Posted on August 27, 2008 - by Igor

Problems getting Quicktime export to web files to play online

If you are using Quicktime Pro “export to web” option to create the .mov and various .m4v and .m4a files and the files do not work once uploaded on Windows Server, don’t despair. You are sure you have uploaded them and the links are fine, however they still do not work and 404 error page appear or faded Quicktime logo with a white question mark. 

The problem lies in server configuration to handle and serve those extensions. To fix the problem you need to configure Windows IIS Server to support Apple Podcast file extensions m4a and m4v. 

If Windows IIS web server does not know the MIME type for a file extension the file request will be rejected and any attempts at downloading the file will fail with an indication the file cannot be found.To correct this in Windows IIS Server do the following:

This task will update MIME Types for all IIS Web Sites on an IIS Managed Server – Must Restart

1. On Web Server open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
2. Right-Click the (Local computer) and choose Properties.
3. Select the MIME Types button at the bottom of the window.
4. Select New and enter the Extension with a leading period .m4a
5. Enter the MIME Type using the list provided. Example: audio/x-m4a
6. When done choose OK then Apply.
7. Right-Click the (Local computer) and choose All Tasks – Restart IIS

This task will update MIME Types for a specific Web Site without IIS Restart

1. On Web Server open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
2. Expand the (Local Computer)
3. Expand the Web Sites folder.
4. Right-Click the Web Site you wish to update and select properties.
5. Select the HTTP Headers Tab.
6. Select the MIME Types button at the bottom of the Tab Window.
7. Select New and provide Mime Extension and Type as before.
8. Select OK then Apply.  No Restart required

Most Commonly used files and MIME Type Extensions for Podcasting

• File: .mp3 Type: audio/mpeg 
• File: .m4a Type: audio/x-m4a 
• File: .mp4 Type: video/mp4 
• File: .m4v Type: video/x-m4v 
• File: .mov Type: video/quicktime