[wraith3845]

Metro PCS Blackberry Curve 8330 Won't play youtube ANSWER!

I am not sure if there is another thread on this subject here, to be quite frank I did not look. I have spent two days surfing the net looking for the answer as to why when I try to play a youtube video I get the error “unsupported video format”. I figured I would post here and hopefully make it easier for people with the same problem to find “the” answer. I just got off the phone with an upper tech support rep from Metro PCS, and he told me that “they block streaming video on their network” and they also have no date or plans to allow this service. The sick part is Metro will let you buy APPS from (Blackberry APP World) that are for streaming video knowing quite well that after you spend your hard earned money the app will not work. This is also true of the new Samsung Finesse touch screen they recently launched. So do yourself a favor, stop reading threads with people telling you to “Enable Java” and change your advanced options, because you will more than likely just make the problem worse. I apologies if a thread for this already exists, but it did not come up in any search engines, good luck and enjoy your $400 castrated Metro PCS Blackberry Curve 8330…………..

News flash Metro also has NO GPS for the 8330, NICE !!!! im bringing mine back in the morning


***UPDATE***
you can go to this link to find out why your Blackberry GPS won't work on your Metro PCS plan

forums.crackberry.com/f74/metro-pcs-blackberry-8330-gps-not-supported-301199/

[johnpmorton]

First off, I know 100% they don't block streaming video at the server level. How do I know this? I flashed an HTC Touch over to MPCS, set it up for web & mms and was able to stream video from youtube - though is was slow. I am looking forward to trying out the new Samsung i220 Code for Metro - it is a WinMo phone - if this will / won't stream youtube, then we will know they are blocking it on the handsets. My guess is that you are having a problem with codec support. I have discovered, since buying the BB 8330, that many formats I could easily play on my HTC Touch will give me an error message on the 8330. In fact, the only video format I have found to play well is .3gp, though I have been having some luck with MP4 - it is important to have all the settings right when converting video.

So what is one to do? well, there are two easy options -

1 - find a program that will download and convert youtube videos on your pc to BB 8330 format - google this and you will find what you are looking for.

2 - go to vuclip.com on your mobile browser and search for videos - it will bring up youtube videos as well as vids from other sites - now, select to download rather than stream. Once the download is done, go into your video library and play it! This site saved me some irritation with a friend's kid one day when I was out shopping; download Bugs Bunny, press play, hand to kid, continue conversation.

Hope this helps -

[wraith3845]

I understand that there are ways around some of the issues, my post was about walking into a Metro PCS buying a $400 phone, looking up at the wall in the store and reading “full html browser” and “unlimited internet access”. Then sitting in a car with a friend who has the same phone on Verizon network, and saying “hey check this out on youtube”. Then I go to the video on my phone and get “unsupported video format”…… I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to do something as simple as watch a video on youtube. And MP4 works great, I have 100’s of movies that play just fine. Thank you for the info though.

[johnpmorton]

Full HTML Web Browsing doesn't mean support for all streaming formats - it would also be interesting to know what version of the BB OS your friend is using - I had the similar thing happen - I streamed music on a friend's BB 8330 from VZW with no problem, then I tried to do the same on mine and it wouldn't work - It may have something to do with different software versions - I read a list of supported formats and was interested to learn that different versions support different codecs. I will admit that service and support for the Curve are thin with Metro PCS - And the RIM website doesn't even list Metro as a service provider option - not really sure why this is. Anyway - It has been both fun and frustrating (at times) to me trying to figure out how to use my Curve to do everything I want on a 1xrtt connection - But, considering what I pay, I am pretty happy.

[wraith3845]

I’m using 4.5 he is using 4.3, and I totally agree Chit I’m getting unlimited everything for $64.70 a month, and that includes tax! I’m thinking of adding the $5 a month unlimited international. Oh and another tidbit of information, I was told I had to get the Blackberry email for $10 a month in order to get the Blackberry , and thanks to this site I found out that that was totally untrue and I was getting screwed by the sales rep in the Metro store. I’m sure she gets commission for the sales of the service. I know a lot of people bash Metro, but I’m not one of them. I have no problem with their service at all, I read all the time “metro is for people who have no jobs and $hltty credit”. Well folks my credit rating is in the high 700’s and I make quite a good living…… metro is for people who are smart enough not to get raped buy a cell company, and who don’t do a lot of traveling. You wouldn’t believe (or maybe you would) the number of threads on the dozens of websites with people asking “anyone know why my 8330 can’t use youtube?” And when you call Metro most of the time the reps have no idea that youtube won’t work, and they tell you to bring the phone back to the store because its broken. I’m new to the world of the Blackberry so I’m figuring a lot out , thanks to people like you and this site “if ya got a PSP I can teach you how to make it tap dance though lol”.

[zachthomas06]

Metro PCS Blackberry Curve 8330 Won't play youtube ANSWER!

