Apple’s QuickTime supports streaming, playing, transcoding, and encoding a wide variety of digital media formats. Although QuickTime is an excellent default video application for Mac, it won’t play MP4 files. So if you want to watch a movie, the media player may return an error like ‘the movie could not be opened.’ This might make you wonder how to play an MP4 on a Mac. You can convert the MP4 file to a different format to make it compatible with QuickTime or install a different media player that plays MP4 files like Elmedia Player.
Besides this, you may encounter other QuickTime errors like the media player crashing or the player being unable to play videos. Follow these troubleshooting tips to get out of any pickle with QuickTime.
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Update and Repair the QuickTime Player
You must ensure the QuickTime player is up-to-date. Look for updates, and if you find any, install them.
You can do this by launching the QuickTime player and going to the Help menu. Then, choose Check for Updates. If there’s an available update, you can follow the prompts on the screen to install it properly.
If installing the updates does not solve your problems with the QuickTime player, you can repair the software. Repairing will replace the damaged files and also the missing components will be reinstalled. This should solve the problems you are facing and ensure you have a smooth experience.
On your macOS computer, you can do this by opening Finder and going to Applications > clicking Utilities > double-clicking on the App Store icon. If there’s an update available, click on the update, and you can use this to repair the software installation. Then, follow the instructions on the screen to finish the process.
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Uninstall and Reinstall The Player
If updating and repairing the software doesn’t solve the errors you are encountering, you can uninstall and reinstall QuickTime.
You can uninstall and delete the media player on your Mac device by going to the App Store or launching Finder.
If launching Finder, go to Folder or press Shift + Command + G > type /Applications/Utilities into the text box > double-click on the App Store icon. Then, uninstall the old version of the program by clicking the Uninstall option.
Once the process is complete and the media player is removed from your system, you can go to the App Store and reinstall QuickTime.
The fresh version of the media player might come with bug fixes and security patches. So you might not face the problems you encountered and have a wonderful experience using the media player.
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Disable iTunes
If the above mentioned troubleshooting tips don’t work to solve the QuickTime errors you are facing, the problem might be that the media files are corrupt. Corrupt files may cause problems with incompatibility or playback between video players that are used in conjunction with other Apple products, such as iTunes.
Sometimes, iTunes and QuickTime running simultaneously may conflict with each other, which may result in an error.
If this is the situation, you can disable one of the programs and keep the other one running. In this case, disable iTunes and check whether QuickTime is running smoothly. If no error messages are generated, then you know what to do.
You can remove one of the programs from the system startup process to ensure that both programs do not launch at the same time. Or the problem may occur again.
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Turn off Firewall
Is the firewall enabled on your device? A firewall is essential to block cyber attacks. However, certain firewalls may block access to given ports, resulting in playback issues.
You must check your system’s firewall settings and see if access has been denied on a per app basis. You can turn off the firewall when using QuickTime to avoid such errors.
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Remove Browser Extensions and Third-Party Plugins
Sometimes, browser extensions and third-party plugins may interfere with the functioning of the QuickTime player. These extensions may extend the functionality of the web browser you are using but cause problems in running other applications on your system.
The solution? You must disable or remove the extensions and plugins to ensure you can use QuickTime without any hassle. If these are not removed, you will continue to face problems and cannot run videos or media files.
The Bottom Line
The QuickTime player is one of the primary video display services on a Mac. But sometimes the player fails to open and play the videos you want to watch. If the issue is with the file’s format, you can convert it to a format the media player recognizes. If the problem is because the files are corrupt or the media player is not updated, you can install the latest updates or uninstall and reinstall the program.
Memorize the solutions mentioned above to be back on track as quickly as possible.