Q: Old .Mov files converting

QuickTime Player 7 for Mac OS X v10.6.3 or later - Apple's QT X strategy seems to embrace high-quality (bigger files) codec, total abandonment of really old codecs* (methinks you are lucky that QT X recognizes them at all) & large external storage (yes, Mucho-Terabytes). Seems the consumer these days is required to have the VIDEO-Pro Storage Systems of c.2003.

I too have well over 20GB of movies - most of which I can actually do without converting. Consider the minor inconvenience of having a QT7 icon in one of the convenient drag & drop locations - then drag old movies to it/them

*QT X is 64-bit and old codecs are not

Different questions from the original

QT 7 (referred link) will likely run in any OS X for quite a bit and maybe Apple will beef up QT X in future.

I merely 'know' about HandBrake (originally to Rip DVDs?) - but VLC 3.0.0 has a GUI interface for "Batch Convert" > https://wiki.videolan.org/How_to_Batch_Encode/

FYI, MP4 is merely the "container" - just like MOV. The codecs are what counts. H.264 video, 426x240 pixels(1/2 HD size) w/ AAC stereo 44.1Khz audio is common = pixel doubles well to full screen for web delivery. ±5:00 vid = 13MB

Your original question sounded like you merely wanted all your movies to play on your machine(s) - if QT X and up is important, batch convert is your answer - not with simple double click & wait for QT X method

Give MPEG Streamclip a look; the newer QT/iMovie are geared to produce cloud-centric files. I tried a test movie (and I shoot in full HD 1920x1080 or 1280x720 depending on which camera I'm using) and iMovie rendered it unusable for anything but uploading while QT converted it to a format not usable to burn.

http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html

(Note the notes re. MPEG2 Playback Component). The app works in both Mavericks and Yosemite and has an array of options for exporting.

QT 7 (referred link) will likely run in any OS X for quite a bit and maybe Apple will beef up QT X in future.

As we have learned, as of Mavericks 10.9, QT 7 and all the QT 7 32-bit apis are deprecated. How long before these methods and tools are non-functional is the million dollar question! Furthermore, many 3rd party tools for transcoding rely on these very same apis, yes?

Time marches on... save a Mac System for posterity. I wish I still had all my old Macs (see my Bio page for a list)

the sad part is, 10 years from now, they'll all be unplayable again

I have old .mov files from '03. When I open them on Mavericks with the latest Quicktime, it says "converting" and it takes a very long time to convert the files. So I let it. Once the file is converted its size blows up. I believe I had a 40min .mov video tutorial that was like 200mb in size, once converted it became an 8gb file!!

Not sure how deeply you want to go into this. Basically, the end file size depends on the ratio of data rates used by the source file and and the new destination file. If the target data rate is 5 times that of the source file, the the resulting file will be five times larger. if the data rate ration is increased by a factor of 20, the the output file will be twenty times larger. In the example you cited above, the 8 GB file is 40 times larger than your 200 MB source file. On the other hand, conversion times are normally determine by the complexity of the material in the source file, the target quality setting, and the relative efficiency of the target codec. In this case, QT X "normally" uses the H.264 video codec and the AAC audio codec to perform your conversions but may use ProRes 4-2-2 video with LPCM audio if the source file was encoded with a codec common designated foe video editing use. H.264 is a highly efficient video codec that is relatively slow depending on the specific settings used. In the case of your QT X player conversion, motion vector prediction, video quality, entropy, and progressive display transformation, target dimensions, etc. settings can greatly influence the time it takes to perform the conversion automatically. So if you wish to have more manual over target dimension, H.264 video quality, or definitely wish to store the files to ProRes 4-2-2/LPCM compression formats, then use the batch conversion contextual menu now built into the Mavericks Finder.

I have 20GB of backed .mov files if I convert them all it will become Terabytes of data. What is the problem and how can I solve it? I opened the original files using VLC and it worked fine.

Actually, if all of your files end up with expansion ratios on the same order as your example above, the target storage requirements would only be about 800 GB.

So how do I make my movie films into a modern format (mp4 ?) without bloating their sizes and not having to rely on QT 7 because surely that will stop working with future OS X updates. Can I use HandBrake ?

With regard to QT 7 Pro, whether or not it is dropped at some future time, the MP4 (MPEG-4 or H.264 video with AAC audio) will continue to be just as compatible as the MPEG-4/H.264/AAC files made using QT X or HandBrake—i.e., you would basically only be losing the ability to use the QT 7 Pro player to perform actual conversions with user selected settings like a target limited data rates to control the end result file size (which can also degrade AV quality if carried to an extreme).

As to the use of HandBrake, I personally prefer it. The current version has simplified Profile/Level and "Tuning" settings that can be used to set/override the presets normally used by novice users the ensure the final file remains "standards compliant" for use with targeted Apple products. In addition, it can be used to create customized anamorphic encodes to further reduce the end target file size and/or automatically/manually crop letterboxed/pillared source files so as not to waste bytes ending the unwanted "black" background areas. (I am currently in the process of converting my entire iTunes library (thousands of movies, TV episodes, and serial features to High Profile, Level 4.1 480p and 720p H.264/AAC/AC3/Chapter track M4V content for streaming within the home and over the internet—which will likely take a few years to complete and by which time QT X may support H.265 content.)

These files are QT files and I want them to "modernise" them to a current standard so they will last with me. I don't want to come to a point where the App necessary to run the videos will not exists or will not run. We all know Apple has a knack to pull the plug early.

H.264/AAC in MOV, MP4, and M4V file containers are the current de facto default for the Apple product line and will likely remain so for SD through 4K content for some time (probably the lifetime of QT X at least). As to 8K and larger formats, it appears the H.265 video codec is currently the top contender but you would likely have a problem finding consumer players on which to even run such content at this time.

I want to transfer the videos to .mp4 or H.264 or whatever as long as they will play with all modern software and devices. In the same time I do not want the size to bloat. I will try your method and see if it works.

Most legacy style converters from MPEG Streamclip to QT 7 allow you to set target AV data rate limits and/or use multi-pass to better encode files to a specific size. HandBrake also allows you to do this or to encode to a specific level of quality by changing the target quality which, in turn, controls the relative output file size. (I.e., there are many options out there—including commercial products—that should allow you to do what you want here. Even QT X has a built in Finder level converter that allows you to choose between H.264 High Quality and Compatibility settings—the latter of which will probably halve the the size of files produced by the QT X player's default H.264/AAC "High Quality" automatic setting.

Even QT X has a built in Finder level converter that allows you to choose between H.264 High Quality and Compatibility settings—the latter of which will probably halve the the size of files produced by the QT X player's default H.264/AAC "High Quality" automatic setting.

Apparently, the Finder video encode feature provides more options than conversion/exporting from QuickTime X. Just tried an older .mov video with Sorenson 1 and mp3 audio. The Finder gave me additional options (1080, 720, Apple ProRes) than QT X (480, Audio Only, and iTunes). Several advanced users I have talked with had yet to even discover the Finder video services. Thanks for reminding us of this utility!