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Why is my .mov audio out of sync when streaming from Dropbox?

So I make a Quicktime video in protools.Quicktime plays back in sync.I upload to Dropbox,email link..Quicktime plays back way out of sync when streaming from Dropbox via email link? If I download Quicktime from Dropbox onto desktop,it plays in sync once again?

Any help is very appriciated!

Thanks!

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Mark

The website is only ever intended as a preview and for best results it needs downloading, but, you could try logging a ticket with support with examples of the links/files to www.dropbox.com/support and then track at http://dropbox.zendesk.com

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Mark

slagojr

I am having the same problem. All videos uploaded to Dropbox lose sync.

Lusil

Hi @slagojr, sorry to hear that.

Could you please elaborate a bit on the behavior that you’re experiencing with your videos? For example:

Is the sound not in sync with the video or vice versa?
If you’re previewing it from the website, have you tried playing it from another browser or an incognito window?
Could you also try downloading the video locally on your device and see how it plays from a third party app?

Any additional info would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance!

GMo1

Hello-This is GMo1 (I started this post) here's the details of my issue:

I make a Quicktime video in pro tools. The Quicktime plays back perfectly in sync from desktop in various players.

I upload Quicktime to dropbox and email link to Quicktime.When playing Quicktime from link (Streaming from Dropbox) Quicktime video is very out of sync with audio!

This has been confirmed across multiple computers,phones,etc.

If Quicktime is downloaded from Dropbox to desktop,it plays in sync once again.

The workflow of the company requires the streaming from Dropbox to work in sync.

In the past, I've sucessfully uploaded literally hundereds of Quicktime videos to Dropbox and had links play back perfectly. Nothings changed on my end. Would really love to get this figured out please.

BTW- I've tried converting Quicktime to many different video types and sizes.No improvment.

Your help most appriciated!

Thank you!

Lusil

Hey @GMo1, sorry to hear that you’re still having trouble with this.

In order to have a more in-depth look of the behavior you’re experiencing, I’ve sent you a ticket to the email address associated with your Community profile, so please check your inbox for my latest message.

Cheers!

slagojr

I am facing a strange problem. I upload the video with audio in sync. When streaming it at Dropbox, it plays out of sync and if I download the file from there it still out of sync!

Lusil

Thanks for getting back to me, @slagojr.

Bearing in mind that Dropbox cannot and does not alter your files in such a way, if you download the video locally on your device and it still plays out of sync, it likely means that the video was uploaded like that.

If you feel like this isn’t the case, try playing the video from another browser, or downloading it and playing it with a different third party app.

I hope this helps to some extent, but let me know if you have any other questions!

marcusmcgill

You say that dropbox doesnt alter the files in such a way as to cause this problem. But i too am having the same problem. I dont think all of us could be having the same issue independently wihtout there being an issue with dropbox's streaming of uploaded quicktime vids. I download the file and the audio is synched with the video the way it should be. Its like watching the old Godzilla movies. Mouths move and the sound comes later. Very frustrating.

How about a fix?

Lusil

Hey there @marcusmcgill,

In order to have a closer look into this, due to account-specific info that'd be necessary to investigate, we'd have to move this discussion to email.

As such, I was able to locate your ticket and can see that a member of my team has reviewed and replied to you. I've also made them aware of your comments, so when you have the chance, please check your inbox for their latest message.

Thanks in advance!

michael J.30

I have the same exact issue.

My guess had been that allot of the ProTools movies I upload have empty space at the top before picture (i.e. two seconds blank before picture).

The way DropBox is encoding the files for preview must somehow be trying to sync first audio with first picture, hence the sync issue.

This is just a guess, by the way.

It happens in Safari and Chrome. I have not tried any other browsers.

My clients are bewildered that my screeners are all out of sync.

Fortunately one of them mentioned it to me or I would not have even known! This has evidently been a problem for quite some time, I just never preview my own stuff from DropBox and nobody bothered to tell me.

I've resorted to zipping every file I put up so that they HAVE to download it and not just screen it in the browser.

This really is terrible and needs to be fixed.

Lusil

Hi there @michael J.30,

Thanks for the descriptive post regarding the investigation you've carried out - awesome work!

In order to further troubleshoot, could you please try previewing your file(s) in incognito/private browser mode and ensure that you're not running any third party browser extensions?

Let me know what you find!

