which filetypes does iMovie support?
I recently recorded some HDV footage (.M2T mpeg) for someone else to edit in iMovie. I added a soundtrack in Adobe Premiere on a PC and need to export it out. Should I convert it to something else?
Alex
I recently recorded some HDV footage (.M2T mpeg) for someone else to edit in iMovie. I added a soundtrack in Adobe Premiere on a PC and need to export it out. Should I convert it to something else?
Alex
When iMovie imports HDV from tape, it converts it to Apple Intermediate Codec.
I am not sure if your .M2T will import or not. I suggest you test it, or convert to AIC.
Also, there is a free app called MPEG Streamclip that can convert m2t to Apple Intermediate Codec on the Mac.
When iMovie imports HDV from tape, it converts it to Apple Intermediate Codec.
I am not sure if your .M2T will import or not. I suggest you test it, or convert to AIC.
Also, there is a free app called MPEG Streamclip that can convert m2t to Apple Intermediate Codec on the Mac.
Thanks @AppleMan1958 for the info, but I don't have a Mac to test it on. Streamclip is not free
Apple Intermediate Codec is not likely to be available on the Windows version of MPEG Streamclip, so I would suggest converting it to h.264 codec within an MPEG4 container at a high bitrate.
Streamclip is free, but it will not convert the files on my PC nor on the Mac. Says an 'mpeg player component' is needed - which is not free.
In addition, the file icons have padlocks on the Mac
The video clips total 21 GB. Would take quite a lot of time to convert to h264.
the file icons have padlocks on the Mac
You can change the permissions in Get Info.
You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A/quicktime-mpeg-2-playback-component-f or-mac-os-x
(unless you are running Lion in which case see below))
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.
And from the TOU of these forums:
Keep within the Law
If you are running Lion:
From the MPEG Streamclip homepage
The installer of the MPEG-2 Playback Component may refuse to install the component in Lion. Apple states the component is unnecessary in Lion, however MPEG Streamclip still needs it. See this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3381
To install the component in Lion, please download MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b7 beta above; inside the disk image you will find the Utility MPEG2 Component Lion: use it to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component in Lion. The original installer's disk image (QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg) is required.
The current versions of MPEG Streamclip cannot take advantage of the built-in MPEG-2 functionality of Lion. For MPEG-2 files you still need to install the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, which is not preinstalled in Lion. You don't have to install QuickTime 7.
Thank you Klaus for the quick reply.
The footage is HDV mpeg, not DVD. It will be edited in iMovie in Snow Leopard OSX. Files will be conerted on the Mac or on my PC
I don't mind paying for the mpeg component, but doesn't Quicktime Pro provide everything we need?
I don't mind paying for the mpeg component, but doesn't Quicktime Pro provide everything we need?
No, Quicktime cannot handle 'muxed' files natively, hence the mpeg component.
I downloaded and installed the mpeg playback component, and verified that Streamclip can open and convert the HDV file. However, that is on a PC. My client will have to download the Mac version of Streamclip and the Mpeg Playback Component.
An important question is: will he be able to import and edit the original HDV files in iMovie? Will he need to convert them to Quicktime first (with Streamclip) or will iMovie convert them on import?
If he gets MPEG Streamclip and the QuickTime MPEG2 Playback Component on the Mac, he can convert to Apple Intermediate Codec directly and import into iMovie.
If you convert to h.264 for him, he can import the h.264 into iMovie and let iMovie convert the h.264 into Apple Intermedidate Codec.
So, the best option is for the Mac owner to use MPeg playback component to import and convert the original HD files.
Option 2: If I convert the files for him in Windows, they will be converted again in iMovie.
My final question on this: What are the best export settings for Adobe Media Encoder to preserve as much data as possible? Is it possible to convert to Apple Intermediate Codec in Windows?
AppleMan1958 wrote:
Apple Intermediate Codec is not likely to be available on the Windows version of MPEG Streamclip, so I would suggest converting it to h.264 codec within an MPEG4 container at a high bitrate.
What is considered a "high bitrate" for HDV to h.264 conversion?
16000 to 18000 kbps would be what I would consider to be an unconstrained bit rate approaching Apple Intermediate Codec, (i.e. minimal compression), but you could probably go lower with testing.
which filetypes does iMovie support?