Importing MPEG-2 codec

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Level 1

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Importing MPEG-2 codec

Hi,
I am a fairly new FCP user. I've been given a load of footage to edit. Unfortunately I can't open several of the files. I've tried importing them into Mpeg streamclip and quicktime to convert but no luck there either.
I've copied all the file info below. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks.

General / Container Stream #1
Total Video Streams for this File.................1
Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
Video Codecs Used.................................MPEG-2 Video
Audio Codecs Used.................................PCM
File Format.......................................MPEG-4
Play Time.........................................13mn 44s
Total File Size...................................3.49 GiB
Total Stream BitRate..............................36.4 Mbps
Video Stream #1
Codec (Human Name)................................MPEG Video
Codec (FourCC)....................................61
Codec Profile.....................................Main@High
Frame Width.......................................1 920 pixels
Frame Height......................................1 080 pixels
Frame Rate........................................25.000 fps
Total Frames......................................20616
Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9
Video Standard....................................Component
Scan Type.........................................Interlaced
Scan Order........................................TFF
Color Space.......................................YUV
QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.675
Codec Settings (Matrix)...........................Default
Video Stream Length...............................13mn 44s 640ms
Video Stream BitRate..............................35.0 Mbps
Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR
Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
Video Stream Size.................................3.34 GiB (96%)
Video Stream Language.............................English
Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2010-02-18 23:12:26
Audio Stream #1
Codec.............................................PCM
Codec (FourCC)....................................twos
Audio Stream Length...............................13mn 44s 640ms
Audio Stream BitRate..............................1 536 Kbps
Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
Number of Audio Channels..........................2
Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz
Bit Depth.........................................16 bits
Audio Stream Size.................................151 MiB (4%)
Audio Stream Language.............................English
Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2010-02-18

Powerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 22, 2011 3:16 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Nick Holmes

Level 7

30,018 points

Mar 22, 2011 3:43 PM in response to mjo15

I've tried importing them into Mpeg streamclip and quicktime to convert but no luck there either.

In what way are you having "no luck" with MPEG Streamclip?
[Read my tutorial|http://www.secondchairvideo.com/?p=694]

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Answer 2

mjo15 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 23, 2011 2:45 AM in response to Nick Holmes

When I try to import it to MPEG streamclip I get the message File open error: unrecognized file type

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Answer 3

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,010 points

Mar 23, 2011 4:35 AM in response to mjo15

What's it? Please give exact specifications. You listed a ton of formats jumbled together. Some may work some may not. .mts files for instance will not work.

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Answer 4

mjo15 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 23, 2011 5:39 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hi Tom,
The file is a .mp4. I used mediainfo to get the file details that I pasted in my initial post as I thought it would help. Just tried it in an MTS converter but it wouldn't open there either.

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Answer 5

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,010 points

Mar 23, 2011 6:31 AM in response to mjo15

I told you .mts would not work. Please rather than the slew of information just tell us what it says in the movie inspector and where this thing came from. An MPEG-4 file with an MPEG-2 codec just seems wrong. What produced this?

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Answer 6

Mar 23, 2011 6:51 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Hades

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Answer 7

Mar 23, 2011 7:36 AM in response to mjo15

You can try to solve this or you can fix it.
Go back to whoever gave you the files and demand usable Macintosh-friendly, Quicktime-based codecs.
There are hundreds of obsolete and proprietary codecs for which no Macintosh analog or transode operation exists.

bogiesan

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Answer 8

mjo15 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 24, 2011 3:27 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Theses files were given to me on a hard drive. Unfortunately, I am not able to contact the person who shot them to find out what camera they came from. Could you tell me what and where the movie inspector is and I'll look up the info.
Thanks

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Answer 9

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,010 points

Mar 24, 2011 4:15 AM in response to mjo15

Movie Inspector is a menu item in the QuickTime player. Cmd-I in the player will bring it up.

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Answer 10

mjo15 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 24, 2011 6:40 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks, here's the file info:
674 001702.MP4

Format: MPEG-4 Video, 1920 x 1080, Millions
Linear PCM, 16 bit big-endian signed integer, 2 channels, 48000 Hz

Data Size: 3.73 GB

Data rate: 35.23 Mbit/s

Current size: 1440 x 810 pixels

Quicktime displays the following message when I open the file:
The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -12909.)

Cheers for the help

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Answer 11

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,010 points

Mar 24, 2011 6:45 AM in response to mjo15

No separate codec is listed, just MPEG-4. Try installing Perian and see if that will open it. If it can't be opened there isn't much you can do with it.

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