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newB question for wedding video

D

driphone

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
205
66
I am pretty sure the answer to my question is something very simple but I need help to import our wedding video taken on VHS into the iMovie11.

This is what I did:

1- copied the VHS film to a DVD -R using a Toshiba VHS/DVD units.
2- Used HandBrake to convert the film to the .mv4 format (H.264)
3- iMovie doesn't recognize the data

What am I doing wrong? the other video codec option in Handbrake is MPEG-4, i used the H.264 option.

TIA.
Sam
 
iMovie needs the .mov format/container using the Apple Intermediate Codec.

In order for you to edit your videos stored on the video DVD, you need to rip it via MacTheRipper/RipIt/Fairmount, if the video DVD is copy protected (all commercial video DVDs are).
If it is not copy protected, you might be just able to copy the Video_TS folder onto your HDD.

Now there are two ways to convert the MPEG-2 compressed footage.

1. Get Handbrake and convert the footage to an .mp4/.m4v file with the H264 codec. Further reading on Handbrake on transcodding video for iMovie.
Then use MPEG Streamclip to convert/export the .avi or .mp4/.m4v file to a QuickTime (.mov - CMD+E) file encoded with the DV codec or the Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) or to a DV file (CMD+OPTION/ALT+E).
Both, .mov and .dv, can be read by iMovie.

2. Get the QuickTimeMPEG-2Playback Component from the Apple Online Store for 20USD, open MPEG Streamclip, in there go to File > Open DVD and select your Video_TS folder on your HDD. Then either export it as QuickTime with the DV codec or AIC or as DV file as explained in step 1.
This saves you one encoding process, therefore time and image quality loss.

Screenshots:
MPEG Streamclip export options
streamclip.jpg

Handbrake export as .mp4 - example
handbrake-left.gif
Click to expand...
 
The MPEG-4 Streamclip and the QT Mpeg2 component purchased from Apple, converting to Quicktime format as I type...can I change/control the quality level of the converted file? it shows option all the way up to 1080i (original movie was shot on VHS tape).

Thx.
Sam
 
driphone said:
The MPEG-4 Streamclip and the QT Mpeg2 component purchased from Apple, converting to Quicktime format as I type...can I change/control the quality level of the converted file? it shows option all the way up to 1080i (original movie was shot on VHS tape).

Thx.
Sam
Click to expand...

The below image shows the settings I would use, but know, that the source was a 1080i video, thus it shows "1920 x 1080" as "unscaled". It will show the word "unscaled" right beside the resolution of the source (NTSC: 720 x 480, PAL: 720 x 576), thus choose the option with the word "unscaled" beside it.
rhnzoj.jpg
 
It worked great.
Your detailed help is much appreciated.
Regards,
Sam
 
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