Okay... I've got a nearly-complete video (not an AMV, sadly, though it's working as a sort of testbed for my AMV ideas). It's 720x480 anamorphic, 24fps.
How do I convert this to a file more suitable for distribution? (Preferably either MPEG-1 or DivX/XviD). The video is currently in Final Cut Pro 4, and I have access to a Linux box and a Winblows box, but I don't have Premiere.
I've found a few ways of exporting, but none of them seem to work. Either they result in gigantic files (meaning nearly 1GB per minute) or they don't include audio. None of them handle the anamorphic aspect ratio correctly.
Despite my constant Googling, I haven't found much information on this. Any pointers to decent documentation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Final Cut export?
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Red Wolf
- Joined: Wed May 01, 2002 6:02 pm
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Contact:
As far as the Mac doing the encoding:
MPEG-1: Best choice is Roxio's Toast Titanium (versions 5 or 6). Toast will convert a file for VCD burning which will then give you an MPEG-1 file. The downer is Toast retails for $99.
DivX: The folks at [url=htttp://www.divx.com]DivX.com[/url] have finally come out with a Mac encoder. It costs $20 and will let you run a DivX 5.1 encoding using QuickTime.
On the PC you can download a copy of TMPEnc which will give you MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 out capabilities for free for the first 30 days. As far as DivX goes on the PC I believe XviD is the hot stuff right now.
MPEG-1: Best choice is Roxio's Toast Titanium (versions 5 or 6). Toast will convert a file for VCD burning which will then give you an MPEG-1 file. The downer is Toast retails for $99.
DivX: The folks at [url=htttp://www.divx.com]DivX.com[/url] have finally come out with a Mac encoder. It costs $20 and will let you run a DivX 5.1 encoding using QuickTime.
On the PC you can download a copy of TMPEnc which will give you MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 out capabilities for free for the first 30 days. As far as DivX goes on the PC I believe XviD is the hot stuff right now.
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benjamingeiger
- Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2003 5:29 pm
- Location: Orlando, FL
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Red Wolf
- Joined: Wed May 01, 2002 6:02 pm
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Contact:
Codec depends on your audience more than anything else. If your audience is AMVers then MPEG-1 and DivX based codecs are more likely to be on their systems than MPEG-4 or QuickTime for Windows. If you're dealing with a more general audience, perhaps one who isn't well versed with digital video, then using MPEG-4 and telling them to download and install QuickTime could make things easier as far as having to troubleshoot codec issues later.
If you have a PC to test with and can transfer files from the Mac to the PC with ease you might want to try this. Encode your video (or a sample) to MPEG-4 with QuickTime Pro. Then open the MPEG-4 file and do another export, this time to AVI. Change the settings so there is no compression in the video or audio. That should produce an AVI file with the same quality as the MPEG-4 but now it is in an AVI wrapper (as opposed to the QuickTime MPEG-4 wrapper). Transfer the AVI file to the PC and see if one of the default media players, such Windows Media Player, can handle the file.
And if that works post back here because I don't have a PC to try it on myself
MPEG-1: Old school and out of date but every computer can play it with default installed software and not much CPU power.
MPEG-2: High quality (near or at DVD quality) but requires some power. Also is a large file and Mac users need either VLC or QuickTime's MPEG-2 Playback Component to play.
MPEG-4: Specifically designed for Internet video delivery, it gives good quality at an acceptable file size. Will require QuickTime if QuickTime is used for the encoding.
DivX: Good quality, low file size codec. Very popular online but does require the codec to be downloaded and installed on the playback computer. Same goes for other variations (3ivx, XviD, etc).
If you have a PC to test with and can transfer files from the Mac to the PC with ease you might want to try this. Encode your video (or a sample) to MPEG-4 with QuickTime Pro. Then open the MPEG-4 file and do another export, this time to AVI. Change the settings so there is no compression in the video or audio. That should produce an AVI file with the same quality as the MPEG-4 but now it is in an AVI wrapper (as opposed to the QuickTime MPEG-4 wrapper). Transfer the AVI file to the PC and see if one of the default media players, such Windows Media Player, can handle the file.
And if that works post back here because I don't have a PC to try it on myself
MPEG-1: Old school and out of date but every computer can play it with default installed software and not much CPU power.
MPEG-2: High quality (near or at DVD quality) but requires some power. Also is a large file and Mac users need either VLC or QuickTime's MPEG-2 Playback Component to play.
MPEG-4: Specifically designed for Internet video delivery, it gives good quality at an acceptable file size. Will require QuickTime if QuickTime is used for the encoding.
DivX: Good quality, low file size codec. Very popular online but does require the codec to be downloaded and installed on the playback computer. Same goes for other variations (3ivx, XviD, etc).
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Red Wolf
- Joined: Wed May 01, 2002 6:02 pm
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Contact:
Codec depends on your audience more than anything else. If your audience is AMVers then MPEG-1 and DivX based codecs are more likely to be on their systems than MPEG-4 or QuickTime for Windows. If you're dealing with a more general audience, perhaps one who isn't well versed with digital video, then using MPEG-4 and telling them to download and install QuickTime could make things easier as far as having to troubleshoot codec issues later.
If you have a PC to test with and can transfer files from the Mac to the PC with ease you might want to try this. Encode your video (or a sample) to MPEG-4 with QuickTime Pro. Then open the MPEG-4 file and do another export, this time to AVI. Change the settings so there is no compression in the video or audio. That should produce an AVI file with the same quality as the MPEG-4 but now it is in an AVI wrapper (as opposed to the QuickTime MPEG-4 wrapper). Transfer the AVI file to the PC and see if one of the default media players, such Windows Media Player, can handle the file.
And if that works post back here because I don't have a PC to try it on myself
MPEG-1: Old school and out of date but every computer can play it with default installed software and not much CPU power.
MPEG-2: High quality (near or at DVD quality) but requires some power. Also is a large file and Mac users need either VLC or QuickTime's MPEG-2 Playback Component to play.
MPEG-4: Specifically designed for Internet video delivery, it gives good quality at an acceptable file size. Will require QuickTime if QuickTime is used for the encoding.
DivX: Good quality, low file size codec. Very popular online but does require the codec to be downloaded and installed on the playback computer. Same goes for other variations (3ivx, XviD, etc).
If you have a PC to test with and can transfer files from the Mac to the PC with ease you might want to try this. Encode your video (or a sample) to MPEG-4 with QuickTime Pro. Then open the MPEG-4 file and do another export, this time to AVI. Change the settings so there is no compression in the video or audio. That should produce an AVI file with the same quality as the MPEG-4 but now it is in an AVI wrapper (as opposed to the QuickTime MPEG-4 wrapper). Transfer the AVI file to the PC and see if one of the default media players, such Windows Media Player, can handle the file.
And if that works post back here because I don't have a PC to try it on myself
MPEG-1: Old school and out of date but every computer can play it with default installed software and not much CPU power.
MPEG-2: High quality (near or at DVD quality) but requires some power. Also is a large file and Mac users need either VLC or QuickTime's MPEG-2 Playback Component to play.
MPEG-4: Specifically designed for Internet video delivery, it gives good quality at an acceptable file size. Will require QuickTime if QuickTime is used for the encoding.
DivX: Good quality, low file size codec. Very popular online but does require the codec to be downloaded and installed on the playback computer. Same goes for other variations (3ivx, XviD, etc).