Why would this MP4 play fine on the computer but no sound on the iPad?

[Paul M. Cook]

Why would this MP4 play fine on the computer but with no sound on the iPad?

I have an MP4 file that plays just fine on the computer, but, when
copied over to VLC on the iPad, it plays without any audio?

It's not a big deal because the kids watched it on the computer instead
of on the iPad (which they prefer), so I'm ready to delete it. But I'm
just wondering what went wrong in that the video played fine on the iPad
but with no sound.

I'll post the full results of the testing commands separately, but from what
I can gather, the important information is that the MP4 audio track is:

Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------
Codec: ac3
Bitrate: 160000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz
stream 1: audio (ac3), -aid 0, -alang eng
Selected audio codec: ATSC A/52A (AC-3) [libavcodec]
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, floatle, 160.0 kbit/5.21% (ratio: 20000->384000)
ID_AUDIO_BITRATE=160000
ID_AUDIO_RATE=48000
ID_AUDIO_NCH=2
AO: [null] 48000Hz 2ch floatle (4 bytes per sample)
ID_AUDIO_CODEC=ffac3


The video is:
Video Frame Rate = 23.976
Avg Bitrate = 952 kbps
Image Size = 1280x546
Video format = H264
Video bitrate: 791840 bits per second

Why would this file play fine on the computer but on the iPad there's no sound?

[nospam]

In article
<c2fe1$56ad3ba1$b8583384$98...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul M.

Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> Why would this MP4 play fine on the computer but with no sound on the iPad?

because it's not fully compliant to the spec.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 17:43:39 -0500, nospam wrote:

> because it's not fully compliant to the spec.

I appreciate that, and figured as much (as I knew "something" was wrong
with the audio stream). But what?

From the information I can gather from the file itself, how do I figure
out what is "wrong" with the audio stream?

Here's the information I have about the file:
****************************************************************************
Results of the following commands:
$ exiftool movie.mp4
$ tovid id movie.mp4
$ mplayer -vo null -ao null -frames 0 -identify movie.mp4
$ ffmpeg -i movie.mp4
****************************************************************************
$ exiftool movie.mp4
****************************************************************************
ExifTool Version Number : 9.46
File Name : movie.mp4
Directory : .
File Size : 947 MB
File Modification Date/Time : 2016:01:30 00:32:41-08:00
File Access Date/Time : 2016:01:30 00:48:59-08:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2016:01:30 14:18:54-08:00
File Permissions : rw-------
File Type : MP4
MIME Type : video/mp4
Major Brand : MP4 v2 [ISO 14496-14]
Minor Version : 0.2.0
Compatible Brands : isom, iso2, avc1, mp41
Movie Data Size : 988095590
Movie Data Offset : 48
Movie Header Version : 0
Create Date : 0000:00:00 00:00:00
Modify Date : 0000:00:00 00:00:00
Time Scale : 1000
Duration : 2:18:24
Preferred Rate : 1
Preferred Volume : 100.00%
Preview Time : 0 s
Preview Duration : 0 s
Poster Time : 0 s
Selection Time : 0 s
Selection Duration : 0 s
Current Time : 0 s
Next Track ID : 4
Track Header Version : 0
Track Create Date : 0000:00:00 00:00:00
Track Modify Date : 0000:00:00 00:00:00
Track ID : 1
Track Duration : 2:18:24
Track Layer : 0
Track Volume : 0.00%
Image Width : 1280
Image Height : 546
Graphics Mode : srcCopy
Op Color : 0 0 0
Compressor ID : avc1
Source Image Width : 1280
Source Image Height : 546
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Bit Depth : 24
Video Frame Rate : 23.976
Balance : 0
Audio Channels : 2
Audio Bits Per Sample : 16
Audio Sample Rate : 48000
Track 2 Name : English
Matrix Structure : 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Media Header Version : 0
Media Create Date : 0000:00:00 00:00:00
Media Modify Date : 0000:00:00 00:00:00
Media Time Scale : 90000
Media Duration : 2:16:48
Media Language Code : eng
Handler Description : SubtitleHandler
Other Format : tx3g
Handler Type : Metadata
Handler Vendor ID : Apple
Encoder : HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800
Avg Bitrate : 952 kbps
Image Size : 1280x546
Rotation : 0
****************************************************************************
$ tovid id movie.mp4
****************************************************************************
--------------------------------
tovid id
Identify video files
Version 0.33
http://tovid.wikia.com
--------------------------------
Analyzing file: 'movie.mp4'...
=========================================================
File: movie.mp4
Width: 1280 pixels
Height: 546 pixels
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Frames: 199104
Duration: 02:18:24 hours/mins/secs
Framerate: 23.976 frames per second
Video format: H264

Video bitrate: 791840 bits per second

---------------------------

Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------
Codec: ac3
Bitrate: 160000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

