Media Files

If you are going to use media files (audio files or video files) in your NVivo project, we highly recommend that you read through this module thoroughly. This will help you get NVivo to play multiple file formats and will ensure that you have control over how and where media files are stored in your NVivo project.

Supported File Formats and Codec Installation

NVivo supports very few media file formats by default. This is because NVivo uses Windows Media Player (Windows) or QuickTime Player (Mac) for media playback. These programs support very few file formats by default and you will need to install a so-called codec pack in order for NVivo to play multiple file formats.

Windows: Download K-Lite Codec Pack - Basic. Click on the installation file, follow the instructions and finish by restarting your computer. Windows Media Player and NVivo should now support media playback of many different file formats.

Mac: Unfortunately there are no updated codec packs for QuickTime Player. If you encounter a file format that does not work within NVivo - open the file directly in QuickTime Player. You will get an error message showing which file format could not be played. For example, if you get an error message stating that the ".avi" file format could not be played, search for ".avi codec Mac" in a search engine and find the codec for that format. Install the codec and restart your computer after installation. QuickTime Player and NVivo should now support playback for this file format.

Media Files - File Locations

When you import text files or image files into your NVivo project, NVivo will copy these files and save them as part of your NVivo project. This means that you will always be able to open the files as you imported them into NVivo - even if you edit or delete the original files. This does not apply to media files (audio files and video files). Media files of small size (less than 20MB) will be stored in the same way as text files and image files. If the size of a media file is over 20MB then the file will not be saved in your NVivo project, and NVivo will only open the file as a shortcut. If the original file is changed or deleted, NVivo will not be able to open the media file and you will get an error message within NVivo.

Tip 1: Create a master folder for your project and place the NVivo project file within this folder. Create a subfolder that you call "Media Files". Use this folder to save all the media files you want to use in your project. This way you always know where you have your media files and do not risk deleting or relocating them by mistake.

Tip 2: To check if your media file(s) are stored in your NVivo project or not, right-click the media file and select Audio / Video properties. Under the Audio / Video tab it will say "Embedded in Project" for files copied and saved within the NVivo project and "Not Embedded - File Location:" for larger files. Here you can also see the file location for larger files and also change the file location should you wish to move the media file on a later occasion.

Click Here for Video - Audio Properties

Audio file is right-clicked and "Audio Properties" is selected.