How do I combine an .m2v file and an .ac3 file into a .mov file ??

A few years ago I converted a .mov file into an .m2v and an .AC3 using Final Cut Pro. I lost the FCP Project and .mov files and only have the .m2v and .ac3 files left. When I tried to combine them together in FCP, the audio did not match up anymore even though it matches on DVD Studio Pro. I was told that I needed demux the files. How do you do that ???

Doug,

Am posting the workflow discussed in my last email here in the event others might be interested.

Best workflow I've found to resync and convert the M2V/AC3 elementary stream files to an MOV ProRes422/AIFF file are as follows:

1) Convert the AC3 audio file to AIFF. (My system is configured for AC3 so I used QT 7 Pro here. My only compaint at this point is that my original AC3 file was DD5.1 and my QT 7 Pro component only supports stereo conversions.)

2) Simultaneously drop-import the original M2V file along with the converted AIFF file to MPEG Streamclip (requires the QT MPEG-2 Playback component be installed).

3) Sample playback of the combined data to ensure audio and video are correctly in sync throughout the file.

4) Use the MPEG Streamclip "Export to QuickTime" File menu option to export the current date to the target Apple ProRes422 video target you want and pass the AIFF PCM audio through to the MOV file container without further processing.

5) Import the ProRes422/AIFF MOV file to your FCP bin and reset project default codec use to match imported file when asked so you don't have to do any re-rendering for final output.

6) I re-checked file playback in the Preview window to ensure A/V was still in sync before beginning edits in the project timeline.

All went well for me using this workflow. You may want to give it a try and let us know if it worked as well for you.

Good luck!

I need to rip a project from DVD I did a while back. But every time I try to Export the VS file to Quicktime I get the following message "Error: Can't Create The MOV File". I'm using the latest version of Lion on an Intel Mac Pro, along with MPEG Streamclip 1.9 3b7. I have checked that I have all the MPEG2 Components installed (Apple MPEG2 CODEC.component & Quicktime MPEG2 Component). I checked out the MPEG Streamclip website and followed their instructions to install the components again from my Final Cut Studio Disks but when I double click the PKG file from my original Final Cut Studio disk I can't use it as it was for a PowerPC application. I have the upgrade disks for Final Cut Studio 3 but these don't hold the necessary PKG's! Now Here is another video converter I found to work around the issue. Hope this helps.

i know this is an old post but i was looking for the same answer and when i saw your solution i tried another that is FAR easier. Use Sorensen Squeeze. Input the m2v file then right click on it and select "link audio", browse to the AC3 file and that's it, done.

Just view this step by step guide to get the answer.

Not only to MOV, it also lets you how to combine M2V and AC3 to many other video formats like MP4, AVI, MKV, FLV, WMV, etc.

I think it is an ideal solution.