Combining .mpg movie clips in iMovie

Hi,

Can iMovie import .mpg files? I am trying to put several .mpg movie clips together into one big movie, but I can't seem to do it. When I try to add the .mpg files it says they are skipped. I am using iMovie 4.0.1 and quicktime 6.5.1

Any help would be useful.

eMac, 1.25GHz, 512MB RAM, Mac OS X (10.3.5)

Posted on Mar 3, 2006 12:50 PM

Reply
9 replies

Mar 4, 2006 12:27 AM in response to Scott T.

Hi Scott,

iMovie is an edit app meant to work with firewire connected miniDV camcorders 😉

but....

get for 20$ the Apple mpeg2 plugin for import of mp2 (as on DVD)

and for free the tool Streamclip for converting mp1, mp2, many others...
(with that combo you can NOT override copyprotection mechanisms! ... but you do know how...)
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6010.shtml
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6018.shtml

hope you find this answer helpful.....

Mar 6, 2006 6:48 AM in response to justin lambert

Depends where you want to use the output.

iMovie wants DV (DV25) if you intened to use the material for a consumer DV camcorders or for iDVD. I believe the same applies also to Final Cut.

(You want uncompressed video if you want the absolute best but I bet you don't want that...)

See also:

http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convertMPEG

Mar 7, 2006 9:00 AM in response to Scott T.

how/where you can join clips with Streamclip


It was explained in the link in my previous post in this thread... Also MPEG Streamclip guide explains it.

MPEG Streamclip can join similar MPEG files: The joined files must have the same PIDs, the same start codes, and the same audio/video properties (that is, they must come from the same source or channel).

Using "Convert to MPEG" before joining the files can be helpful, because it changes PIDs and start codes to a default value. The preferred method to join streams is to Copy one stream in MPEG Streamclip, open another stream and Paste it there. This method checks that the joined streams indeed are compatible. Another method is to put the MPEGs in the same folder, and rename them so that they sort as desired in list view. Then select them via MPEG Streamclip's "File/Open Files..." dialog box (Shift- or Command-click to select multiple MPEGs). Then choose "Edit/Fix Timecode Breaks". After this MPEG Streamclip should report the combined length of all MPEGs (check the Log Window if you want to know whether any timecode breaks were found). Then choose "File/Convert to MPEG... or /Save As..." to save them in a single file. If the video transition between two files looks bad, you can use the Cut command to improve it. You can join very different and incompatible MPEGs with this latter method so the end result is not guaranteed to work.

MPEG Streamclip can also edit MPEG files. Just set In/Out points (with I/O keys), Cut unwanted material off and choose "File/Convert to MPEG...". You can also Cut/Copy selections to other parts of the same stream or open another compatible stream and Paste it there. Shift-dragging the playhead can also be used to define a selection. Option + arrow keys jump to the beginning/end or In/Out points. You can use the Trim-command to more closely see a part of the video before cutting, then choose Revert Trimming to see all material. JKL-keys can be used to enable fast forward or reverse playing. The scroll wheel works also; with the Option key it scrolls 1 second per click. See the manual for more details on how to jump in single frame, GOP, 1 second, 10 second or 1 minute chunks when searching a specific spot in the video.

Editing and trimming can be accurate only if In and Out are both on keyframes because MPEG Streamclip edits to the GOP, not to the frame. For DVD and (XS)VCD the maximum GOP size is PAL 15 and NTSC 18 frames, so the editing accuracy can be up to about 0.6 seconds. You can advance to the previous or next keyframe (i.e. I-frame, the beginning of each GOP or Group Of Pictures) with the Up/Down arrow keys -- you can also use the Edit/Go to Keyframe command to see where the In and Out points really are when editing (the In point is included in the selection, the Out point is not included). Shift + Up/Down arrow keys allow fine-tuning the selection to the GOP.

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Combining .mpg movie clips in iMovie

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