Convert mov to MPEG4

First you need to rip the movie from the DVD. Most people I know use either MPEG Streamclip or Handbrake. Both are free, but MPEG Streamclip will also require the purchase of the MPEG@ Quicktime Playback Component from Apple @ $20; installation of that component is a little bit of a chore. While I believe the quality of the ripped movie is better from MPEG Streamclip, Handbrake is easier.

As to the best settings, I would change as little as possible in the format (resolution, frame rate). Since you're dealing with SD, I would imagine that a bit rate of about 1 to 1.5 Mb per second will be about right. Handbrake outputs a type of MP4 with x.264 codec, which may not play on your set. Because there are no universal standards for TV playback of video files, you will need to test. If it doesn't play, you should download the x.264 decoder and convert it to h.264 in either Compressor or Streamclip.

Good luck with the project.

Russ

The first thing you need to do is to rip the videos from the DVD. I've used MacX DVD Ripper, Riplt before. Both of them are all powerful tools. After ripping the files, you need to use some comprehensive programs like Streaming Audio Recorder, Clip Converter, etc. to convert the videos to MPEG-4.