Inconsistent Quick Look behavior between Macs on same version of Monterey

[botkiller]

I finally received my M1 Max MBP today, running Monterey 12.2.1, and found out that XAVC files with a .MXF extension don't open with Quick Look like they do on my old Mac Mini (Intel-based, but also running Monterey 12.2.1).

As an example, here's what Quick Look does on my Mac Mini:

https://imgur.com/StnsRmE

And here is what Quick Look does on my new MacBook Pro:

https://imgur.com/uWwkrKH

In both cases, I'm using the exact same .MXF video file. Can someone help me out and figure out why Quick Look is behaving differently between these two Macs?

 

[BrianBaughn]

What is in the ~/Library/QuickLook folder on each Mac?

 

[TriciaMacMillan]

Do you have the same apps on both Macs? I‘d assume that this file type need an additional plugin to be viewed?

 

[botkiller]

What is in the ~/Library/QuickLook folder on each Mac?

Neither has a QuickLook folder in ~/Library/ but both do have a QuickLook folder in /System/Library/

They both have 21 .qlgenerator packages in /System/Library/QuickLook/ and the Info.plist within the movie.qlgenerator package (which I assume is what's being used to play videos with Quick Look) is the same for both as well.

Do you have the same apps on both Macs? I‘d assume that this file type need an additional plugin to be viewed?

Both have VLC installed and it is set to the default app to open this file type on both computers. It appears to me that on my Mac mini it's using VLC to play the video file in Quick Look, but that doesn't seem to be an actual feature of VLC that I can find.

 

[TriciaMacMillan]

Both have VLC installed and it is set to the default app to open this file type on both computers. It appears to me that on my Mac mini it's using VLC to play the video file in Quick Look, but that doesn't seem to be an actual feature of VLC that I can find.

Is it possible that you once had set up VLC to be the default app for that file type on the Intel Mac, but haven’t done so on the new M1 yet?

 

[botkiller]

Is it possible that you once had set up VLC to be the default app for that file type on the Intel Mac, but haven’t done so on the new M1 yet?

VLC is set to the default for this file type on both machines. Screenshots of the Get Info pane are below from both. You can actually see the preview difference here as well, with the Mac mini (right) showing a thumbnail and option to play the video where the MBP (left) just shows the generic VLC icon.

 

[TriciaMacMillan]

But you can actually open the file and it displays in VLC?

 

[TriciaMacMillan]

Is VLC an Intel only app?

 

[botkiller]

But you can actually open the file and it displays in VLC?

Correct. VLC opens and plays the file just fine on both machines. It's only the Quick Look/Preview within Finder that is different.

Is VLC an Intel only app?

Get Info on VLC says "Kind: Application (Intel)" but it does run fine... I'm assuming through Rosetta.

EDIT: I just realized there's an Apple Silicon version of VLC. Uninstalled the Intel version and swapped it for the ARM version and still no luck.

 

[TriciaMacMillan]

Okay, I’m just making an assumption here, but I once read that a limitation of Rosetta is that M1 apps cannot work with Intel plugins. I would imagine that, as they are run from the Apple Silicon app, there is no Rosetta available under these circumstances. I don’t know the Quicklook architecture well enough to be sure that this applies, but it seems reasonable.

EDIT:
Just saw your edit. Did you restart your Mac, just to be safe?

EDIT 2:
If I knew where to get an MXF file, I’d try it here on my own M1.

 

[botkiller]

Okay, I’m just making an assumption here, but I once read that a limitation of Rosetta is that M1 apps cannot work with Intel plugins. I would imagine that, as they are run from the Apple Silicon app, there is no Rosetta available under these circumstances. I don’t know the Quicklook architecture well enough to be sure that this applies, but it seems reasonable.

EDIT:
Just saw your edit. Did you restart your Mac, just to be safe?

EDIT 2:
If I knew where to get an MXF file, I’d try it here on my own M1.

Just restarted and no change

I appreciate you taking the time to troubleshoot this with me! I wish I knew of a good way to share one of my MXF files with you. MacRumors doesn't allow me to attach them to my posts.

 

[TriciaMacMillan]

You could upload it somewhere for me to download it from there?

 

[botkiller]

Here you go!

FX6_0055.MXF

drive.google.com

 

[BigBlur]

Did you install Pro Video Formats on the old Mac at one point? That has codecs to support MXF files. Follow the guide linked below to see if it’s installed.

Verify installation of Pro Video Formats - Apple Support

Make sure Pro Video Formats for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor are installed on your Mac.

support.apple.com

The 2.1.1 version mentions MXF support, but I assume it’s included in the latest 2.2.2 version as well.

Pro Video Formats 2.1.1

Pro Video Formats 2.3.1 - Apple Support

The Pro Video Formats package provides support for the following codecs that are used in professional video workflows

support.apple.com

 

[botkiller]

Did you install Pro Video Formats on the old Mac at one point? That has codecs to support MXF files. Follow the guide linked below to see if it’s installed.

Verify installation of Pro Video Formats - Apple Support

Make sure Pro Video Formats for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor are installed on your Mac.

support.apple.com

The 2.1.1 version mentions MXF support, but I assume it’s included in the latest 2.2.2 version as well.

Pro Video Formats 2.1.1

Pro Video Formats 2.3.1 - Apple Support

The Pro Video Formats package provides support for the following codecs that are used in professional video workflows

support.apple.com

That was it! I installed 2.2.2 and restarted and now it's working perfectly!

Thank you!