=========================================================
Audio is compliant with the following formats:
160000 bps 48khz AC3 DVD (Dolby Digital)
Video is compliant with the following formats:
Not compliant with (S)VCD or DVD
This video does not seem to be compliant with (S)VCD or DVD
standards. If you burn it to a video disc, it may not work.
=========================================================
Read options from /home/paul/g.tovid/tovid.ini:
****************************************************************************
$ ffmpeg -i movie.mp4
****************************************************************************
ffmpeg version 2.5.git Copyright (c) 2000-2015 the FFmpeg developers
built on Jul 1 2015 01:54:25 with gcc 4.8 (Ubuntu 4.8.2-19ubuntu1)
configuration: --prefix=/home/foo/ffmpeg_build --extra-cflags=-I/home/foo/ffmpeg_build/include --extra-ldflags=-L/home/foo/ffmpeg_build/lib --bindir=/home/foo/bin --enable-gpl --enable-libass --enable-libfdk-aac --enable-libfreetype --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopus --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-nonfree
libavutil 54. 18.100 / 54. 18.100
libavcodec 56. 21.101 / 56. 21.101
libavformat 56. 19.100 / 56. 19.100
libavdevice 56. 4.100 / 56. 4.100
libavfilter 5. 9.103 / 5. 9.103
libswscale 3. 1.101 / 3. 1.101
libswresample 1. 1.100 / 1. 1.100
libpostproc 53. 3.100 / 53. 3.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'movie.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : mp42
minor_version : 512
compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
encoder : HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800
Duration: 02:18:24.32, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 956 kb/s
Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709), 1280x546, 791 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 90k tbn, 47.95 tbc (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : VideoHandler
Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: ac3 (ac-3 / 0x332D6361), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 160 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : English
Side data:
[0;33munknown side data type 7 (4 bytes)
Stream #0:2(eng): Subtitle: mov_text (tx3g / 0x67337874), 1280x60, 0 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : SubtitleHandler
****************************************************************************
$ mplayer -vo null -ao null -frames 0 -identify movie.mp4
****************************************************************************
MPlayer2 2.0-701-gd4c5b7f-2ubuntu2 (C) 2000-2012 MPlayer Team

Playing movie.mp4.
Detected file format: QuickTime / MOV (libavformat)
ID_VIDEO_ID=0
[lavf] stream 0: video (h264), -vid 0
ID_AUDIO_ID=0
ID_AID_0_LANG=eng
[lavf] stream 1: audio (ac3), -aid 0, -alang eng
ID_SUBTITLE_ID=0
ID_SID_0_LANG=eng
[lavf] stream 2: subtitle (movtext), -sid 0, -slang eng
Clip info:
major_brand: mp42
ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME0=major_brand
ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE0=mp42
minor_version: 512
ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME1=minor_version
ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE1=512
compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME2=compatible_brands
ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE2=isomiso2avc1mp41
encoder: HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800
ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME3=encoder
ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE3=HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800
ID_CLIP_INFO_N=4
Load subtitles in .
ID_FILENAME=movie.mp4
ID_DEMUXER=lavfpref
ID_VIDEO_FORMAT=H264
ID_VIDEO_BITRATE=791840
ID_VIDEO_WIDTH=1280
ID_VIDEO_HEIGHT=546
ID_VIDEO_FPS=23.976
ID_VIDEO_ASPECT=0.0000
ID_AUDIO_FORMAT=8192
ID_AUDIO_BITRATE=160000
ID_AUDIO_RATE=48000
ID_AUDIO_NCH=2
ID_START_TIME=0.00
ID_LENGTH=8304.32
ID_SEEKABLE=1
ID_CHAPTERS=0
[ass] auto-open
Selected video codec: H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10 [libavcodec]
ID_VIDEO_CODEC=ffh264

Selected audio codec: ATSC A/52A (AC-3) [libavcodec]
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, floatle, 160.0 kbit/5.21% (ratio: 20000->384000)
ID_AUDIO_BITRATE=160000
ID_AUDIO_RATE=48000
ID_AUDIO_NCH=2
AO: [null] 48000Hz 2ch floatle (4 bytes per sample)
ID_AUDIO_CODEC=ffac3

Starting playback...
Exiting... (End of file)
ID_EXIT=EOF
****************************************************************************

[nospam]

In article
<db2a$56ad4b30$b8583384$98...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul M.

Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

>
> > because it's not fully compliant to the spec.
>
> I appreciate that, and figured as much (as I knew "something" was wrong
> with the audio stream). But what?

i don't know nor care.

something about it is bogus.

you might be able to transcode it to a compliant file, which may have
an audible loss. that might matter, or it might not.

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 17:43:39 -0500, nospam wrote:
>
>> because it's not fully compliant to the spec.
>
> I appreciate that, and figured as much (as I knew "something" was wrong
> with the audio stream). But what?

How was the file created exactly?

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 18:48:44 -0500, nospam wrote:

> i don't know nor care.
>
> something about it is bogus.
>
> you might be able to transcode it to a compliant file, which may have
> an audible loss. that might matter, or it might not.

Fair enough.

What I "think" you're saying is, essentially, that there's nothing
wrong with the stated "format", right?

Are you saying it's the right format but that it probably has something
funny with it that the computer can handle but the iPad barfs on?

If that's the case, that the format is fine, but something is 'funny'
in the audio, I could transcode it with Handbrake to something else
(or even to the same audio format, since that might fix it).

I had originally assumed the FORMAT was wrong.
But from what you're saying, the stated FORMAT is fine.

Is that correct?

[nospam]

In article
<f16a4$56ad4e36$6b025d96$10...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul

M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> > you might be able to transcode it to a compliant file, which may have
> > an audible loss. that might matter, or it might not.
>
> Fair enough.
>
> What I "think" you're saying is, essentially, that there's nothing
> wrong with the stated "format", right?

something about the file is non-compliant with the mp4 spec.

you're not going to be able to fix it.

you may be able to transcode it, with a small loss, which may or may
not matter.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 23:58:26 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

>> I appreciate that, and figured as much (as I knew "something" was wrong
>> with the audio stream). But what?
>
> How was the file created exactly?

I didn't create the file, but looking at it with the stated programs,
it seems Handbrake was used at some point.

$ exiftool movie.mp4 | grep -i encoder
Encoder: HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800

$ ffmpeg -i movie.mp4 | grep -i encoder
encoder: HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800

$ mplayer -vo null -ao null -frames 0 -identify movie.mp4 | grep -i encoder
encoder: HandBrake 0.10.1 2015030800

It's not a big deal since the kids already watched the movie; I was
just wondering *why* it failed to play on the iPad.