GMo1

I've tried the "private" mode in browsers.No change at all.

michael J.30

Hi thank you for the reply!

Unfortuinately, I've tried that too with no better luck.

Lusil

Hey there @GMo1, sorry to hear that you're still having trouble with this.

I've relayed this piece of information to the member of my team reviewing this for you and, as soon as they have more relevant steps or info, they'll get back to you via email.

Also, thanks for giving the steps I mentioned a try, @michael J.30! Much appreciated.

I was able to locate your ticket and have made sure to reply to it. Please check your inbox for my latest message and we'll take it from there.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation, peeps!

Art5

I have the same problem. Could you please do something about it? I will switch to Google Drive if it keeps happening. The director I'm working with doesn't want to download every time he has to check a scene.

Thanks,

Art

Lusil

Hi @Art5, I'd be more than happy to help!

I've sent you a ticket so that we can have a better look into this together, so when you have the chance, please check your inbox.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

AnnaMcauley

Hey! I am having the same issue - Could I please have some assistance too?

Lusil

Of course, @AnnaMcauley. We're here to help after all! :slight_smile:

I've sent you a ticket, so please make sure to check your inbox and we'll take it from there.

Thanks!

ConsHugs

Hi all,

I've been having this problem for a while and have just noticed that if the audio in the quicktime uploaded is compressed, then dropbox transcodes it with acceptable sync. All of my other uploads had PCM audio as I'm presenting music against the picture so didn't want to compress in case they were downloaded on the other end.

Of course, the transcoding should be able to handle PCM.... But this was certainly a fix for me.

jannieves

I got the same problem. Can you email me at [personal information removed] ? Please.

Lusil

Hey @jannieves, thanks for checking in with us!

I'm only able to contact you to the email address connected to your Community profile for security reasons and have removed the one you mentioned in your post for privacy purposes.

As such, I've sent you a ticket, but if you'd prefer a different email address than the one I've contacted you on, submit a ticket to our Support team and let me know its ID so that I can have a look into it.

Thanks!

reefshark

I LOVE that support is replying to this problem OFFLINE without posting a solution, if there is one.

I was not having this problem, but now I am. And, now that I have it I can't seem to make it go away.

Has anyone figured this out?

Incompatible sample rate between audio and picture files?

Is Dropbox separating the the audio file, compressing it and putting it back?

The audio always shows up early.

Lusil

Hi @reefshark, thanks for nudging us on this thread.

The cause for this behavior may be due to various reasons, however, to make sure that we cover as much ground as possible and due to account specific info that may be required, we continue via email.

In general, the first steps to troubleshooting this is to try previewing the link from another browser or an incognito window, as well as downloading the video to see if it previews correctly or the issue persists.

If you've checked these out already, let me know the results and we'll take it from there. Cheers!

EmmaLundy

Hi, I've tried all of the above and still having the same issue. Can i have some assistance please?

Lusil

Hey @EmmaLundy, I'd be more than happy to help.

I've sent you a ticket, so when you get the chance, check your inbox.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

reefshark

I was having this problem a few weeks ago. It started when the clent sent me a new video format. I discovered it was related to the codec in the video. I no longer have the videos that didn't work, but if you are using a QT with Timecode, AVdn codec and convert that same as source to something that will play on your mac desktop, it will stream. If you are not using a mac, this may or may not help. It's all about the codec.

emccurry

I am also having this issue with some of my videos I’ve uploaded. I’d appreciate some help. Thanks!

flyingsuperkids

Having the same problem here.
Can we please have some help also?

Lusil

Hey @emccurry and @flyingsuperkids, thanks for nudging us on this thread.

As a first step, could you check out what @reefshark mentioned and see if their suggestion helps?

If you're still having trouble with this, could you try downloading the file in question and see if it plays normally when you preview it locally?

Let me know what you find - thanks!

rbmusic78

Hi i am experiencing the same frustrating problem. I reached out to technical support and was told that my query can only be handled by the Help Center or community forums and they were closing my ticket without getting further information to an important issue that is clearly unresolved for many of your customers. I am trying to communicate with directors and sound designers and this issue is holding up the project. Please can someone reach out asap and advise how to proceed.

It should also be worth noting that i also use Google Drive and have never 1) never experienced these kinds of issues and 2) been ignored when trying to bring any issues to their attention.

Thanks