I am not sure if there is another thread on this subject here, to be quite frank I did not look. I have spent two days surfing the net looking for the answer as to why when I try to play a youtube video I get the error �unsupported video format�. I figured I would post here and hopefully make it easier for people with the same problem to find �the� answer. I just got off the phone with an upper tech support rep from Metro PCS, and he told me that �they block streaming video on their network� and they also have no date or plans to allow this service. The sick part is Metro will let you buy APPS from (Blackberry APP World) that are for streaming video knowing quite well that after you spend your hard earned money the app will not work. This is also true of the new Samsung Finesse touch screen they recently launched. So do yourself a favor, stop reading threads with people telling you to �Enable Java� and change your advanced options, because you will more than likely just make the problem worse. I apologies if a thread for this already exists, but it did not come up in any search engines, good luck and enjoy your $400 castrated Metro PCS Blackberry Curve 8330����..

News flash Metro also has NO GPS for the 8330, NICE !!!! im bringing mine back in the morning


***UPDATE***
you can go to this link to find out why your Blackberry GPS won't work on your Metro PCS plan

forums.crackberry.com/f74/metro-pcs-blackberry-8330-gps-not-supported-301199/

REPLY:
I actually just figured out how to play streaming video from the internet on my curve 8330. when you select a video to be played sucha as a youtube video for example, and it says unsupported format, you can then it our menu button to the left of the trackball and select "set encoding" the hit "ok" and it should play just fine! thats all i did and my vids play now!

[johnpmorton]

I looked at your carrier / hardware and it says Sprint/Nextel 8330 (probably not an 8330m) you probably have os 4.3.x which means you could probably always could stream youtube, but thanks for trying.

[lordcliff]

Just curious. I tend to see a lot of similar threads. I'm just commenting here because OP flat out said he didn't research before posting.

Would it be quicker to at least search this site and see if there is an answer before creating a new one on the pretext of helping others. And then having to wait for someone to reply? Like I said, just curious.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[DD1968]

Just curious. I tend to see a lot of similar threads. I'm just commenting here because OP flat out said he didn't research before posting.

Would it be quicker to at least search this site and see if there is an answer before creating a new one on the pretext of helping others. And then having to wait for someone to reply? Like I said, just curious.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I often think that... I'm so impatient it would kill me waiting for someone to reply - far quicker to look for myself, and 99% of stuff gets sorted out without me posting...
Also you learn FAR more by researching the answer yourself from the other replies in the different threads you search through. IMO...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[johnpmorton]

I responded and have been following this thread because I have a specific interest in the MPCS BB Curve 8330m - In the case of Metro, information from users of other phones (like the 8330 on Sprint/VZW or on some GSM carrier) may or may not be of any interest or help to Metro users due to the differences in the service offered by Metro, and questions about whether this device has certain features disabled. Additionally, I think the OP was a little angry and or frustrated when the post was made - After all, Metro 8330's cost $400 + tax OTD and have a strict return policy of 30 days and under 1 hour of talk time; My guess is that the original message was posted and then some searching happened.

[bmbaker2k5]

I�m using 4.5 he is using 4.3, and I totally agree Chit I�m getting unlimited everything for $64.70 a month, and that includes tax! I�m thinking of adding the $5 a month unlimited international. Oh and another tidbit of information, I was told I had to get the Blackberry email for $10 a month in order to get the Blackberry , and thanks to this site I found out that that was totally untrue and I was getting screwed by the sales rep in the Metro store. I�m sure she gets commission for the sales of the service. I know a lot of people bash Metro, but I�m not one of them. I have no problem with their service at all, I read all the time �metro is for people who have no jobs and $hltty credit�. Well folks my credit rating is in the high 700�s and I make quite a good living�� metro is for people who are smart enough not to get raped buy a cell company, and who don�t do a lot of traveling. You wouldn�t believe (or maybe you would) the number of threads on the dozens of websites with people asking �anyone know why my 8330 can�t use youtube?� And when you call Metro most of the time the reps have no idea that youtube won�t work, and they tell you to bring the phone back to the store because its broken. I�m new to the world of the Blackberry so I�m figuring a lot out , thanks to people like you and this site �if ya got a PSP I can teach you how to make it tap dance though lol�.

SO TRUE!!!! my mom has a blackberry through AT&T my aunt through T-Mobile. when i got mine with Metro and only paid $200 because of old metro phones i brought in and traded towards it my family flipped out saying i can't afford it and all this.... once i told them and then EXPLAINED it another 500 times for them that with metro you pay for the month ahead of time and you get unlimited everything that it is very worth it.... they finally realized i think that i made the right choice leaving tmobile who i've been paying $150+ a month and STILL going over minutes.... lol

[danilopombo]

If you live in a Metro PCS covered area and you are not a traveler man I think Metro PCS BB is the very best choice in the market. Yes you have to pay $400 at the begining but after that you pay only $64 a month (Tax included) for an unlimited Data and Phone plan. What other carrier offer that? In less than 5 months you recovered the money you paid for the BB. I've been using Metro PCS for 5 years and now I'm really happy with my BB 8330m for just $64 a month.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Pedro_01]

REPLY:
I actually just figured out how to play streaming video from the internet on my curve 8330. when you select a video to be played sucha as a youtube video for example, and it says unsupported format, you can then it our menu button to the left of the trackball and select "set encoding" the hit "ok" and it should play just fine! thats all i did and my vids play now!