I had thought the audio codec might have been the wrong one, which
would mean that I could watch out for that in the future.

But if there's just something "funny" in the audio that the computer
can handle but that the iPad can't, I'll just chalk that one up
to the vagaries of computer operation as there's nothing I can do
about it ahead of time.

This one file isn't worth transcoding because the kids already watched
it. If it was an important file, I'd re-transcode it with something
other than Handbrake (e.g., ffmpeg).

[Marek Novotny]

I personally use MP3 Stereo for the audio and have never had a problem.
So I'm just curious. Is this the only file with AC3 audio or do other
files you have also use AC3 and yet those still work? In other words,
what's different?

I'd just re-encode it with h264 for video, but change the audio to MP3
Stereo.

--
Marek Novotny
https://github.com/marek-novotny

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:11:09 -0500, nospam wrote:

> something about the file is non-compliant with the mp4 spec.

That's good enough that the answer is that the file is corrupted such
that it plays audio on one machine but not on the iPad.

I had initially thought maybe that the codec was wrong, since the
computer has all the necessary codecs to play anything but the iPad
might not have as many codecs at hand.

That's likely still true but what you're saying is that this is
not the problem here.

Fair enough.

If it's not the codec being wrong, then it's the file is weird,
which isn't worth much more examination except to delete the file
since the kids already watched the movie.

Thanks for the advice on the audio codecs.

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 23:58:26 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:
>
>>> I appreciate that, and figured as much (as I knew "something" was wrong
>>> with the audio stream). But what?
>>
>> How was the file created exactly?
>
> I didn't create the file

Who did create it? Can you ask them how they created it?

> It's not a big deal since the kids already watched the movie; I was
> just wondering *why* it failed to play on the iPad.

It failed to play in *VLC*. Did you try playing it in the Photos app or any
other app on the iPad?

[nospam]

In article <dh52ch...@mid.individual.net>, Jolly Roger

<jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:

> >>> I appreciate that, and figured as much (as I knew "something" was wrong
> >>> with the audio stream). But what?
> >>
> >> How was the file created exactly?
> >
> > I didn't create the file
>
> Who did create it? Can you ask them how they created it?

i doubt he knows because it's most likely pirated.

> > It's not a big deal since the kids already watched the movie; I was
> > just wondering *why* it failed to play on the iPad.
>
> It failed to play in *VLC*. Did you try playing it in the Photos app or any
> other app on the iPad?

he can't do that because of his convoluted ways of copying stuff to the
ipad.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 16:16:05 -0800, Marek Novotny wrote:

> I personally use MP3 Stereo for the audio and have never had a problem.
> So I'm just curious. Is this the only file with AC3 audio or do other
> files you have also use AC3 and yet those still work? In other words,
> what's different?
>
> I'd just re-encode it with h264 for video, but change the audio to MP3
> Stereo.

I've never seen this problem before with any MP4 file that would play
on Ubuntu just fine, but NOT play on the iPad in VLC.

Looking at a few files that I know played on both, I'm not sure which
command you prefer the output of (if you know of a better command, let
me know):

$ exiftool movie.mp4
$ tovid id movie.mp4
$ mplayer -vo null -ao null -frames 0 -identify movie.mp4
$ ffmpeg -i movie.mp4

Here is the result of using tovid on the mp4 file that worked fine on
Ubuntu but not on the iPad in VLC:

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------
Codec: ac3
Bitrate: 160000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

Here's a tovid result on other movies that worked fine in both Ubuntu
and on the iPad in VLC:

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: mp3
Bitrate: 320000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: mp3
Bitrate: 128000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 128000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 111000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 93000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 95000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 63000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 64000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 63000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 22050 Hz

---------------------------
Audio track 1 (Stream 0.1, AID 0):
---------------------------

Codec: aac
Bitrate: 91000 bits per second
Sampling rate: 48000 Hz

etc.

Other than the bitrate being 160000 bits per second on the "bad"
file, I don't see any difference between these files. Do you?

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:21:37 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

> Who did create it? Can you ask them how they created it?

I don't know who created it.

> It failed to play in *VLC*.
> Did you try playing it in the Photos app or any other app on the iPad?

That's a good idea to try another app.

I don't think I can copy a file from Ubuntu to "Photos", can I?

I've never used any other video player on the iPad but VLC (if
it doesn't work on VLC, it usually doesn't work anywhere).

Is there another app you suggest that acts like VLC does, which is
to allow you to just slide the file from the computer to the iPad
into its "Documents" directory over USB cable?

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:23:35 -0500, nospam wrote:

> i doubt he knows because it's most likely pirated.

> he can't do that because of his convoluted ways of copying
> stuff to the ipad.

Nospam is correct, as usual, unless there is another iPad app that
works like VLC does, which is to allow you to slide a file over USB
from the computer to the iPad so that the app can play that file on
the iPad.

Since the file is already on the iPad, it should be no problem to
play it in another app.

If JollyRoger has a suggested app that actually works to play the
file, that would be worth downloading and trying.

Otherwise, since the kids (actually the grandkids - they're staying
over for the weekend, again, as their mom is having some "issues")
have already watched the movie, I was just asking about the codecs.

If the codecs are correct, then there's nothing I'm going to do
to "solve" the problem. They watched the movie without a hitch
on the computer, so, we know that the movie works.

There's just something that the iPad doesn't like about it.
That's all I was asking about.
How to figure *that* out.

