Costco's Film to DVD service

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Level 1

85 points

Costco's Film to DVD service

I recently learned of Costco's film to video transfer service and have a load of regular 8mm and Super 8mm material from my student filmmaker days that I would like to have digitized. I ultimately want to clean up the edits and sweeten the sound quality before burning to final versions via iDVD.

However, the hotline operator for the service advised that I would not be able to extract the file from the DVD to my Mac and that the software that they include on the disc that they provide is PC only.

I figure she must have just been quoting the company line on the file extraction question. Does anyone out there have experience with pulling these files off and working with them in iMovie '08?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

iMac FP, iBook dual USB, iPod Photo, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on May 20, 2008 6:27 AM

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Answer 1

May 20, 2008 7:28 AM in response to Silent Steve

Hey There!!!!

I know a friend of mine did this once, but I'm not sure if it was from Costco. It may be true that the software included on the disk is for PC but the files should be mac compatible. As long as the files are standard (like Quicktime), It should work. You can then open these files in programs like imovie, FCE and Quicktime.

My suggestion would be to call them again and ask what kind of files would be on the DVD.

I hope this helps,
-Hooked

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Answer 2

May 20, 2008 7:38 AM in response to Silent Steve

Steve,

Chances are that Costco is offering a DVD meant to be plaid in a standard DVD player as opposes to a data DVD contain files in a format ready to transfered to your computer for further editing.

If it were me, I'd seek out a service bureau that can do a transfer to miniDV tape or DVDs containing video in an uncompressed DV format. It will likely be more expensive than the service Costco is offering, but you'll get a better result in the end.

Matt

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Answer 3

May 20, 2008 10:26 AM in response to Silent Steve

I must have received bad advice in my first call to the "Transfer Hotline."
I tried again and was told that the file type that is created for the new discs is MPEG-2 and that it is one that can be transferred to my computer for further editing.

*This is what I need to be compatible with iMovie '08, correct?*

I'll admit this is my first venture into working with video on my Mac. If the project is satisfying I'll probably upgrade my hardware to be able to process the files faster. Overdue anyway...

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Answer 4

Jon Walker

Level 6

19,489 points

May 20, 2008 10:37 AM in response to SilentSteve

This is what I need to be compatible with iMovie '08, correct?

The files will likely be MPEG-2 video multiplexed with AC3 audio in VOB file containers if they are designed for playback on a standard DVD player. In any case, neither format is "natively" compatible with the QT structure and neither can be edited without conversion. However, if not encrypted like commercial DVDs, the content can be copied and/or converted to file formats that are compatible with iMovie '08 for editing purposes. In a nut shell, MPEG-2 compressed files are designed for distribution -- not editing.

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Answer 5

May 20, 2008 11:17 AM in response to Jon Walker

I read of an app called MPEG Streamclip elsewhere in this forum. Would that do the trick for converting MPEG-2 to a format that will work with iMovie?

What format will I be changing it to?

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Answer 6

Jon Walker

Level 6

19,489 points

May 20, 2008 2:03 PM in response to SilentSteve

I read of an app called MPEG Streamclip elsewhere in this forum. Would that do the trick for converting MPEG-2 to a format that will work with iMovie?

It is my application of preference. However, be advised that while the application is free, it requires the $20 QT MPEG-2 Playback component from Apple to bridge the MPEG engine with the QT structure embedded in the current Mac OS. It will allow you to convert to DV or AIC (high quality/large files), M-JPEG or Photo-JPEG (good quality with moderate file size) and MPEG-4 or H.264 (lower quality but smallest file sizes when video data rate is limited) compression formats -- all of which are iMovie '08 compatible. DV files are compatible with virtually all versions of iMovie and AIC is also compatible with iMovie HD without import conversion.

What format will I be changing it to?

As indicated above, MPEG Streamclip offers a number of options to suit both project needs and available storage space. Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses.

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