BRO MINE IS NOT PLAYING DO U KNOW WHY?? I TRYED THE SAME THING YOU TOLD ABOVE, IT STILL THE SAME THING. =/ Do you have metro pcs?

[johnpmorton]

If you notice the individual you are refering to in your post uses an 8330 on Sprint - The 8330m on Metro WILL NOT play streaming youtube videos - it will download videos from vuclip and play. As I said before, this seems to be a shortcoming of the OS 4.5.x on the 8330m, my friends running 4.3.x on the 8330 seem to be able to do quite a few things we can't. I do not think it is that Metro has blocked this content as I am able to stream youtube on my Sprint / HTC Touch flashed to Metro. This is dissapointing, I know! In fact, I am bewildered by the lack of codec support on the 8330m, and often wonder (as this is my first Blackberry) why anyone other than a business user want a Blackberry. I am going to hang on for a bit longer to see if os 5.0 comes out and possibly corrects some of these problems, if not...back to WinMo for me.

[Ralfire]

REPLY:
I actually just figured out how to play streaming video from the internet on my curve 8330. when you select a video to be played sucha as a youtube video for example, and it says unsupported format, you can then it our menu button to the left of the trackball and select "set encoding" the hit "ok" and it should play just fine! thats all i did and my vids play now!

Did not work for me

[jerryklnk]

This worked for my Sprint Curve 8330, ending months of frustration

[bmbaker2k5]

SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM!!!!!
Just downloaded the new BOLT browser. now I'm able to get on YOUTUBE and watch videos!!!!! I am so happy!!!!!!! now we can enjoy the bb like it was MEANT to be used!!!!! YAY!!!!

[johnpmorton]

I don't have my Curve at the moment, can you confirm wether this browser will play other kinds of streaming media, such as radio from tuned.mobi, or m.moodio.fm?

[bmbaker2k5]

I don't have my Curve at the moment, can you confirm wether this browser will play other kinds of streaming media, such as radio from tuned.mobi, or m.moodio.fm?

I am about to find out i will post with answer in the next 30 minutes.

EDIT: thats a negative. with youtube in the bolt browser it plays the videos straight in the page like it would on a normal computer so therefore with tuned.mobi it opens the media player and will not support the file format. ugh. it is frustrating having a bb that WONT STREAM MEDIA BECAUSE METRO IS GAY!!!!! that is why I am switching phone companies.

[johnpmorton]

I don't think it's Metro - First, if Metro blocked streaming then Youtube wouldn't work in Bolt - Second, Slacker wouldn't work and I can confirm it does. Finally, I have a Winmo phone I flashed over and EVERY streaming service I try works. So, I am left to conclude it is OS 4.5.X on the 8330m that has a lack of codec support - If you look around a bit I think you will find this to be true - Not that I think Metro is perfect, but I do want to identify the real problem when it comes to streaming.

[bmbaker2k5]

I don't think it's Metro - First, if Metro blocked streaming then Youtube wouldn't work in Bolt - Second, Slacker wouldn't work and I can confirm it does. Finally, I have a Winmo phone I flashed over and EVERY streaming service I try works. So, I am left to conclude it is OS 4.5.X on the 8330m that has a lack of codec support - If you look around a bit I think you will find this to be true - Not that I think Metro is perfect, but I do want to identify the real problem when it comes to streaming.

I figured it was something with the phone not the service level but still... metro isn't even up to date on ANYTHING I called them to ask about upgrades and they literally said "oh you can upgrade the software?" i was speechless.... I have a feeling it's gonna be a VERY bumpy road for metro to get in the BB game. blah

[danilopombo]

Just downloaded the Bolt Browser and now I can see any video from youtube. Bolt Browser is the solution for Metropcs BB for playing internet videos.

[johnpmorton]

Well, for those who had any question as to whether or not the MPCS 8330m's shortcomings were a RIM problem or a MPCS problem, we now have an answer. It is the 8330m's O/S! How do I know this? Well, I have suspected it for a long time due to the fact I have had a WinMo phone flashed to Metro and hacked for the web, etc. But in the back of my mind I thought perhaps it is the hack that lets me bypass some block MPCS may have on streaming sites, ets. Well, the Samsung Code WinMo phone is now out on Metro and guess what? Everything works!!! Yes, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, streaming radio from tuned.mobi - all the things that gave me problems on the 8330m -

[Shinrar]

Makes me wonder if upgrading/downgrading the OS version might be the solution to these issues.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[johnpmorton]

I thought of this too - after all, my friend who has a BB 8330 with OS 4.3.x can stream youtube, and moodio; the only problem is that there is no version of OS 4.3.x for the 8330m - so downgrade is a no-go. As for upgrade, I have not yet seen a leak of OS 5.0 for the 8330m, I have seen it for the 8330, just not the "m" which may mean nothing or may mean that the 8330m users are getting left out in the cold. The other option is to just sell my BB 8330m on Ebay and buy a Samsung Code from Metro and quit fighting the antiquated OS on my phone ;-)

But that would be giving up!