[William Unruh]

On 2016-01-30, Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:
> Why would this MP4 play fine on the computer but with no sound on the iPad?
>
> I have an MP4 file that plays just fine on the computer, but, when
> copied over to VLC on the iPad, it plays without any audio?

What computer? What operating system? What player?

And this appears to be a problem with Apple and ipad, not with your
computer or Linux so it is not clear why you are asking in Linux group,
except maybe in the belief that Linux people are so smart and
knowledgeable they can fix anything. Not necessarily a good assumption.

(Also you have not told anyone what the video is or where they can get
it to test it themselves.)

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:47:33 +0000, William Unruh wrote:

> What computer? What operating system? What player?

The MP4 file plays fine on:
Computer: Ubuntu
OS: 14.04
Player: VLC 2.1.6 Rincewind

You gave me an idea, which is to use VLC to check the format.
Here's what VLC says on Ubuntu for the format as it's playing:
https://i.imgur.com/skJ9w8v.gif

I'll go grab the iPad from the grandkids and see if I can get
the same information off the file as it plays on the iPad.

Then I can compare if the iPad thinks something is different
(but I would expect it to show the same information since it's
merely a copy of the file).

> And this appears to be a problem with Apple and ipad, not with your
> computer or Linux so it is not clear why you are asking in Linux group,
> except maybe in the belief that Linux people are so smart and
> knowledgeable they can fix anything. Not necessarily a good assumption.

I was hoping for helpful *debugging* commands from the Linux gurus.
There's something "wrong" somewhere.

It's almost impossible to debug on the iPad, so I was hoping to debug
on Linux (if that was possible).

[Marek Novotny]

Yes, only one is AC3. All the others are AAC, which Apple loves. That's
the difference. Looks like you have MP3, AAC and AC3. And you're saying
AC3 doesn't work. So as a test, you could encode a new video with H264
Video and AC3 audio and see (or hear) what happens.

[nospam]

In article <w-udnTo03q1IwDDL...@giganews.com>, Marek

Novotny <marek....@marspolar.com> wrote:

> > Other than the bitrate being 160000 bits per second on the "bad"
> > file, I don't see any difference between these files. Do you?
>
> Yes, only one is AC3. All the others are AAC, which Apple loves.

it ain't just apple who loves aac.

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 16:16:05 -0800,
>

> Other than the bitrate being 160000 bits per second on the "bad"
> file, I don't see any difference between these files. Do you?

Depending on the APIs and code in use, that could be enough to throw off
VLC.

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:23:35 -0500, nospam wrote:
>
>> i doubt he knows because it's most likely pirated.
>> he can't do that because of his convoluted ways of copying
>> stuff to the ipad.
>
> Nospam is correct, as usual, unless there is another iPad app that
> works like VLC does, which is to allow you to slide a file over USB
> from the computer to the iPad so that the app can play that file on
> the iPad.

If it's stolen, you're on your own.

> Since the file is already on the iPad, it should be no problem to
> play it in another app.

That's the case for people who use their iPads as designed; but since you
go out of your way to load stuff onto your iPad using your preferred
ancient outdated methods, you aren't able to do things the way the rest of
us do them, to your own detriment.

> If JollyRoger has a suggested app that actually works to play the
> file, that would be worth downloading and trying.

Photos is built in; but you knew that and purposely avoided it.

> There's just something that the iPad doesn't like about it.

You mean VLC on the iPad doesn't like something about it. The built in
Photos app (or other apps) may play it without issue; but you can't try
that since you actively shun doing things the way the rest of us do in
favor of more limited and rigid methods.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 20:00:38 -0500, Paul M. Cook wrote:

> You gave me an idea, which is to use VLC to check the format.
> Here's what VLC says on Ubuntu for the format as it's playing:
> https://i.imgur.com/skJ9w8v.gif
>
> I'll go grab the iPad from the grandkids and see if I can get
> the same information off the file as it plays on the iPad.

Drat. I found I can change the saturation, gamma, hue, playback
speed, etc., but I couldn't find a menu on the iPad VLC which
gave me the codecs, as the iPad sees them.

That just gave me an idea though, which is to copy the file
the same way over to Android, to see if Android has the same
issue with the file.

Will update soon.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 01:11:29 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

> You mean VLC on the iPad doesn't like something about it. The built in
> Photos app (or other apps) may play it without issue; but you can't try
> that since you actively shun doing things the way the rest of us do in
> favor of more limited and rigid methods.

You're suggesting one load a movie from Ubuntu to Photos over USB cable.
How is that done?

[nospam]

In article
<77b9$56ad69de$6b025d96$10...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul M.

Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

>
> > You mean VLC on the iPad doesn't like something about it. The built in
> > Photos app (or other apps) may play it without issue; but you can't try
> > that since you actively shun doing things the way the rest of us do in
> > favor of more limited and rigid methods.
>
> You're suggesting one load a movie from Ubuntu to Photos over USB cable.
> How is that done?

whoosh.

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

Personally, I would transfer the movie to Photos the normal way.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 17:05:24 -0800, Marek Novotny wrote:

> Yes, only one is AC3. All the others are AAC, which Apple loves. That's
> the difference. Looks like you have MP3, AAC and AC3. And you're saying
> AC3 doesn't work. So as a test, you could encode a new video with H264
> Video and AC3 audio and see (or hear) what happens.

Oooh. I didn't notice that difference.
You're right.
The one bad file is AC3, while the good files are AAC & MP3!

So the question is whether the iPad supports AC3.
Googling ... click click ... google google google ...

This is from 2011:
Does the iPad and/or the iPods support AC3 audio?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3341301?start=0&tstart=0
"Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1 and V2), AAC (8 to 320 Kbps),
Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR,
Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+),
Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV".

So, AC3 is not there.

