Rosetta will indeed fix mpg's that were split for upload to newsgroups and reassembled in a way the Mac can't read. However, at this point, QT 6 hangs at the seams, whereas QT 5 or VideoLan plays it perfectly.

Demuxing the mpg is a last resort when Rosetta doesn't work, i.e., if it starts spitting out chunks of wildly different sizes. BBDemux or mpgtx then work well to split the two tracks. However, since QT 5/6 cannot do anything with mpg1 streams but play them, you have to do a few tricks to get the two back together.

The easiest is to convert the m1a/m2a file to an mpg. Give the file an mp3 suffix and iTunes will be able to convert it just as you do a CD track. Then open the video file, then the audio in QT Pro. Scale-paste the audio into the video and save as self-contained movie. If the synch is off, then use QTMutator to adjust.

Another solution without converting the audio: After demuxing open the video in QT Pro 5/6 and the audio in QT Pro 4. Copy audio, then paste into video. Save as self-contained movie. QT 4 had limited editing abilities with mpg1 which were later dropped.

On 9.x you can have both 4 and 5/6 on your computer by deinstalling 5/6, installing 4, renaming the 4 Player (QuickyTime Player or something cute), then installing 5/6 again.

Note: mpgtx can also do rough edits on most mpg1's, but not if they have been placed in a QT "container" by saving them in QT.

All apps mentioned here are freeware (Rosetta shareware) available at versiontracker.com. mpgtx at http://www.biermann.org/philipp/mpegcut/