert the MOV files with Handbrake, to standard h.264/AAC encoding. I have batch converted all my 'normal' MOV files.

For the MOV files I create with an Alpha channel, ie PNG or Quicktime Animation encoding format, I had to resort to installing QT again, 😱.

Handbrake, and many other converters I have tried, do not handle the Alpha channel.

John EB

me_again wrote on 5/18/2026, 9:03 AM

@johnebaker

Thanks for the reply John. It's not so much the opening or converting of MOVs that's the annoyance, it's that Quicktime Alternative worked for both Movie Studio and MPEG Streamclip for ages but on reinstallation, because of my carelssness, now it's one or the other - obviously MS wins.

I was hoping that I just needed to do X and add Y then all would return to the previous normality but nothing is that simple. I'll put up with the current situation.

As for Aplha Channels - that's another dark art I've not delved into. Shutter Encoder seems to have something about Alpha Channels though, Whether it's what you want/need is another story

I have delved into FFMPEG though and I find it fascinating but that is. yet again, another story.

AndyW

AAProds wrote on 5/18/2026, 9:39 AM

@me_again

Roll your system back a couple of days to before you started messing with things, Andy.

Andy? Andy?!! 😂

johnebaker wrote on 5/18/2026, 10:01 AM

@me_again

Hi Andy

What does MediaInfo say the encoding format used in the original MOV files is?

Shutter Encoder was the first one I tried to convert the Alpha channel files - there appears to be no setting for the Alpha channel encoding to AVI.

John EB

me_again wrote on 5/19/2026, 2:12 AM

@johnebaker

What does MediaInfo say the encoding format used in the original MOV files is

I was conitnuing an edit with the alleged Cineform movs I discussed in an earlier topic on here. I thought I'd persevere with them rather than convert them.

@AAProds

Roll your system back a couple of days to before you started messing with things

Ahh, yes, well, hmmm. I was wondering who'd be the first to spot that idea 😄😉. I was going to do that anyway 😇😏. It seems to have worked.

AndyW