This article, from 2012, explains that Apple removed AC3 support.
iOS multimedia player developers forced to remove AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio support - backup before updating!
http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/ios-multimedia-player-developers-forced-remove-ac-3-dolby-digital-audio-support-backup-updat

This article from 2013 shows that, while Apple probably doesn't support
AC3 support, third party programs can be added (at cost which may or may
not work as seamlessly as VLC freeware does with Ubuntu) which *do*
support AC3 on the iPad:
iMedia Player Re-released as MPlayer, Now with AC3 Support!
http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/excellent-multimedia-player-imedia-player-re-released-mplayer-%E2%80%93-ac3-support

So, the solution is pretty simple, it turns out.

If the file uses AC3, it will play on everything by default except
the iPad, so it will need to be converted to AAC or MP3 instead.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 02:10:23 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

> Personally, I would transfer the movie to Photos the normal way.

Anyway, we figured out the problem, which I doubt Photos would
resolve anyway, for quite a few reasons.

The problem was actually in the very first codec line of the very
first post, which is simply that Apple yanked support for AC3 and
I didn't know this.

My computer played the file fine.
My Android phone played the file fine.
It's just the iPad that doesn't know how to play the file.

But there are apparently 3rd-party media players for the iPad
that can be added that can play the file. (These 3rd-party apps
may or may not play nicely with other software, which is VLC's
strength.)

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 20:08:09 -0500, nospam wrote:

> it ain't just apple who loves aac.

Nevermind.
The problem information was actually in the first post, but nobody
knew that AC3 wasn't supported on the iPad by Apple.

Now that we know that, we know there's nothing wrong with the file,
and, in fact, the tests on my computer and android devices showed
that.

Case closed.
THe iPad can't play AC3 files by default.

Android can.
Windows can.
Linux can.

I don't have a Mac to test on a Mac, but I hope it can.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 01:11:30 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

> Depending on the APIs and code in use, that could be enough to throw off
> VLC.

Nevermind.
The answer was in the very first post but nobody knew it at the time.
The problem is that the iPad, by default, can't play AC3 files.
I've made a note of it so that I don't have this problem again.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 20:50:12 -0500, Paul M. Cook wrote:

> Drat. I found I can change the saturation, gamma, hue, playback
> speed, etc., but I couldn't find a menu on the iPad VLC which
> gave me the codecs, as the iPad sees them.
>
> That just gave me an idea though, which is to copy the file
> the same way over to Android, to see if Android has the same
> issue with the file.
>
> Will update soon.

I connected a USB cable between Ubuntu and Android and slid the
file over to the external sd card just like I did on the iPad.

Then I located the file with ES File Explorer which asked
what video player to play it with and I chose VLC.

The file played just fine.

So, there's nothing wrong with the file.

[nospam]

In article
<e3812$56ad726b$6b025d96$10...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul

M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> THe iPad can't play AC3 files by default.
>
> Android can.
> Windows can.
> Linux can.

ipad can.
mac can.

you just don't have the right apps, as usual.

[Marek Novotny]

Okay, whipped up a down and dirty script for you. Here's how to use it.
You just go into the directory where your video files are, and then run
this script.

#!/bin/bash

######################################################################
#
# script: ffit
# written by: marek novotny
# version: v.01
# released: 2016-01-30
# license: GPL v2 (only)
#
# notes: get current directory list and ffprobe selection
#
######################################################################

clear

getListing ()
{
IFS=$'\n'
echo
PS3=$'\nPlease make your selection: '
listing=( $(find . -maxdepth 1 -type f) )
items=( $(printf "%s\n" ${listing[@]} | sort) )
select choice in "${items[@]}"
do
echo
echo "$choice"
echo "--------------------------------"
ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams "${choice}" | grep -i codec
echo
exit 0
done
}

which ffprobe &> /dev/null
if [ $? -eq 0 ] ; then
getListing
else
echo "ffprobe required and not found..."
echo
exit 1
fi

## END ffit ##

So it is a good idea to put the script somewhere where your PATH will
see it so you can easily execute it from within any directory. What it
will do is give you a numbered listing of the contents of the directory.

when you see the numbered directory, choose a number and it will display
the codecs used in that file.

> It's almost impossible to debug on the iPad, so I was hoping to debug
> on Linux (if that was possible).

That's what a good shell is for. Helps you do things more easily.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 21:41:43 -0500, nospam wrote:

> you just don't have the right apps

I have all the default apps, none of which can play the file.
VLC is the best video player, bar none (for tons of reasons).
I have VLC on all four platforms.

1. VLC on Ubuntu plays the file.
2. VLC on Android plays the file.
3. VLC on Windows plays the file.
4. VLC on iPad fails.

It's pretty simple.
It's just a fact.
It's not a big deal.

Had I known ahead of time that Apple doesn't support AC3 by default
like all the other operating systems do, I wouldn't have even asked.

It's just that I had expected the file to just work like it does
everywhere else.

It doesn't.
That's OK.
Now I know why.

Case closed.
It's not a big deal.
I just didn't know that the AC3 codec was deprecated.

[nospam]

In article
<78f28$56ad7729$632ff925$11...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul

M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> > you just don't have the right apps
>
> I have all the default apps, none of which can play the file.
> VLC is the best video player, bar none (for tons of reasons).

vlc not even close to the best.

nothing prevents anyone from playing ac3 on an ipad or a mac.

as usual, you refuse to accept that.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 18:41:46 -0800, Marek Novotny wrote:

> Okay, whipped up a down and dirty script for you. Here's how to use it.
> You just go into the directory where your video files are, and then run
> this script.
>
> #!/bin/bash
>
> ######################################################################
> #
> # script: ffit
> # written by: marek novotny
> # version: v.01
> # released: 2016-01-30
> # license: GPL v2 (only)
> #
> # notes: get current directory list and ffprobe selection

Thanks Marek,
I love your scripts!

