"I want to master this video editing thing in the worst way" . . .
And you seem to be persuing a course that is making it more difficult, IMHO.
No, you DON'T want to convert the MPEG2 to .mov - you want to convert it to .dv - that is what iMovie needs.
I don't know why you are using the Pixe VFR software?? You want to import into iMovie, don't you? You don't need it.
"mactheripper" is as it says. It is software that rips DVD's to your computer, however you don't want or need that. What you should do, and this will be the last time I suggest it, is Google "MPEGStreamclip", get the free, EASY download, come back to this Apple site and buy the download of the Apple Quicktime MPEG2 plug-in, then use your computer's Disk Utility to get the MPEG2 files off the cam onto your computer.
Then drag those video clip files into the Streamclip window and get converting to .dv.
Thanks Forest, miracles do happen, I was notified of your post.
I am on dial-up for our telecom (Verizon) refuses to allow fast service in this region. That's why we can't even use cell phones except from a cemetery to miles from here - no kidding'...
Therefore anything over half an hour download is risky. I can take the computer to one of the area's public libraries but even some of them are not connected to broad band.
Will check into the file size of the two apps you suggested.
After reading the reviews on the Quicktime MPEG2 plug-in - dozens of them - in the official Apple Store site, I came to ask myself why I decided to get an iMac. Out of about 50 reviews there were only 5 testimonials worthy of being awarded five stars, the others range from one to barely three.
This goes back to the end of 2006 and Apple has not seen fit to do anything about it. So we, the Mac users, have to reach for a piece of ancient software to make the Leopard into a has-been owing to poor planning.
The complaints are even distributed between Sony and JVC camera owners and two Panasonics. All of them - even the five-star reviewers - express their disappointment that Apple, despite its scoffing at Gates' Redmond outfit, is giving licensing difficulties as the reason for not including such an important feature in a $1,400.- product.
Fortunately I learned from the reviews that Quicktime by itself only serves to view Chaplin movies, no talkies, and that another plug-in (which I downloaded already...) is needed. The Apple site is so convoluted that after reading those discouraging reviews (which was possible only after beginning the purchasing exercise), I couldn't find the page where I had begun the purchase and have now duplicate orders on the HDD. Cannot erase the redundant one and will have to order by phone.
If using iMovie + QuickTime + Streamclip demands any technical programming knowledge to make them work in tandem, I'll have to stick with "the devil I know", the Gateway PC for its editing software "Movie Album" aka "Pixe VFR for Mac". Although basic, it contains no ambushes or needs of add-ons.
So if you guys feel that the two components will let me use iMovie in a user-friendly manner, I'll order the QuickTime. I was afraid - as per my last post - that it needed to be downloaded, but that's not the case.
BTW: Since it was not mentioned here, Streamclip is only needed for audio, a detail that the Apple Meisters have managed to keep quiet.
I give up - please go back to the dark side. You are making mountains out of molehills AND, if you had done a little research on camcorder suitabilities in the first place, you would have bought a miniDV cam and had NO problems.
Forest, please don't give up on me. I bought the camcorder almost 2 years ago when I had no thoughts of getting a Mac. I judged the suitability by the PC I was familiar with at the time.
I merely described what I had found out about the very-long-in-the tooth QTMPEG2 plug-in. Apples' handling of this known problem must be of some concern.
As I said, I'll be ordering the QT over the phone and wanted to know from you if I can use Mac's iMovie without any further applets. I even found something called VLC for Mac OSX that is reportedly a new Linux product.
Just to correct/clarify something you said earlier, Streamclip does the actual conversion from MPEG to DV. It is the Apple plug-in that ensures you get the audio too. I have never seen any complaints about that plug-in on this forum. These are merely the tools you need to be able to get your video into iMovie.
When you have both Streamclip and the QT plug-in on board, you should be able to download your DVD files to your Mac with Disk Utility and then simply drag each video clip file into the Streamclip window and select the proper conversion format. Save the DV files to your desktop for import into iMovie. I don't know how to explain it any simpler. Maybe one of the more senior members here has a further comment to add.
Thanks Forest, have made the order and printed out your comments. Will eventually take the iMac to the next public library to update the OS to 10.5.5 from my present 10.5.2 on their fast internet connection, recently installed by our telecom. Maybe by then iMovie etc has received some changes too.
