# No QuickTime Preferences?



## pinnedmoth

I own a MacBook Pro (Version 10.6.8). Recently, I have encountered problems with audio/video synchronization on both iTunes and QuickTime, although VLC runs the movie files perfectly. One promising solution I found is to edit the QuickTime settings in System Preferences; however, there is no QuickTime icon in my System Preferences, nor any option to edit QuickTime preferences in the program itself. What's wrong? Why can't I change my QuickTime settings?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## sinclair_tm

Because with QuickTime X, there are no longer any preferences to change. Yes, it's a pain, which is why you could at one point still download and install the old version of QuickTime 7 along side QTX. You can try it to see if playing the videos in QT7 is better than QTX.


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## pinnedmoth

I don't suppose you know how to fix the audio/video synchronization problem on iTunes, do you? Apple support is notoriously not very helpful unless you go to the Genius Bar.


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## sinclair_tm

What kind of video files are they, and where did you get them? If iTunes is still doing it, then there is something in the file that is messing with the audio sync, something that VLC is ignoring. Have you put this file on any iOS devices or iPods, or other media players?


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## pinnedmoth

The video files are .mov, but I surmise that all video file types are affected. I made the videos myself using AVID, exported them, and then saved them as .mov. These files work perfectly with VLC, just not Quicktime or iTunes. No, I have not put these files on any devices, but they've worked fine in the past with any program that ran them, even - I believe - Quicktime, which makes me think that it must be a setting or recent update. I'm confident - though not an expert - that it's not the files themselves (since the error affects so many, and not all of them made via AVID) but the Quicktime program that's causing the problem. Any ideas?

EDIT: Doesn't iTunes use Quicktime or a similar program to play videos? Wouldn't that explain why the files become desynchronized on both those programs?


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## sinclair_tm

Yes, iTunes uses QuickTime. Perhaps there was an update to AVID that changed some settings? I've run into this problem with QT vs VLC many times, and I just went and used VLC. If QT had an issue with every MOV file you could find and throw at it, then I'd blame QT, but since you have had MOV files play just fine, I blame the file. Remember, MOV is just a container of a video file and audio file, so it could be a pairing of almost any two codecs in it, and they may be ones QT doesn't handle.


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## pinnedmoth

Sorry, I should be more clear. I _believe _those same files worked on QT in the past (since that's always been the default and I've never noticed any un-synchronized sound), but I'm not certain. I have not used AVID since last year - before the error ever occurred (again, to the best of my knowledge); the files I'm trying to play on QT were converted a year or so ago. And, as far as I know, every .MOV file presently does not work. So yes, it could still be the files themselves - and you probably have much more computer expertise than I do - but I have a hunch it might be QT settings. Let's assume I'm wrong and it is the files. Why would they work on VLC and not QT, and how - if possible - could I fix it?

You said you've experienced the problem before. In your case, was it QT or the files? I know that it's easier to just use VLC, which is what I've been doing; however, I'm a stubborn bloke who likes to organize certain movie files - for some impossibly absurd reason - in iTunes. Is there any hope for me?


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## sinclair_tm

VLC looks at files differently than QT does. It'll actually look at the files and figure out what they are and then choose the codec to play them with. QT looks at the headers and trys to play them with whatever codec the header says to use. As for a file that used to work and doesn't now, I would try it on a Windows PC with QT, or find a computer running an older version to double check. As to it being QT or the file for me in the past, I've always blamed the file. Another thing you could do is convert them to a better more current format like mp4. MOV files are long in the tooth, and are almost never used anymore.


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