I didn't know about the ffprobe command.
$ ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams file.ext

I have now added it to my codec-tools list:
$ exiftool file.ext
$ tovid id file.ext
$ mplayer -vo null -ao null -frames 0 -identify file.ext
$ ffmpeg -i file.ext
$ mediainfo --fullscan file.ext
$ ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams file.ext
NOTE: vlc will also check the format in the gui (dunno how to do it on the cli)

Your script failed at first, but only because I have Ubuntu 14.04 which
doesn't have ffmpeg native, so fprobe wasn't in my path, but it failed
rather gracefully as I noticed you put a check in place to find it.

$ ffit.sh

ffprobe required and not found...

I edited the file to modify the two lines from:
FROM: ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams "${choice}" | grep -i codec
TO: $HOME/bin/ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams "${choice}" | grep -i codec
and
FROM: which ffprobe &> /dev/null
TO: which $HOME/bin/ffprobe &> /dev/null

And then it worked fine.

Also, all my videos are in their own directory (they just are),
so, I needed to add a recursive. I liked the way you did the recursive
down one level, using "maxdepth", which I had never seen before with
the find command (as I generally use the locate command over the find
command whereas you linux gurus use find almost exclusively over locate).

So I also changed:
FROM: listing=( $(find . -maxdepth 1 -type f) )
TO: listing=( $(find . -maxdepth 2 -type f) )

Here are some representative reports:
--------------------------------
codec_name=h264
codec_long_name=H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10
codec_type=video
codec_time_base=1001/48000
codec_tag_string=avc1
codec_tag=0x31637661
codec_name=ac3
codec_long_name=ATSC A/52A (AC-3)
codec_type=audio
codec_time_base=1/48000
codec_tag_string=ac-3
codec_tag=0x332d6361
codec_name=mov_text
codec_long_name=3GPP Timed Text subtitle
codec_type=subtitle
codec_time_base=1/90000
codec_tag_string=tx3g
codec_tag=0x67337874
--------------------------------
codec_name=h264
codec_long_name=H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10
codec_type=video
codec_time_base=125/5994
codec_tag_string=avc1
codec_tag=0x31637661
codec_name=aac
codec_long_name=AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
codec_type=audio
codec_time_base=1/48000
codec_tag_string=mp4a
codec_tag=0x6134706d
--------------------------------
codec_name=mpeg4
codec_long_name=MPEG-4 part 2
codec_type=video
codec_time_base=1001/24000
codec_tag_string=XVID
codec_tag=0x44495658
codec_name=mp3
codec_long_name=MP3 (MPEG audio layer 3)
codec_type=audio
codec_time_base=1/48000
codec_tag_string=U[0][0][0]
codec_tag=0x0055
--------------------------------
codec_name=h264
codec_long_name=H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10
codec_type=video
codec_time_base=1/48
codec_tag_string=[0][0][0][0]
codec_tag=0x0000
codec_name=aac
codec_long_name=AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
codec_type=audio
codec_time_base=1/48000
codec_tag_string=[0][0][0][0]
codec_tag=0x0000
codec_name=srt
codec_long_name=SubRip subtitle
codec_type=subtitle
codec_time_base=1/1000
codec_tag_string=[0][0][0][0]
codec_tag=0x0000

etc.

Thanks for the nice tool.
The line I'll be looking for, in the future, is this!
codec_long_name=ATSC A/52A (AC-3) <=== bad news for iPads

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 02:10:23 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:
>
>> Personally, I would transfer the movie to Photos the normal way.
>
> Anyway, we figured out the problem, which I doubt Photos would
> resolve anyway, for quite a few reasons.
>
> The problem was actually in the very first codec line of the very
> first post, which is simply that Apple yanked support for AC3 and
> I didn't know this.

Yeah. That's *one* reason, BTW.

> But there are apparently 3rd-party media players for the iPad
> that can be added that can play the file.

Yep. As I suspected.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 21:55:24 -0500, nospam wrote:

> vlc not even close to the best.
>
> nothing prevents anyone from playing ac3 on an ipad or a mac.
>
> as usual, you refuse to accept that.

Anyway, the problem is resolved.
I didn't know it was the file format.
Nobody did.

But now the question is answered.

Q: Why would this MP4 play fine on the computer but no sound on the iPad?
A: Because the iPad, by default, doesn't come with AC3 codecs.

Thanks!

PS: It's not worth an argument over. It's a simple answer.

[Jolly Roger]

Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 21:41:43 -0500, nospam wrote:
>
>> you just don't have the right apps
>
> I have all the default apps, none of which can play the file.

You already admitted you haven't tried the default apps so you can't know
that for sure.

> I just didn't know that the AC3 codec was deprecated.

Now you know.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 22:28:37 -0500, Paul M. Cook wrote:

> Thanks for the nice tool.
> The line I'll be looking for, in the future, is this!
> codec_long_name=ATSC A/52A (AC-3) <=== bad news for iPads

Actually, I modified the file a bit more, since I really only
need to know the codec_name.

FROM: ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams "${choice}" | grep -i codec

TO: $HOME/bin/ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams "${choice}" | grep -i codec_name=

Representative results:
--------------------------------
codec_name=h264
codec_name=ac3
codec_name=mov_text
--------------------------------
codec_name=h264
codec_name=aac
codec_name=srt
--------------------------------
codec_name=h264
codec_name=aac

etc.

