MPEG Streamclip compression for iMovie HD

I am wanting to edit my DVD home movies in iMovie HD. I make a new image (.dmg) in Disk utility & export as QT movie with MPEG Streamclip. The compression selection is where I am confused. Some discussion suggestions have been to use DV/DVC Pro & others have been to use H.264.
Anyone help clear this up for me?

If you're using iMovie HD, then I think many long time contributors on the iMovie Discussion Group would suggest DV/DVC Pro as it preserves as much of the original data coming from the DVD as possible. Image quality will be way less affected due to the much lower level of compression performed on the video. I think you'll notice a big difference choosing DV/DVC Pro over H.264
However also be aware that DV/DVC Pro will occupy 12-13GBytes of disk space per hour of video you convert. H.264 will be a smaller file size, but that is only due to the extreme level of compression applied to the video.

Similar Messages

MPEG Streamclip options for iMovie use and for iDVD use

Hi.
This is my first posting so I apologise for all procedural inadequacies.
I am doing a montage of clips from different DVDs, using the DVDs as source material. For this I first run the DVDs through MPEG Streamclip, pick the relevant clips, then export the .VOB files as Quicktime files, then import them into iMovie HD, editing them together in it. I then save the montage as an iMovie HD project, import it into iDVD in order to burn a separate DVD which can be played on regular DVD players and on TV sets.
Everything looks fine until I see the final product on the TV screen. The picture quality is poor and it seems that the frame rate is odd. The sound is muffled, too. What am I doing wrong? I am not sure if I am choosing the right options in the MPEG Streamclip – Movie Exporter window (Compression, Quality, Frame Size, Frame Blending, Field Dominance, Interlaced Scaling, Reinterlace Chroma, Deinterlace Video etc.) I’m not even sure how relevant this is for this problem. I even tried exporting DVD .VOB files as MPEG4 files and as DV files instead of as Quicktime files, hoping the picture and overall quality would be better. It works in iMovie HD but when I try to import the edited montage into iDVD it won’t recognize it.
I’m stuck. Does anyone know what the optimal set of options is for what I’m trying to do? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
P.S. How do I alter the DV-NTSC setting which iMovie HD seems to have as default on the top of its window as soon as it starts up? I am in the UK and need to know that all is always set to PAL.

export the .VOB files as Quicktime files
"QuickTime" is rather vague, because it includes A LOT of very different codecs and qualities!
You want to output PAL/NTSC DV_streams if you want to import it to iMovie/iDVD! If the source is PAL, output PAL and vice versa (converting decent quality PAL<->NTSC is another can of worms).
But: if you want to preserve quality, you really should edit MPEG and re-author it as a DVD, and forget iMovie/iDVD because they want DV, and converting DVD->DV->DVD will lose quality!
See also:
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convertMPEG
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#PALNTSC

MPEG streamclip compression types - converting into avi files to burn into DVDs later. HELP!!!!

I've made a movie on my iMovie '08 and export it and now I want to convert it to avi because I want to burn it into DVDs. I didn't use the 'export using quicktime' option on iMovie because there's this error occuring (error code = -43) and I don't know why! Anyhow, I'm using MPEG streamclip, and I'm so confused with the compression windows? What should I choose if I want the DVDs to be played on TV? Apple Photo - JPEG doesn't sound right. And the frame size thingy too. I also dragged the quality into 100% so that it would turn out good. PLEASE HELP ME! I really don't understand technical stuff like this Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

honeyandmilk wrote:
Oh, rightttt. Thanks, posted it there just now.
You're welcome. Good luck to you.

Mpeg-2 compression for internet

I'm trying to compress my 3min. 45 sec. video using compressor, into a mpeg-2 file that has to be less than 6MB. Using quicktime conversion out of FCP5 I can get a great mpeg-4 file of that size, but my PC won't play it so I'm guessing that other people will have the same problem, when they try to view it on my webpage. Since FCP5 does not export as mpeg-2, I am having to use compressor, but I cannot figure out how to get the file size down. Even if I use the preset for internet streaming the estimated file size is 140MB, even if I turn the bitrate all the way down, the file size only gets down to about 50MB. How can I replicate the results of using the quicktime preset 'mpeg-4 > streaming medium'... but using compressor, and resulting in a mpeg-2 file?

