Perian is [mostly] OS X Lion compatible

Apple news, views and reviews

Perian is [mostly] OS X Lion compatible

1 August 2011 16,296 views 10 Comments

There are a number of issues affecting Perian, a popular and versatile QuickTime + OS X add-on for audio, video and subtitle playback. However, on the whole it works well for this user. However, it only works as well as the specific features that you need — get more details inside.

The Perian Project has released Perian 1.2.3 (version history), which is a housecleaning dot-fix that unfortunately doesn’t directly address the issue of OS X Lion compatibility:

• Some Fraps videos only displayed black
• Workaround checks for Front Row stopped being effective
• Fixed compatibility with web video playback
• Worked around System Preferences crashing during an update under Snow Leopard
• Further fixes to Matroska import.

See also: Perian calling it quits after final update

However, Perian is functional under OS X 10.7, though there are issues. Specifically, a quick check of the Perian cocoaforge forum reveals that XVID AAC 3 audio, QuickTime subtitle playback and MKV import issues have been reported by users.

The interesting twist is that some of the reported problems, such as subtitling, can be worked around by using QuickTime 7, which is part of the OS X Lion install — obviously Apple’s still working through issues, as well.

How is Perian functioning for you under OS X Lion? Sound off in the comments below…

10 Comments »

cashxx said:

I have been having problems with mkv playback on 10.6.x and 10.7. Wish they would fix mkv playback!

Some videos all I get is a black screen. Sound is fine.

# 1 August 2011 at 12:36 pm

bernd said:

Just don’t install 3ivX or DivX codecs or they will conflict with Perian. OS X loads codecs in alphabetic order so “3″ and “D” load before Perian!

# 3 August 2011 at 3:59 am

Leonardo said:

My MKV media is not playing using perian.

# 6 August 2011 at 3:49 pm

void said:

while running perian on Lion, an usb-stick and my extern hdd aren’t accessable, they don’t appear in finder. Dissabling perian will fix this problem and everything is working fine.

# 14 August 2011 at 3:01 pm

How to: Convert YouTube video to iTunes audio | FairerPlatform said:

[...] * You’ll need to install Perian. [...]

# 15 August 2011 at 1:01 pm

Yair said:

I have problems with subtitles, using QuickTime 7 resolves it, but why?

# 17 August 2011 at 12:52 pm

nwdryad said:

Perian will not play MKV files. Super bummer.

# 10 September 2011 at 9:47 pm

Dodobird said:

You can download a free program from the apple app store called “smart converter” which will convert your .mkv files to quicktime files. I found it to be the easiest solution until Perian starts working fully with OS X Lion.

# 12 October 2011 at 5:17 am

iPhoto 9.2.1 addresses 3ivx codec issue | FairerPlatform said:

[...] you specifically need 3ivx, remove it. As third-party codec sets go, Perian does most of what you’ll need and DivX, which is also well maintained if not quite as popular as it once [...]

# 27 October 2011 at 12:05 am

Perian developers 'moving on' after six years | FairerPlatform said:

[...] See also: Get the most recent release, Perian 1.2.3 [...]

# 15 May 2012 at 4:22 pm