Thanks. I think this case is closed.
It would have been closed in the first post if I had only known
that AC3 is deprecated. Sigh.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 03:34:53 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

> Yeah. That's *one* reason, BTW.
>
>> But there are apparently 3rd-party media players for the iPad
>> that can be added that can play the file.
>
> Yep. As I suspected.

I appreciate your help.
This is pretty much a case closed at this point.

The file itself wasn't important since the kids already watched it.
If I run into this again, now I know the solution.

Thanks!

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 03:44:35 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

>> I have all the default apps, none of which can play the file.
>
> You already admitted you haven't tried the default apps so you can't know
> that for sure.

Except that the Apple support document (admittedly dated) said
that Apple yanked support for AC3 and I pretty much have only default
apps for playing videos ('cuz I don't play them - the kids do - and
they don't care what they use and VLC is the best, bar none, in my
book, simply because it plays almost everything and it's super easy
to tie with Windows, Android, and Linux and it's the same program
on all the platforms, etc.).

Anyway, the problem is solved.

If I have an AC3 file, I simply won't use it on the iPad.
If I really really really need to play an AC3 on the iPad (which I
can't imagine happening since it plays on everything else), then
I can easily convert it.

No big deal.
Case closed.

Thanks!

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 21:41:43 -0500, nospam wrote:

> ipad can.
> mac can.
>
> you just don't have the right apps, as usual.

I know you love a good fight, but I don't wanna fight.
I just wanted to know what the reason the file wouldn't play audio was.
Now I know.

If I run into the problem again, the solution would simply be to
either convert the file, or just play it on any other platform
using the default apps.

It's not worth arguing over.
It's a cut-and-dried case.

I just didn't know that Apple, by default, doesn't support AC3.
If *you* bought apps that support AC3, I'm happy for you.

I don't need to, since everything else plays them just fine.
I just didn't know AC3 was the problem.

[William Unruh]

And as usual you feel that being obnoxious can stand in for helping.
What exactly would you suggest that he use that is much better than vlc,
and supports ac3 (and the other codecs).

[nospam]

In article <n8k23o$rkt$1...@dont-email.me>, William Unruh

<un...@invalid.ca> wrote:

> >> > you just don't have the right apps
> >>
> >> I have all the default apps, none of which can play the file.
> >> VLC is the best video player, bar none (for tons of reasons).
> >
> > vlc not even close to the best.
> >
> > nothing prevents anyone from playing ac3 on an ipad or a mac.
> >
> > as usual, you refuse to accept that.
>
> And as usual you feel that being obnoxious can stand in for helping.
> What exactly would you suggest that he use that is much better than vlc,

everything is better than vlc. vlc is garbage.

> and supports ac3 (and the other codecs).

search for ac3 on the app store. choose one.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 04:21:12 +0000, William Unruh wrote:

> And as usual you feel that being obnoxious can stand in for helping.
> What exactly would you suggest that he use that is much better than vlc,
> and supports ac3 (and the other codecs).

While I appreciate the help from everyone, especially from Marek who
wrote the script to help identify file codecs en masse, I consider
the answer resolved.

The reason the file sound wouldn't play on the iPad was simply because
the file used the AC3 codec (which was stated in the OP - but I didn't
know, at the time, that AC3 codecs required special handling on iPads).

It's not worth arguing with nospam (or Jolly Roger) over this because
they can only think of apps which are *restricted* in that those apps
will (most likely) *never* work with Linux.

As you know, VLC has absolutely no problem working with Linux because
VLC allows users to put anything they want in it's "private" space
whereas almost any app that nospam or Jolly Roger are gonna suggest
won't let you do that.

You're stuck. Their suggestions simply won't work.
And they actually know that.

But, they want desperately to suggest an app that works for *them*
(which is fine, because they use iTunes for *everything*), but it
won't work for anyone else who doesn't use iTunes.

They *know* this.
They're just *baiting* us.
Because they *love* an argument.

I appreciate their help, because they know more than I do about iPads.
But, they love an argument about iOS being superior, and they never
seem to realize that they are just utterly and completely different.

[Marek Novotny]

On 2016-01-31, Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> Thanks for the nice tool.
> The line I'll be looking for, in the future, is this!
> codec_long_name=ATSC A/52A (AC-3) <=== bad news for iPads

I've created a slightly updated version. A little more concise and
slightly more polish. Added that to my github in case anyone wants it
un-modified in the future....

https://github.com/marek-novotny/ffit

#!/bin/bash

######################################################################
#
# script: ffit
# written by: marek novotny

# version: v.02

# released: 2016-01-30
# license: GPL v2 (only)

# github: https://github.com/marek-novotny/ffit
#
# purpose: execute this script while in a directory
# which has video files. You will be given a list
# of the files in the directory.
#
# choose one of the items and it will display
# a list of the codecs used by that video file.
#
# requirement: ffprobe which is part of the ffmpeg package

#
######################################################################

clear

getListing ()
{
IFS=$'\n'

printf "\n"

PS3=$'\nPlease make your selection: '

listing=( $(find . -maxdepth 1 -type f) )

items=( $(printf "%s\n" ${listing[@]} | sort) )
select choice in "${items[@]}"
do

if [ -z "$choice" ] ; then
printf "\n%s\n\n" "Choose between 1 and ${#items[@]}..."
exit 1
else
printf "\n%s\n" "$choice"
printf "%${#choice}s\n\n" " " | tr ' ' '-'

ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams "${choice}" | grep -i codec

printf "\n"
exit 0
fi

done
}

which ffprobe &> /dev/null
if [ $? -eq 0 ] ; then
getListing
else

printf "\n%s\n\n" "ffprobe required and not found..."

exit 1
fi

## END ffit ##

[Jolly Roger]

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.mobile.ipad.]

