MPEG or AVI

The Export/Quicktime/Expert Settings.. offer a wide variety of options..

but..
it is not 'mpg or avi' .. avi is an old media container from Windows, allowing all kind of codecs (on Mac, only Cinema is supported)... mpg could be lots of flavors .. iM supports mpeg4, h263, h264.. which are all 'mpg' ... iDVD creates mpeg2 (in .vobs) .. there're lots of options using 3rd party apps to create mpeg1 ...

tell us your 'target'/needs, why or where to convert to ...

hi Jim,

.. I try to avoid too much 'tech lingo...'
avi and mov are wrappers.. inside, all kind of chocolate.
so, if someone says 'give me a mov/avi', the are all kind of options.. as mentioned above, the Expert Settings in iMHD6 allow a wide range of codecs (=chocolate) inside a wrapper (=mov)... the options for 'avi' (you'll find it in the Expert settings) are 1 - .. a very old codec (vanilla chocolate).. selecting in teh Expert options 'Quicktime' again, offers you a new dialog with maaany flavors (nuts, white choc, brandy...) - all in a .mov..

for compatibility, I would choose mpeg4.. not the latest, but well known..

so, in iM: Export/Quicktime/Expert Settings.. hit the blue button, new dialog with a drop down menu, choose again Quicktime.. click the 'Options' button, new dialog, click on codecs, choose mpeg4...

< fingers crossed, and some brown lips 😉 )

bbbjim wrote:
.. even though I am still having problems loading the vids with that host, at least I know it is not because they weren't exported and saved appropriately.

..

maybe, your host can offer you a more detailed disciption, what he's expecting .. or, Plan B) you give me a link to some ready-published videos from that host, and I'll check the codecs .. flavors..

Hi there - I'd like to ask for your help to do the reverse - I have been sent files in both mpg4 and avi, now I need to open to be able to edit in iMovie or FCExpress. What do I do next, and which is better to import into?

two possibilities:

simply File/Import the files into iM .. IF QT can handle them, the conversion takes place automatically..

if you lose audio, video or simply the file doesn't import, use any of the many converter tools (QTpro, Streamclip, VisualHub...) and convert into 'dv stream', iMHD native codec..

I'm pretty sure, your files don't fullfill any video standards (iM is for TV delivery, e.g. NTSC has 720x480/29.97fps etc) .. so, don't be disappointed, if files look 'ugly' in iM.. will look better on final export, and conversion is a lossy process..

final word: consider usage of other editor, as Streamclip, QTpro to edit your files in their 'native' format..