Help exporting from iMovie

jenfuu · Post by **jenfuu** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:06 pm

I tried to do this useing the iMovie guide, but i am haveing trouble useing the program to export it. (as that guide was made for iMovie 4 or what not) and i have the latest version.What i get is a 300 or so MB .mov file, that is amazing quality. But when i convert it to AVI, or Mp4, or something like that, the quality goes down imensely. How do i fix this? As i am new to useing iMovie, and to makeing AMV's....

elvirasweeney · Post by **elvirasweeney** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:17 pm

You can even export it as "uncompressed" if you like (it might be several GB in size, but that's okay). Then open it in MPEG Streamclip ( http://www.squared5.com ) or use Quicktime Pro. Make sure you save it in the right aspect ratio. I usually export it out of iMovie or Final Cut using "custom" dimensions, and then I manually type in the pixel width and height, making sure it's correct for the aspect ratio. I cannot stand incorrect aspect ratio!

Some settings that I use with good results are H.264 for compression ( or the x264 codec works faster and is free). The XviD codec does pretty well for me. Also, you can pay for the Divx encoder.

This guy (a member of this forum) has written a fantastic Guide for Macs. Here's the page about DivX. http://www.ishtori.net/index.php?id=27

I use a bitrate of anywhere between 900 to 2900. With MPEG Streamclip, you can type in your bitrate limit and it'll give you an approx. file size. I usually encode in the 1500-2300 range.

If you want to make things easier for yourself, fork over $23 for VisualHub. It takes sort of a "Dummies" approach to video compression, and I find that it sometimes softens the video—and I'm not crazy about its WMV files (but who wants to use them anyway). But if you feel like tweaking with it, you might really like it. Works fast too.

*Ahem* Sorry, more than you really asked for (or probably needed) eh?

I get carried away.

In summary, check out the Mac guide I linked to. It's fabulous.

jenfuu · Post by **jenfuu** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:01 am

Thank you very much for the help ^^ I'll try it out.

obh04 · Post by **obh04** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:47 pm

If you want more people to view your videos, you will have to stay away from the .mov file. Use AVI or MP4. The best program for getting your videos to either one of those is to use ffmpegX like in the iMovie guide. It might be a bit dated but you can still apply most of it ffmpegX.

jenfuu · Post by **jenfuu** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:14 pm

I've been going straight to MP4....for some reason it doesnt like to export to AVI...and some of the programs on the iMovie guide dont work with my mac for some reason....-_-

Shazzy · Post by **Shazzy** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:31 pm

Export to MP4 container if you're using H.264 compression. Use AVI for DivX or XviD.