How to Convert .AVI to .MOV + Compressor

Question

How to Convert .AVI to .MOV + Compressor

Hello all,

First and foremost, thanks for looking at this post. I have recently purchased a Samsung SC-X105L camcorder. I like very much with once exception, it uses .AVI files which don't play nicely with QT. I would really like a simple way to batch convert all the .AVI files to a QT .MOV (or similar)format. I think that the app I want to use is Compressor which does batch conversion, but I really don't know much about it, so could someone please help me? I would greatly appreciate it, thanks.

As a side note, I have tried numerous applications to do this with little success. The best I have found is Quicktime Quick Batch, which repeatedly hangs in errors due to its lack of updating. FFMPGX, or something like that, is very confusing and I can't quite figure that one out. MPEG Stream Clip will not recognize the .AVI files for whatever reason.

Posted on Sep 6, 2005 10:00 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 6, 2005 11:50 AM in response to Luke McGuyver

If the AVI is using a DivX codec, then Divx Doctor might work:

http://www.3ivx.com/divxdoctor/

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Answer 2

Sep 7, 2005 6:25 AM in response to Rajpaul Bagga

I was able to use DivX Doctor, but am unsure as to the result of what actually happened. I downloaded DivX Doctor and the required codec. I then converted the files. It was really fast! Much unlike how I have converted them in the past one at a time using QT Pro. Normally it takes around 1 hour for each 30 second .AVI clip to be converted to .MOV.

So my question is how can this be? Why would it take so long for QT Pro and literally 3 seconds for DivX doctor?

Finally, will other people be able to view the newly converted .MOV file if I use DivX doctor without having to acquire the DivX codec? If not, I need to come up with an alternate solution. Any thoughts?

Maybe this topic belongs in the QT discussion, but my original question was how to use Compressor to batch convert these .AVI files to .MOV.

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Answer 3

Sep 7, 2005 3:26 PM in response to Luke McGuyver

DivX Doctor is a "repair" utility intended to "fix" movie files that are not recognized by your installed DivX codec (and therefore won't play). DivX Doctor does not perform any transcoding of the original file, it simply edits some header data in the file - this is why it's processing so quickly; it isn't processing the data at all.

Samsung is using a proprietary DivX codec to compress the video data which is then stored in an MPEG-4 AVI "container". The DivX Quicktime component that Samsung provides on the installation CD that came with your camera conflicts with existing DivX components installed by Tiger and/or Quicktime 7. If you have not installed the software that came with your camera you will not be able to view your videos because you do not have Samsung's specific codec installed. If you do have the Samsung software installed you won't be able to view the videos because the Samsung codec conflicts with what is installed by Tiger/QT7...

Pending an update of the Samsung software for Tiger/QT7 compatibilty, try removing any DivX components from /Library/Quicktime (anything DivX or 3ivx). Re-install (or install if you have not yet) the Samsung software and restart your Mac. There are reports in the Samsung message boards that removing any/all "other" (i.e. non-Samsung) DivX components eliminates the conflict.

If you intend to transcode your videos for editing be sure to select an output format that is uncompressed (or at least minimally compressed - use DV NTSC, Apple Intermediate or Animation codecs for example). The MPEG-4 files from this camera are compressed about as much as video can be compressed. Transcoding to a native Quicktime format and recompressing them with a different codec, then dropping this file into iMovie, Final Cut Express, or Compressor and recompressing them yet again will just be... yuck. Of course, if you manage to get to the point where you can successfully play your videos in Quicktime Player, Compressor should be able to handle them as well. If you just want to transcode them (without editing) to a QT native format, Compressor should be able to handle such a batch conversion (turn whatever preset(s) you like to use into Droplets and you can do drag and drop conversions without launching Compressor).

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Answer 4

Sep 7, 2005 7:51 PM in response to TSchneider

Thanks for the info. I'm not quite sure if I understand it all so I'm going to have to re-read it several times. I think I follow the Samsung/DivX thing, but am still unsure about Compressor.

To make it easy for me to understand, in lay-man's terms, what setting should I use in Compressor to convert the .AVI files? I really just want them in standard QT format so I can edit them with iMovie and also post them directly to my .mac for streaming. I have no idea what settings are ideal, maybe you could help, thanks again.

I tried Compressor setting MPEG-4 NTSC for Fast Cable Streaming. This looks like it will work for streaming stuff from my .mac I also tried DV NTSC setting, and it blew up my original 18MB file to nearly 60MB. I really don't want to do that! I can watch my .AVI clips as it is now, I was just hoping there would be a way to convert them all to some QT standard format, but from the responses on the board it doesn't sound like a standard like that exists.

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Answer 5

Sep 8, 2005 3:13 AM in response to Luke McGuyver

I may have misunderstood your original posting in part - sorry if I made things more confusing. I was under the impression that you were having trouble with playback of your AVI files (with regard to Quicktime). Not having a compatible Quicktime plugin component for the files from your camera would make it impossible for Compressor to transcode these properly.