This is very strange, I'd expect to be mpeg-4 as a dedicated file for internet delivery, or any other QT file
of the similar size.
MPEG-2 is a format for DVD delivery, not for web. No wonder you were not able to bring to file size down, because MPEG-2 is for DVD - thus the best possible quality is needed.
Consult your web master again and then export your FCP sequence (movie) by"Export" then chhose "Using QuickTime conversion".
I hope this will help.
Rista

MPEG Streamclip Settings for Canon 7D

I'm struggling to successfully render the raw Canon 7D video into an acceptable codec for Final Cut Express. I imported the video to my hard drive via memory card. We shot 1080i.
In MPEG Streamclip I use the following settings:
- Export as Quicktime
- Apple Intermediate Codec
- 24fps
- Uncheck interlacing
- Tried both sizes of 1080i and 1920 X 1080 (unscaled), and also unlikely sizes
-Other settings are default
When I import the video into FCE, the monitor says "unrendered." Any help is much appreciated.

Final Cut Express does not support 24fps; never has. If you must work with 24fps material, then you need Final Cut Pro.
To use the material in FCE, you can change the frame rate in MPEG Streamclip when you convert to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec. You will have to experiment to see what the results are. It will be better if you shoot your video in 60i since you are in Canada (an NTSC country).

Best MPEG Streamclip settings for exporting a .mov file? Please help!

Am really stuck... I have a 1.6GB VOB file (which also exists in copy as a 2GB and a 1GB .mov file). I need to make a quicktime copy of the movie to upload online, but the maximum limit is 500MB. Because it's for a contact for a film festival, it needs to be as high quality as humanly possible, but has to be sent online. What precise settings should I use? I'm in the UK. Can anyone help me? Would be seriously grateful.

We don't care how big the original is; it is the length that matters. Take your limit of 500MB and multiply by 1024 to get megabits. Divide that number by the length in seconds of your movie. That is your bitrate in megabits per second. Duplicate one of the best-quality presets and change the bitrate. Make sure all the high quality options are on.

Why do my DV files look better when played in MPEG Streamclip than iMovie?

My home movie DV files look washed out (compared to what my tapes looked like I played them on the TV years ago) when played with both iMovie '06 and iMove '11. The claim has been made that if I retransfer my tapes using iMovie '06 (rather than '09, which I used last time, or '11), there will be a dramatic improvement in the visual quality (and there will be some unspecified benefits if I set the dial to 48K audio). HOWEVER, if I play the files I already have in MPEG Streamclip, the visual quality improves substantially without any retransfer. Here is my question: Why? Why do my iMovie-imported files look better in MPEG Streamclip than in iMovie?
Here is my layman's answer: algorithms. When MPEG Streamclip encounters the exact same arrangements of molecules (or whatever), it has some plan for what to do with them that is smarter than what iMovie does. Is this another sign or way that iMovie is not well suited for DV?

Please go to my website where I have posted new instructions on working with DV.
This keeps both interlaced fields from FireWire capture through to a DVD. All the lines means no lost quality when editing DV or Digital8.
It also solves the washed-out color problem.

Exact import settings for .mov files via MPEG Streamclip?

Ok, as I mentioned in this other thread , I'm looking to import some files recorded at an odd resolution into FCE.
Resizing my 512x288 files to 720x480 looks like it works, as well as with my 640x480 ones (don't know how it'll ultimately mess with the quality)... but I did do a test using some footage from 3 different video sources with different native resoultions, a)720x480 Sony DV Cam, b) 512x288 captured by helmet cam on Archos PMA 430, and c) 640x480 captured on Canon SD600, as well as .jpeg photos at 640x480 res.
I changed the odd sizes (Archos & Canon) to 720x480 using MPEG Streamclip, resampling the sound uncompressed at 48 khz, using the Apple DV/DVCPRO NTSC compression option. Importing these files into FCE, I mixed them and the Sony standard footage, and a few pictures up on a timeline, rendered it and exported it to a QT file, then burnt a CD. It appears to have worked to my satisfaction.
My question is, before I go and convert about 60 5-10 minute clips to this 720x480 resolution for use in a full length documentary, are there any settings I should be ticking off on the MPEG Streamclip interface to maximize the likelihood that the final project will work as well as the test did?
Below are the options I selected in the test, which seemed to work:
MPEG STREAMCLIP
Compression: Apple DV/DVCPRO-NTSC
Quality: 100%
Sound: Uncompressed Stereo 48 KHZ
Frame Size: 720x480
Frame Rate: 29.97
Checked boxes for:
-Frame Blending
-Better Downscaling
-Interlaced Scaling
Zoom: 100%
X/Y: 1
Center: 0,0
Field Dominance: Upper field first
That's about it. I tried doing similar conversions in a trial version of DIVX Converter pro, but the quality was noticibly lower than in MPEG streamclip. Maybe I just had the wrong settings in it.
Anyway, Tom Wolsky has mostly got me on the right track in the last post "...so the material needs to be a .mov QuickTime file in DV NTSC, at 29.97fps, audio should be Linear PCM with a sample rate of 48KHz, and frame resolution of 720x480 using the CCIR601 digital video aspect ratio... be warned you're scaling up a very, very heavily compressed video stream, so it's going to look less than optimal when you make it DV. I can't believe they can do 192kbps at that frame rate, when DV, which is heavily compressed as well, is 3.5MB/sec."
I have no idea if what I described in my test is heavily compressed or not, so couldn't really say how the settings I mentioned above affect Tom's latter advice.
Anyway, any help would be welcome before I encode all these files. Thanks.
iMac 17-inch 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4)