On 2016-01-31, William Unruh <un...@invalid.ca> wrote:
> On 2016-01-31, nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> vlc not even close to the best.
>>
>> nothing prevents anyone from playing ac3 on an ipad or a mac.
>>
>> as usual, you refuse to accept that.
>
> And as usual you feel that being obnoxious can stand in for helping.

"Paul" deserves every bit of obnoxiousness he gets. Apparently you are
new here.

> What exactly would you suggest that he use that is much better than vlc,
> and supports ac3 (and the other codecs).

There are numerous apps that support AC3. If you had bothered to just
look, you would know this. Here's just *one* of several that a simple
search shows:

<http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/excellent-multimedia-player-imedia-player-re-released-mplayer-–-ac3-support>

But "Paul M. Cook" isn't interested in solutions, because he purposely
trolls the Apple news groups with inane bullshit posts like this
constantly trying his best to prove iOS isn;t as good as his beloved
Android devices and Linux OS.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-01-31, Paul M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:
>
> It's not worth arguing with nospam (or Jolly Roger) over this because
> they can only think of apps which are *restricted* in that those apps
> will (most likely) *never* work with Linux.

Apple's devices have never supported Linux and probably never will. You
know this, yet continue to act as if they should by posting your drivel
to the Apple news groups. You get exactly what you deserve, cry baby.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 05:34:25 +0000, Jolly Roger wrote:

> Apple's devices have never supported Linux and probably never will. You
> know this, yet continue to act as if they should by posting your drivel
> to the Apple news groups. You get exactly what you deserve, cry baby.

The question would have been the same no matter what platform
originally held the file that contained the AC3 codec because
the answer wasn't known at the time what the reasons were.

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sat, 30 Jan 2016 21:29:10 -0800, Marek Novotny wrote:

> I've created a slightly updated version. A little more concise and
> slightly more polish. Added that to my github in case anyone wants it
> un-modified in the future....
>
> https://github.com/marek-novotny/ffit

Thanks for writing that for us to use.

I tested it in a directory with subdirectories containing about 100
video files,and it works fine. I have to scroll up to find the numbers
(but that's only because there are a hundred files).

I made the three just-for-me changes ($HOME/bin/ffprobe & codec_name=
& -maxdepth 2) and it works quite nicely.

Thanks for helping out!

[William Unruh]

On 2016-01-31, nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article <n8k23o$rkt$1...@dont-email.me>, William Unruh
><un...@invalid.ca> wrote:
>
>> >> > you just don't have the right apps
>> >>
>> >> I have all the default apps, none of which can play the file.
>> >> VLC is the best video player, bar none (for tons of reasons).
>> >
>> > vlc not even close to the best.
>> >
>> > nothing prevents anyone from playing ac3 on an ipad or a mac.
>> >
>> > as usual, you refuse to accept that.
>>
>> And as usual you feel that being obnoxious can stand in for helping.
>> What exactly would you suggest that he use that is much better than vlc,
>
> everything is better than vlc. vlc is garbage.

And once again you do the same thing.

>
>> and supports ac3 (and the other codecs).
>
> search for ac3 on the app store. choose one.

And that is supposed to be helpful?

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 21:21:29 +0000, William Unruh wrote:

>> search for ac3 on the app store. choose one.
>
> And that is supposed to be helpful?

Nospam is actually rather clever, which is why he's being so
secretive. He knows full well that no app that one finds is likely
to work beautifully with Linux like VLC does.

He also knows that no app is going to be as powerful at
playing formats as VLC is (on all but the iPad anyway).

He also knows the app won't be free, which VLC is.

Also, he knows full well that no app he suggests is going to
be the same GUI (more or less) as VLC is on all the platforms
(which is a strength of VLC).

He also won't quote an app becuase if he does, we'll just
look and see the flaws above. Sure, it will play AC3 on the iPad,
but it will have so many flaws as to be useless for anything
else.

It turns out to be a simple problem.
Q: Why didn't the file play audio?
A: Apple doesn't support AC3 by default.

Q: What do you do to play the file?
A: Play it on any other platform on the planet and it will just play.

Q: Can you convert the file from AC3 to AAC?
A: Sure, but since it plays everywhere else, why bother?

Q: Can you purchase an app that does support AC3 on the iPad?
A: Sure, but that app has drawbacks & since it plays everywhere else, why bother?

[Paul M. Cook]

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 16:38:22 -0500, Paul M. Cook wrote:

It turns out to be a simple problem (thanks to everyone).

Q: Why didn't the file play audio?
A: Apple doesn't support AC3 by default.

Q: What do you do to play the file?
A: Play it on any other platform on the planet and it will just play.

Q: Can you convert the file from AC3 to AAC?
A: Sure, but since it plays everywhere else, why bother?

Q: Can you purchase an app that does support AC3 on the iPad?

A: Sure, but all those apps have huge drawbacks (e.g., they
won't work with Linux as beautifully as VLC does) & since the
file plays everywhere else, why bother?

[nospam]

In article <n8ltsp$gn6$2...@dont-email.me>, William Unruh

yes.

[nospam]

In article
<e530f$56ae7ece$4b26a54d$20...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Paul

M. Cook <pmc...@gte.net> wrote:

> >> search for ac3 on the app store. choose one.
> >
> > And that is supposed to be helpful?
>
> Nospam is actually rather clever, which is why he's being so
> secretive. He knows full well that no app that one finds is likely
> to work beautifully with Linux like VLC does.

vlc is buggy, drops frames and has a horrible user interface. if you
think it's the best you have *no* clue what else is available.

it might be the best on linux, but that's only because linux lacks
quality software.