From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.ipad

PSA how to fix Windows explorer being blind to iPad sidecar .mov thumbnails

This is about iPad <-> Windows 10 cross platform image/video compatibility.

BACKGROUND:
My phone, which names pictures using a sane algorithm, is broken so I'm
using one of my iPads to take Vine photos for my next set of reviews.

When copied over to Windows using Apple's asinine naming conventions, I get
202408_a
202412_a
202508_a
202512_a
... snip ...
202602_a

In that last folder are the files taken today which are saved under iOS' asinine naming conventions of
IMG_0509.JPG, IMG_0510.JPG, IMG_0511.JPG, etc. along with Live Photos IMG_0509.MOV, IMG_0510.MOV, IMG_0511.MOV, etc where doubleclicking on the
MOV files brings up MPC-BE which plays the Apple live-action sidecar file.

The problem is there are no thumbnails in Windows 10, by default, for the
MOV files, so I looked up how to add thumbnails to Win10 for MOV files.

Apparently Windows Explorer needs a decoder to extract a frame for a MOV thumbnail. Most people use MPC-BE on Windows to play short video sidecar
files, which can play the MOV file because MPC uses its own internal
codecs, but Windows 10 File Explorer can't show the thumbnails natively.

Apparently the .mov files from the iPad almost certainly use HEVC (H.265).
but it seems that Windows Explorer cannot decode HEVC without:
a. Either Microsoft's paid HEVC extension (yeah, right), or
b. A modern third-party thumbnail provider like Icaros 3.x

Given that most .mov files from iPads use HEVC (H.265) video, we need to
give Microsoft Windows 10 a way to generate thumbnails for HEVC.

It can't do that unless the proper codec is installed.
Without the codec, we get what I see which is
a. Blank icons
b. No preview in File Explorer
But the file still plays in MPC-BE (because MPC-BE has its own codecs).

The "official" fix from Microsoft is apparently to buy Microsoft's HEVC
Video Extensions (yeah, right), where the moment you pay even a single cent
for anything, you lose your privacy, so that's a dead end out of the box.

Since I've installed every file converter ever suggested on these
newsgroups, there's always the option to convert the .mov -> .mp4, using Handbrake or ffmpeg or the last-known-good-version of Super which is
version 2010.bld.42 (Nov 7, 2010) (but that's likely too old).

However, a better option, apparently, is to install a third-party thumbnail provider such as Icaros which is a part of the K-Lite Codec Pack that adds thumbnail support for .mov, .mp4, .mkv, HEVC, etc.

That's it. It's that easy.
No Microsoft account, no Store, no HEVC purchase. Privacy protected.

The last time I installed codecs appears to be way back in 2018 or so.

dir C:\software\editor\codec\

11/23/2018 09:18 PM <DIR> avicodec
03/14/2019 12:57 AM <DIR> codecinstaller
11/23/2018 09:19 PM <DIR> cole2k
03/07/2019 10:50 AM <DIR> gspot
11/23/2018 09:20 PM <DIR> klite
11/23/2018 09:20 PM <DIR> mediainfo
03/14/2019 12:55 AM <DIR>
TechSmithScreenScaptureCodec_for_Camtasia
11/23/2018 09:20 PM <DIR> videoInspector

dir C:\software\editor\codec\klite

11/14/2018 12:13 PM 16,086,254 K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1455_Basic.exe
11/14/2018 12:13 PM 46,345,213 K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1455_Full.exe
11/14/2018 12:14 PM 57,367,629 K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1455_Mega.exe
11/14/2018 12:14 PM 39,878,984
K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1455_Standard.exe
11/14/2018 12:14 PM 17,291,837 klcp_update_1455_20181106.exe
03/23/2020 04:04 AM 17,980,609 K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1540_Basic.exe
03/23/2020 04:04 AM 50,086,779 K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1540_Full.exe
03/23/2020 04:03 AM 61,038,349 K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1540_Mega.exe
03/23/2020 04:03 AM 43,329,798
K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1540_Standard.exe

Almost certainly Windows Explorer won't get modern HEVC/H.265 thumbnails
from those so it's time I updated my codecs to handle this Apple crap.
<https://codecguide.com/>
<https://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm>
Options exist for Basic, Standard, Full & Mega but I only need Basic.
<https://codecguide.com/download_k-lite_codec_pack_basic.htm>
<https://files2.codecguide.com/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1945_Basic.exe>
Name: K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1945_Basic.exe
Size: 22794319 bytes (21 MiB)
SHA256: D301046FEB19E3E5ED9FC08620F1CAAA66C3C43CFC62BB44B59277D79514504F

Once it's installed I'm supposed to
a. Open Icaros Configuration (Start Menu -> K-Lite Codec Pack)
b. Turn Thumbnailing ON
c. Make sure .mov is checked
d. Click Activate Icaros
And refresh my thumbnail cache if needed to make MOV thumbnails appear.

Doubleclicking the installer exe pops up a UAC because it needs to register shell extensions and then it asks for the Installation Mode of
(o)Normal
(_)Advanced
Then it asks for the preferred media player
[Media Player Classic (MPC-BE)
[VLC Media Player]
[Something else]
And the preferred audio player
[Media Player Classic (MPC-BE)
[VLC Media Player]
[Something else]
[x]Create file associations
[x]Thumbnails, Disable cache removal by Windows Maintenance

I took all the defaults because the one thing that I'd change doesn't
exist, which is to put the codecs where I want to put them on my PC.

Unfortunately it's a Stone-Age installer that doesn't go where you want it
to go (as it goes into the asinine Program Files (x86) garbage bin, but it
is what it is because K-Lite is 32-bit by design because Explorer's
thumbnail handler is 32-bit. So apparently it's required for compatibility.

Seconds later, my dummy browser trap caught the installer phoning home to
[Fri 02/13/2026 19:42:21.13] Attempted launch: C:\data\sys\batch\dummybrowser.exe "http://www.codecguide.com/configuration_tips.htm?version=1945"

Voila!

Explorer finally stops acting blind and instantly started showing
thumbnails for the MOV sidecar files from my iOS iPad.

I was surprised that the installer auto-activated Icaros since I had
thought we'd have to open Icaros manually and click Activate.

But in my case, apparently the installer saw that:
a. this was a fresh install (not an upgrade)
b. thumbnailing was enabled in the setup options
c. no previous Icaros registration existed
So, apparently, the installer registered the Icaros thumbnail handler automatically during installation. Kewl. It just works.

That's why everything "just worked" the moment the installer finished.

Apparently the K-Lite installer auto-activates Icaros if:
a. We check "Thumbnails" during installation
b. No previous Icaros registration exists
c. The system doesn't already have a conflicting thumbnail handler
I met all three conditions.

Apparently Windows Explorer immediately starts using the new handler.
Once registered, it seems Explorer doesn't care whether we opened the GUI.
It just sees a new thumbnail provider and starts using it.

Since my MOV files were HEVC, the difference was instant as the moment
Icaros was active, Explorer finally had a decoder -> thumbnails appeared.

Voila!
It just works.
--
Had I known how it works, I would have written up a tutorial instead since
I'm a rare breed of person who delights in edifying everyone around me.
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