Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I use QuickTime Player to concatenate short videos. When I'm ready to save the new movie, I can't use the Save command because it is grayed out. If I use the Export command to save the new movie, the .mov file is too large -- typically 3 times larger than the sum of the sizes of the shorter clips.
Two questions:
QuickTime Player-OTHER, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)
Ugh. I tried using the Share > Mail technique and it gave me a beach ball, probably while trying to upload the Video to my Exchange server to create a draft... or maybe for some other bug.
In any case, now the QT app is unresponsive and my video is likely lost. Use this technique with caution.
Why is the Save command disabled?
Only Apple knows for sure and I'm sure they won't explain. However, I suspect it is either a bug that few have reported or both of our systems are malfunctioning in the same manner. A better question here would be, "Why aren't you using the alternative method for invoking the "Save" routine?" (I.e., simply close the QT X player window containing the concatenated files.) SEE QUICKIE VIDEO CAPTURE HERE
Why is the exported .mov file so large?
Selecting the QT X player app "Export" File menu option forces the software to re-encode the concatenated video content using settings settings that have three times the total average data rate of your combined source files which, in turn, makes the new output file three times larger.
Jon Walker wrote:
> A better question here would be, "Why aren't you using the alternative method for invoking the "Save" routine?"
Yes, I'm aware that closing the video editor window invokes a Save dialog. However, using this Save dialog is equivalent to using Export. To confirm this, take at look at the size of the new file you created in your video.
Here's a better workaround:
1. Use the Share command to create an email message that attaches the edited video.
2. Use the contextual menu in Mail to save the attachment to the Downloads folder.
Using this workaround, the new .mov file (in the Downloads folder) is now the correct size. I don't see any reason why the Export command couldn't do the same thing.
-Craig
Yes, I'm aware that closing the video editor window invokes a Save dialog. However, using this Save dialog is equivalent to using Export. To confirm this, take at look at the size of the new file you created in your video.
I stand corrected. In my test I used two high frame rate, hight data rate source files that resulted in a merged file having a combined total data rate on the same order as the individual source files. My mistake.
Using this workaround, the new .mov file (in the Downloads folder) is now the correct size. I don't see any reason why the Export command couldn't do the same thing.
Depending on the compression formats used in the source files, the "Export" File menu option automatically defaults to either an H.264/AAC export using the "Higher Quality" data rate setting or to a file containing Apple ProRes 422/LPCM (uncompressed audio) encoded data. H.264/AAC transcoding at the "Greater compatibility" data rate setting is only available using the Finder "Context Menu > encode Selected Video Files" option while the "Share" options employ both downsampling (context adaptive data rates based on targeted encoding dimensions) employing the lower "Greater compatibility" targeted data rate. My own personal preference, while it continues to remain available, is the QT 7 Pro "Save As..." option to retain original levels of quality and followed up by an anamorphic High Profile, Level 4.1 transcode using HandBrake if a smaller bandwidth target file is required.
ADDED:
Am now wondering if the missing "Save" option and the forced "Export" when closing the concatenated files may be QT X's way of "flattening" the content to avoid problems in certain other QT X OS and IOS based apps.
Jon, I don't know enough about video codecs to add anything useful to your remarks.
Now I'm wondering if I'm even using the right tool for this type of editing. Would iMovie be a better choice for this task?
Now I'm wondering if I'm even using the right tool for this type of editing. Would iMovie be a better choice for this task?
Each app and workflow has its own strengths, weaknesses, and nuance peculiarities. iMovie would also force you to perform an export of data since it employs a "by reference" editing strategy but offers many other features that may outweigh export requirements.
If you have the free MPEG Streamclip app available and I am correct as to the type of workflow you are seeking here, I would recommend you try it. Simply ensure the clips you wish to concatenate are named in the alpha-numeric order you want them to be sequenced. Then drag and drop all of the files simultaneously to the main app window. The files will be automatically merge into a single file in their alpha-numeric filename order. If you then use the File menu "SaveAs..." option, the clips can be stored as a newly named MOV file. This workflow does not export the data but rather just copies the original data to the new MOV file container with the file size roughly equal to the total size of the individual source files added together. (I.e., this is an older QT 7 based app but does not require you to purchase a QT 7 "Pro" key for use and works well for merging and converting content that is compatible with your system's current "open" codec configuration.) Let me know if you want to see a "Quickie" screen capture demonstrating its use as described above.
Using QuickTime Player 10 to Concatenate Video Clips
