How do I repair movies with "invalid public movie atoms"? I've got a movie file that gives me the following error every time it opens in any QuickTime based player:


  The movie could not be opened.
  An invalid public movie atom was found in the movie.


Is there any tool I can use in 10.5 on my PowerBook to fix the file?

And please, don't suggest using VLC; it can play the file, but it can't fix it.

Ideally I want to avoid re-encoding the streams.
I recommend using the free app HandBrake to re-encode the movie, which will hopefully fix the problem.

Open HandBrake and it will automatically ask you to select a source (otherwise, you can use the Source toolbar item). Select the problematic movie and click Open.

Make sure the Presets panel is visible by clicking the Toggle Presets toolbar item. Then, under Apple, select the Universal preset.

The default settings should be fine, but you can tweak them if you like.

Click the Start toolbar item to begin. HandBrake will chug away and re-encode the file. That's likely to fix any problems with the encoding.