Failed to open file, The file could not be parsed

[David W Barton]

I am shooting HEIC x.fine (~7mb) from Sony A7iv.  When I try a new HDR merge, I load three bracketed images.  When I hit OK to start the merge, I get the error in the subject.  

Failed to open file, The file could not be parsed.

When I use HEIF from my iPhone 12 Pro Max (~2.5mb), they work ok, no error.

If I just try and import one HIEC photo from my Sony, I also get an error.  But I can import the HEIC shot from my phone, no issue.  

I am brand new to Affinity Photo and purchased it for the HDR merge.  Maybe I am missing something about what file format or size limits there are?  Can you help?

Edited May 29, 2022 by David W Barton

[Callum]

Hi David W Barton,
Welcome to the forums

Please could you tell me if the file can be viewed in an app like Photos etc? If possible could you provide a copy of the HEIC file so I can look into this further with you? If you would rather not post it publicly let me know and I will provide a secure link to our DropBox.

Thanks
C

[David W Barton]

Yes, it opens fine in other apps.  Photos for example.  I have been doing basic edits of brightness, shadows, etc using the built in iPad photos app.  It also opens them for people edits in PS Express.  Sometimes when I open them for edit in PS Express I get an error too.  I have  attached a bracketed series that I was trying to use to test HDR with affinity.

Edited May 30, 2022 by David W Barton

[David W Barton]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:36 AM, David W Barton said:

Yes, it opens fine in other apps.  Photos for example.  I have been doing basic edits of brightness, shadows, etc using the built in iPad photos app.  It also opens them for people edits in PS Express.  Sometimes when I open them for edit in PS Express I get an error too.  I have  attached a bracketed series that I was trying to use to test HDR with affinity.

@Callum Sorry, I forgot to mention you here.

[Callum]

Hi David, 

these files seem to be downloading as Jpegs rather than HEIC files I'm not sure if uploading them to the forum has converted them. Please could you try re-uploading the files to the following link?

https://www.dropbox.com/request/VhkpjHAbCzzQY3g7cGBk

Thanks
C

[David W Barton]

@CallumI uploaded them using the link. I started I need thread because I could never see the replies I was typing on this thread and thought something had gotten broken or I was doing something wrong. 

[Callum]

These files seem to open fine for me on Ipad but I notice none of them have the same name as the file shown in your original screenshot and they also all have the .JPG extension not the .HEIC extension shown in your original screenshot. Do the files you have sent not open for you on your iPad? Please could you provide the original .HEIC file or a screen recording of the files you have just sent not opening on iPad.

[David W Barton]

@Callum Here is a screen recording of the process and error.  This time I saved them from the built in iOS Photos app to my iCloud Files app.  You can see that they have the HEIC extension after they are queued in the Affinity dialog.  

I am curious that the files I posted before had jpg extensions.  I wonder if the Photos app makes them jpgs?  I am transferring them from my Sony A7IV to my iPad using Imagine Edge wirelessly.  

I reposted the files here using iCloud Files instead of the Photos app to see if that made any difference.  I will try from OneDrive and also using a flash drive to get them into OneDrive and then try from there.

Let me know if these new uploads and information shed any light?  I am really looking forward to getting this working.

A7400908.HEIF A7400909.HEIF A7400907.HEIF

[David W Barton]

@Callum Ok, maybe we are getting somewhere.  Notice above that the files app and Affinity thought they were HEIC extension files when I uploaded them to Files app from Photos app.  But notice in the attached screen shot, when I copied the files from Photos app to DropBox and then loaded them in Affinity that way, Affinity thought they were jpg.  Surprisingly, they were then able to process without an error in Affinity.  

I went back and tried it again from native Photos app into Affinity and the list of files to process shows them as jpg.  So maybe something is making Affinity think they are jpg when they are really HEIC or vice versa depending on how they are saved and/or loaded?

Let me know if the above info sheds any light on what’s happening.  It would be really useful to figure out a method to take them directly from Photos app.  Otherwise, I have to be connected to the internet and have an additional intermediate process involved.  It’s so convenient to be able to just grab them wirelessly during a shoot and process them right from the photos app.