I'm kind of confused because the only settings I could find on the Handycam for audio are 12 khz and 16 khz, and though I think I filmed them at 12, I've captured the footage at both within FCE... I'm not sure either have shown any probs when imported at 48 khz as yet. Not sure if that's because they are a multiple of 48 or I just got lucky. Either way, 1) does the audio bit rate the footage was captured at (12 khz) change to 16 if changed on the camcorder (or is it solely what the original was filmed in, period) prior to capture on FCE, 2) and if so or if not, how serious of a problem will it pose, if I do nothing and keep the FCE settings at the normal NTSC 48khz, in later stages of production considering there will be a lengthy timeline?
iMac 17-inch 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4)

Converting iPhone footage though MPEG Streamclip for FCE4

I'm trying to get the right settings to convert my footage from my iPhone4 to FCE4.0.1. I'm using the following settings when exporting to Quicktime in MPEG Streamclip:
Compression: AIC
FrameSize: 1280x720 (HDTV 720P)
Frame Rate 29.97
Frame Blend and Better Downscale on
Interlace Off
It seems to be stretching the footage a bit. I don't need HD, I don't think (would I notice a difference in Final Cut 4.0 anyway?). But I don't see another option that looks right. I tried this forum before and was recommended to do 1280 x 720 unscaled, but that option doesn't pop up in Streamclip (though it used to). Is that because I'm now using a different iPhone?
I'm using a MacBook Air with a USB connected external drive, 250 GB, with 70 Gig free. Formatted Mac OS Extended.
Any help much appreciated!

Read my article in this magazine...I talk about how to do this:
http://www.lafcpug.org/nabsupermag08.html
Shane

MPEG1-DV conversion using MPEG Streamclip. Help!

I am having problems converting an mpeg1 movie clip for editing in iMovie.
I recently recorded a concert on my Sony DCR-HC40 camcorder. The majority of the concert was captured to cassette in DV-PAL format (720 x 576, stereo, 48 kHz at 25 FPS).
However, the final third of the concert was captured on the camera's MemoryStick Duo in MPEG1 muxed format (320 x 320 at 25 FPS). The clip is 84 Mb in size.
I want to convert the mpeg clip into the same format at the cassette footage so that I can seamlessly splice the two sets of footage in iMovieHD with as little depreciation in quality of image and sound as possible.
So far I have simply used the 'export to DV' command from the File menu in MPEG Streamclip. But this produces a noticeably crackly-sounding depreciation in sound quality and no improvement in image quality - rather the reverse infact, since when viewed in the larger Quicktime window, the clip shows up the poorer resolution of the original clip.
What do I need to do to get the original mpeg clip to as near a quality as the cassette footage, for editing and burning onto DVD for display on a TV?
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
BTW, I am running Tiger 10.4.3 on a Pb G4 (QuickTime 7.0.3/iMovie 5.0.2)
PowerBook G4 17 1.5 ghz 512 MB Ram Mac OS X (10.4.3)