You certainly wouldn't want to use an uncompressed video format such as DV NTSC, etc. as the output format for files destined for streaming or download! But should you wish to edit several of them together, add transitions, music, etc. using iMovie or Final Cut Express and output a final product with iDVD, you don't want to transcode from the MPEG-4 AVI your camera produces to a compressed Quicktime format and then to DVD MPEG-2 - compressing, decompressing, and recompressing the video could introduce some undesirable image degradation.

MPEG-4 is probably the most efficient streaming format in terms of file size and data rate in wide use. Most fairly recent Macs and PCs should be able to handle MPEG-4 video - it isn't particularly demanding of CPU cycles on playback and it maintains decent image quality at low data rates and small frame sizes. The various AVI formats once ubiquitous on PCs are quickly disappearing in favor of Microsoft's WMV. But creating WMV files on a Mac isn't something that can be done without spending a bit of money - there aren't any free Quicktime plugin components to do this.

H264 is nothing short of spectacular in terms of file size, data rate, frame size, and image quality however. Using H264 though would severely limit your audience. It requires a pretty powerful Mac for playback as well as Quicktime 7 - it's also very slow to encode.

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Answer 6

Sep 8, 2005 6:39 AM in response to TSchneider

Sorry about the confusion in the original post. It was probably my fault. Regardless, what I understand from your most recent post is that I should convert my existing .AVI clips to MPEG-4 for streaming them over the net. Is this correct?

Furthermore, H264 is a newer codec that is included in QT7. Will compressor convert my .AVI clips to H264, and if so, what setting is that in Compressor? Would it be wise to convert all of my .AVI to H264 so as to standardize my entire collection? Seems how QT7 player is free to download, wouldn't that work? Or is the H264 codec an add on that must be purchased?

On a final note, assuming that Compressor is my poison, is there a way to have the droplet just replace the files and not duplicate them with the conversion. For instance, I have a clip named CLIP001.AVI and I use a droplet to convert it to CLIP001.MPEG4. Instead of having it create an all new file, is there a way for it to delete the old file after it has been converted?

Thanks for your help again.

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Answer 7

Sep 8, 2005 11:07 AM in response to Luke McGuyver

It is never a good idea to delete your original files - I wouldn't even risk opening or utilizing irreplaceable original files except for the purpose of backing them up by duplicating them or burning to CD/DVD. Unless you can very easily replace a file in the event of damage or a need to transcode to a different codec or with different settings, you should always keep your original files safe. With a copy or two of your original tucked safely away on a backup disc there's no reason you couldn't (or shouldn't) delete the source file after transcoding. Compressor doesn't have a built-in function to accomplish something like this, but any preset you create can include a post-processing Applescript. I haven't investigated this option in depth, but it might be possible to to attach a script that deletes the source AVI on completion of the batch. Saving your preset as a Droplet lets you transcode a batch of files with drag and drop ease without launching Compressor (there are some options in the Droplet configuration that enable a Droplet to do its thing without any further user action).

Whether you "should" convert your AVI clips to MPEG-4 for streaming is something only you can decide. Presets for MPEG-4 optimized for streaming at a variety of data rates are provided by Apple in the "QuickTime 6 Compatible" Streaming group. You can try the entire group on one of your AVI files - drag the source AVI into the batch window (name the batch in the field at the top if a name isn't automatically filled in) then drag the entire Quicktime 6 Compatible group onto the AVI file entry. Submit the batch and Compressor will go to work producing a new video file for each of the presets in the group. When it's done, open the finished MP4s in Quicktime Player and check them. Any that are not up to your quality standards can either be eliminated or settings adjusted (don't change Apple's original presets - duplicate the one you want to adjust, rename it in some way, make the desired changes and save).
After some testing you may decide that MPEG-4 isn't the best for transcoding your files. MPEG-4 is terrific for DV video from the typical miniDVcam edited with and exported from iMovie/FCE/FCP. But since MPEG-4 is a lossy compression scheme, you may not get the very best result when your source is an already highly compressed MPEG-4 format. You'll have to test and see what works. MPEG-4 is widely accepted though and there aren't many PCs or Macs that wouldn't be able to play the files. If you want to use Compressor to batch your transcodes, MPEG-4 is probably your best bet. You're bound to get flak from someone (who can't play the files) about your choice of format, but at least if you check with a modest sample of your target audience (friends? family?) you'll have an idea of what to expect.

The Apple provided presets for H264 transcoding are in the Web Streaming Quicktime 7 Compatible or Web Download Quicktime 7 Compatible groupings. H264 produces amazing quality at large frame sizes, modest data rates and quicktime movies that are of manageable size. But even on a very fast Mac, H264 is very slow to encode. You'll have to make some tests and decide if the time to encode is really worth it. In any event, H264 is still so new you may be shutting out the vast majority of potential viewers of your videos if you provide only H264 encoded versions.

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