I recorded several videos at a concert, but my phone ran out of storage, so I transferred the files to my laptop over USB. The transfer seemed to work, but none of the videos will play on the laptop; I keep getting a message saying the file format isn't supported. The videos still play normally on my phone. What do I need to install or change to play them, and how can I make sure I don't lose the originals?
3 Answers
The videos were probably recorded using HEVC/H.265, which some default computer players can’t handle. Try opening one with VLC Media Player, which supports most video formats. You can download it from the official VLC website or your computer’s app store.
Check the file extension by right-clicking the video, choosing Properties or Get Info, and looking at the filename type. Phone videos are often saved as .MOV files and may use HEVC compression. You can either install the appropriate HEVC codec or convert the videos to a more widely supported format such as MP4.
Since the videos still play on your phone, the transfer probably didn’t damage them. Try copying one file again and test it in VLC first. Don’t delete the phone originals until you’ve confirmed that the laptop copies play correctly and are backed up.
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