mpeg1 footage is only fit for showing on screens no larger than an iPod photo or mobile device?
MPEG1 is usually encoded with low resolution and rather low bitrates so the quality is often rather poor.
However, MPEG1 CAN be encoded with DVD-like resolutions and bitrates so the quality CAN be quite good (MPEG1 doesn't support interlacing like MPEG2, though).
It would be a shame to lose the footage as it was part of a concert of Handel's Messiah.
One option could be to do minimal edits to the MPEG1 with MPEG editors like MPEG Streamclip and burn it as a VCD or DVD (they both CAN have the same video although DVDs rarely use it). Then you'd preserve ALL video quality there is.
...but this won't work with your 320x240 video because the VCD/DVD compatible resolution is PAL 352x288 or NTSC 352x240. So you'd need to re-compress even your 320x240 MPEG which degrades quality.
So your best quality option is to watch the MPEG1 on a computer monitor via MPEG Streamclip, QT Player or some other viewer.
Or, you can convert to DV and blend it with the high quality DV tape material. Converting MPEG to DV should not much or at all degrade quality because DV is a much higher quality codec than your MPEG1 source.
Bit Rate: 0.73 Mbps
Duration: 0:16:16
Data Size: 84.79 MB
That's quite low. A DVD uses about 4-6-8 Mb/s and a low quality low res VCD uses 1.1 Mb/s. So your MPEG1 quality can't be very good to begin with.
Audio Tracks:
192 MP2 mono, 32 kHz, 32 kbps
That's very low, too. Even a low quality MP2 often uses 192 kb/s. And the 32 kHz must be resampled to 48 kHz for DV or DVD use.
when played, either via streamclip before conversion, or in QT (I don't have QTPro) after conversion to DV, distorts at quite low levels in a way that a QT movie from cassette does not.
I'm afraid that there is not much you can do if you hear the distortion even BEFORE any conversions. Some dedicated audio processing app might soften the distortion but I wouldn't count on that.
FWIW, you might try to convert using the "Low Level" audio. From the MPEG Streamclip guide:
"For MPEG audio tracks (MP1, MP2) two different audio levels are available for playback and conversion to MOV, DV, AVI, MP4 and AIFF: "High Level" and "Low Level". You can choose one of these two levels using the "Audio Mode" pop-up menu. The default level is "High Level". Use "Low Level" if, and only if, the converted movie or AIFF file shows an excess of volume."
you also mention that re-compressing with iDVD will further degrade quality. Is this true of both types of footage (mpeg->DV & DV cassette)?
MPEG2 compression used in video-DVDs will ALWAYS degrade quality. High quality material (such as DV) tolerates this better so you might not even notice it. So you should use high bitrates if you want to convert and burn the low quality MPEG1-converted-to-DV material as a DVD (with iDVD use Best Performance or don't exceed ~70 minutes with Best Quality).
would I need to get Roxio Toast? What is the difference between this and IDVD?
Toast 7 can be forced to burn non-valid DVD resolutions as a video-DVD (MPEG Streamclip can be used to prepare the MPEGs) with no re-converting or quality loss but those DVDs are not guaranteed to work on standalone DVD players so I'd not use that route.
Basically, what I'd like to acheive is a nicely-edited home movie with titles etc, to put onto DVD & VHS, of a 2.5 hour classical concert, in as good a quality, audio/visually as I can, from the two types of footage, spliced as cleanly as possible. The footage is continuous, but the media changes from cassette to mpeg at a certain point.
Don't exceed ~70-75 minutes with iDVD because after this the quality starts to drop. Toast 7 can burn somewhat longer high quality DVDs than iDVD because it uses compressed AC3 audio so it doesn't "steal" bandwidth from video as iDVD does with its uncompressed PCM audio. But compressing that low quality audio might not be a good idea either!

Mpeg 2 conversion for FCPX

I trust this question is still germane in this discussion group:
I'm following the advice of some of you to get MPEG streamclip to faciltating ingest into FCPX. However it says I have to buy a component. After going to the Apple website suggested (see screen shot), I'm unclear about WHICH component to buy. Help?

You need this one.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A/quicktime-mpeg-2-playback-component-f or-mac-os-x
Be sure to follow the instructions in the MPEG Streamclip website for how to install it in Mountain Lion. You must get the Beta version of MPEG Streamclip and use the installer for the QuickTime MPEG2 Playback Component that comes in the MPEG Streamclip DMG.

Best export for a .VOB from MPEG Streamclip to iMovie?

Hi,
My source is a DVD and I want to make sure that the two minutes I end up with in iMovie is of the best quality.
I own the Quicktime MPEG-2 thing and, becase of timecode errors, I have opened the .VOB in MPEG Streamclip and I am asking myself, "Which Export, Convert, Demux do I use?"
In the discussions I have seen a lot of recommendations for Exporting to a DV Stream.
If this is the best quality, which compression? DV25, DV25PRO or DV50PRO? Additionally, aside from checking "Split DV Stream...", what other options (Frame blending, deinterlace, better downscaling) should I check?
What about simply Demuxing the VOB and placing the mpeg2/aiff into iMovie -> contents-> media? Can iMovie handle a mpeg2 and, if so, wouldn't that allow the greatest amount of flexibility?
BTW - I don't know what the end product is going to be, which is why I want to have the flexibilty and highest quality.
Thanks!