[v_kyr]

See related:

• HEIC site:https://forum.affinity.serif.com

[David W Barton]

@Callum Is it possible that DropBox is converting them to jpg when they are uploaded there and that’s why they load ok?  Maybe there is something wrong in the ability of Affinity to import the HEIC?  Can you think of a way around or a fix for this?  I would expect to get better results if they weren’t having to be converted another time in the process.

I did notice that I can load and process HEIC that I took with my iPhone 12 Pro Max, but not HEIC that I took from my Sony A7IV.

[David W Barton]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:32 AM, v_kyr said:

See related:

• HEIC site:https://forum.affinity.serif.com

@v_kyr Thanks for offering these topics, but I can’t see that the forum posts reference above match my situation.  It’s on the iPad version, the file can be added to the new HDR project, but I get an error when attempting the merge. This only happens on the 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 HEIC files from my Sony A7IV and doesn’t happen on the HEIC files from my iPhone 12 Pro Max.

[David W Barton]

On 6/11/2022 at 11:31 AM, David W Barton said:

@Callum Is it possible that DropBox is converting them to jpg when they are uploaded there and that’s why they load ok?  Maybe there is something wrong in the ability of Affinity to import the HEIC?  Can you think of a way around or a fix for this?  I would expect to get better results if they weren’t having to be converted another time in the process.

I did notice that I can load and process HEIC that I took with my iPhone 12 Pro Max, but not HEIC that I took from my Sony A7IV.

@Callum Wondering if you or anyone else has any ideas for different settings, or different chroma sub sampling or something that would make this work?  I was hoping to keep using heic to take advantage of the high bit color depth for post processing.  I find it odd that I can get HEIC from my phone camera to work, but not a similar format from my Sony.  

[Callum]

Hi David,

Unfortunately I'm not really sure with this issue as the files you have supplied open correctly as HIEF images for me (see attached) please could you provide a screen recording using the iPads inbuilt screen recorder that shows the entire import process?

 

[David W Barton]

8 minutes ago, Callum said:

Hi David,

Unfortunately I'm not really sure with this issue as the files you have supplied open correctly as HIEF images for me (see attached) please could you provide a screen recording using the iPads inbuilt screen recorder that shows the entire import process?

 

@Callum I included a recording of the process in my post above on June 11.  It takes a bit for the files to load after I select them, but if you wait until the end, you can see the error that happens after I hit OK to start the merge.  Do you need something else recorded that I didn’t include?  

In the screen shot above that you just posted, I get that far.  It’s when I press OK that I get the error.  Are you saying that it works ok for you and that you get a merged HDR file that you can then manipulate further?  Interesting… Maybe I need a better iPad.  I have a Pro, but it’s a rev down from current I think.  

iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (4th generation) MXG02LL/A running 15.4.1 iPad OS. 

[Callum]

Ah Sorry once I press OK I get the attached error just bare with me while I look into this further. Which Sony camera was used to create these images?

[David W Barton]

4 minutes ago, Callum said:

Ah Sorry once I press OK I get the attached error just bare with me while I look into this further. Which Sony camera was used to create these images?

No worries.  I appreciate the attempts to help.  Let me know if you need me to post some HEIC from my phone if you need to compare file properties to see if there is some difference there?  

I notice that my iPhone files are ~5MB or so.  The Sony files are ~8MB on average.  I am shooting HEIC x.fine 4.2.2 on the Sony FYI.  I couldn’t find anything to say for sure what compression or other settings it uses.  I know that if I use 4.2.1 I get the same error.  If I use jpg, it works, but there isn’t as much depth for post processing.  

[Callum]

I've just noticed these files wont even open on our desktop apps so it seems likely that they are un supported for some reason. I'm just waiting for more info from our QA team.

Thanks
C

[David W Barton]

4 minutes ago, Callum said:

I've just noticed these files wont even open on our desktop apps so it seems likely that they are un supported for some reason. I'm just waiting for more info from our QA team.

Thanks
C

@Callum Got it, thanks.  Looking forward to what you hear.