Best-quality digital file format for import into IMovie 6? QT? AIC? MPEG?

[dscw133]

I shot some footage on mini-DV tapes, and due to technical issues on the tapes, I have to go to a post-production house to get the footage off the tapes and into a computerized format. I will use iMovie 6.0.3 to edit. What format files should I tell the post house to create, so that I have the best-quality files that are still importable into this version of iMovie? They briefly said I could choose from Quicktime (and even then, what kind of Quicktimes? Uncompressed? 8-bit?), DV NTSC Codec (which I think is like the original footage)? Something called HR264? I've also read MPEG files are a possibility.

I will give them a 500 gb hard drive to load the files onto; I would prefer to not fill up the entire hard drive doing this. My ultimate end-user locale is just YouTube--although I'd like the option of good-quality TV-viewing, as well (obviously not broadcast standards, but as close as I can get). If anyone has any insight asap, I'd appreciate it. Thank-you!

 

[huntercr]

I shot some footage on mini-DV tapes, and due to technical issues on the tapes, I have to go to a post-production house to get the footage off the tapes and into a computerized format. I will use iMovie 6.0.3 to edit. What format files should I tell the post house to create, so that I have the best-quality files that are still importable into this version of iMovie? They briefly said I could choose from Quicktime (and even then, what kind of Quicktimes? Uncompressed? 8-bit?), DV NTSC Codec (which I think is like the original footage)? Something called HR264? I've also read MPEG files are a possibility.

I will give them a 500 gb hard drive to load the files onto; I would prefer to not fill up the entire hard drive doing this. My ultimate end-user locale is just YouTube--although I'd like the option of good-quality TV-viewing, as well (obviously not broadcast standards, but as close as I can get). If anyone has any insight asap, I'd appreciate it. Thank-you!

Just leave them in the original DV codec. There are other file formats that are "better", but the tape was indeed originally in DV, so if you do this you won't lose any quality, and Especially since you're using iMovie 6, it's pretty much a requirement to have it in DV.

 

[r.j.s]

Just leave them in the original DV codec. There are other file formats that are "better", but the tape was indeed originally in DV, so if you do this you won't lose any quality, and Especially since you're using iMovie 6, it's pretty much a requirement to have it in DV.

I second this.

DV is the way to go when you are going to be editing SD footage.

 

[bigbossbmb]

They briefly said I could choose from Quicktime (and even then, what kind of Quicktimes? Uncompressed? 8-bit?), DV NTSC Codec (which I think is like the original footage)? Something called HR264? I've also read MPEG files are a possibility.

They gave you the correct suggestion, you just didn't understand it.

You want the DV/NTSC Codec in a Quicktime container.