Video-DVDs (VOBs inside the VIDEO_TS folders) use 48 kHz audio so you don't need to touch the resample button in MPEG Streamclip.
I don't want to lose information if I don't have to.
Yes... You are already dealing with a VOB -> DV conversion which degrades quality... If possible, I'd get the original source and digitize that to DV, so there wouln't be any quality degradation from the detour to DVD.
Or, if that fails, edit the VOBs with apps like MPEG Streamclip -- that won't degrade DVD quality level either. But then you'd have to forget the iLife apps because they don't support this kinb of workflow.

Getting video compressed in MPEG Streamclip for use in FCE

I have AVI video created by a Flip Video device. The video and audio work fine in QT, VLC, and in the Flip Video software. However, when I open the video in MPEG Streamclip I get video but no sound! I need it to open in Streamclip so I can convert it to DV video for editing in FCE.
Following conversion there is still no sound. Any suggestions??

Where are you monitoring the sound? In what application? Did you export from Streamclip to DV or to QuickTime?

Best Quality Export Settings in MPEG Streamclip to Edit HD Video in iMovie

Hi,
I import video from data DVDs and regular DVDs and edit the videos in iMovie. In the past, I've always used MPEG Streamclip because it can read the native DVD VOB format. I then use the "Export to DV" option in MPEG Streamclip which exports a .DV file readable by QuickTime or iMovie. These are large files, but it is my understanding that this is best quality for editing.
Now I have started to receive HD Videos. When I use MPEG Streamclip the same way, it reduces the HD video into a windowbox 720x480 video loosing all HD resolution.
I've done some research online and apparently MPEG Streamclip's DV export options are pretty limited and other people have said to use the "Export to MPEG-4" or the "Export to QuickTime" which are more configurable. Each of these requires a Compression Codec Selection. Some have said to use H.264, but I've also read that you should not compress with H.264 if you're going to be doing editing.
I do not care about file size, I want maximum quality. The incoming DVD video is 1280 x 720 (HDTV 720p), what Compression selection do I select in MPEG Streamclip for "Export to MPEG-4" or "Export to QuickTime" to maintain the best quality for editing in iMovie? I appreciate your help!
Jerry

Use Apple Intermediate Codec for best quality and best editing performance.
If you have Final Cut Pro installed, you may have additional good options like ProRes 422.

How to convert Mpeg 2 to usable format for imovie

I have been trying for months, and am completely frustrated. I have a 2x2.8 Ghz Quad Core Tower running 10.6.8. I have all three imovies installed - Imovie HD, imovie 7.1 and imovie 9. All have the most recent updates. I had trouble importing several HD tapes, using my Canon Vixia HV30 - when I plugged it in, Imovie did not recognize it. After trying several suggestions on apple boards, I finally gave up, and I sent the tapes out to be recorded to an external drive. They came back - several in .mpeg format and 3 in .avi.
I can import the .avi format without difficulty, but not the Mpegs. They are greyed out in imovie. After researching, I purchased and downloaded the Quicktime Mpeg plug-in (for $30 CDN) and also Mpeg Streamclip. When I try to convert using Mpeg Streamclip, the program just freezes at 1% encoded. Perhaps I am not using the proper settings in Streamclip?
Does anyone have a suggestion for how I import these clips into imovies?
I am SO frustrated. All I want to do is edit 2 years worth (about 10 hours?) of home movies in imovie - a presumably simple thing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle.
a DVD is in a compresed format called mpeg2, which is standard across all DVDs. This is what is known as a 'final delivery format' and is not suitable for editing. Because is is compressed, a 4.7GB DVD can hold a two hour movie (dual layer DVDs twice that), whereas the DV stream from a video camera, which runs at about 13GB per hour, is not compressed and IS intended for editing.
In other words you have to 'reverse engineer' the DVD back to an uncompressed format in ordfer to edit it. There is a penalty for doing this in terms of slight quality loss, but it is one you can live with.
When you have your DVD as an icon on your desktop, double-click it, and it will open to reveal a TS-Folder containing a number of various files, some called VOB. These are the constituent parts of any video DVD.
When you have downloaded and installed mpegStreamclip, and purchased and installed the Apple mpeg2 plugin, open mpegStreamclip and drag the entire TS Folder into its window. Then using the various menus available to you (just explore them and you will get the hang of it) ask it to convert to DV.
That DV file, which will be many times larger than the original TS Folder, and which can a while to create (be patient - make coffee or prune the roses!) is what you can now import into iMovie for editing etc.
When you have finished doing that, you then have to turn the project back into a DVD.
mpegStreamclip can be downloaded from here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.

MPEG Streamclip compression for iMovie HD

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