MPEG4 to DV-PAL Gives Weird "Interlaced" Result.

[phase52001]

I have FCP 4.5 and Quicktime 6.5.2 and OS 10.3.9.
I recently upgraded DivX to DivX 6.
That may or may not be related to this issue. I really don't know.

I've been sent some AVI files to edit in FCP 4.5 before being made into a DVD.
I decided to convert them to DV streams for import into FCP.
I open the AVI files in Quicktime and then export them as DV streams.
All this works OK.

However, the resulting DV streams have a distorted and very odd appearance.
This is hard to describe but here goes.
There is a slight green "bar" down the right hand side of the QT window.
The video itself gives the appearance of ever couple of lines of of the picture being moved left or right alternatively. A vertical line appears like a squiggle.
And the audio has a pluse to it. Quiet then loud, then quiet etc.

I normally use "mov" files so don't have any old avi files of my own to test.
I tested some old MOV files, exporting them as DV streams and they were OK.

Even though the files are ".avi" when I look at it using "Show Movie Info" it says that the format is "Generic MPEG4". I'm beginning to think thats the problem, as the other files that I having problems with are "generic MPEG-4".

Why can't "Generic MPEG-4" be converted successfully to DV when exported from Quicktime? Or can it?

I took one of the AVI files (generic MPEG-4) and imported it into FCP 4.5. Placed it in a sequence, resized it manually etc and rendered it, and it was fine. Mind you it took forever to render on my machine. For this project doing that each time will mean it takes forever.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whats going on?
Many Thanks.

[sdm]

Yes, you should be able to convert your Generice MPEG-4 to DV with QT. Strange that its not working. Does the file play properly in QT?

You might also try mpeg streamclip (the newest version opens avis an .movs) to export to DV.

- sdm.

[jagabo]

If your MPEG4 file was 23.976 fps maybe it went through 3:2 pulldown to create a 29.97 fps DV stream.

[phase52001]

Yes, you should be able to convert your Generice MPEG-4 to DV with QT. Strange that its not working. Does the file play properly in QT?

You might also try mpeg streamclip (the newest version opens avis an .movs) to export to DV.

- sdm.

Yes the files play properly in Quicktime. They look absolutely fine.
I have the lastest version of Mpeg Streamclip but the results are the same using that to export.

It's all very weird.

[phase52001]

If your MPEG4 file was 23.976 fps maybe it went through 3:2 pulldown to create a 29.97 fps DV stream.

I checked a number of the files in question in Quicktime using "Show Movie Info".
The original files are 25fps.
After I attempt to convert them to DV-PAL the resulting file, while looking weird, (as desribed above), is still 25fps.

I'm thinking the new version of DivX may be causing this as it plugs into QT. I posted a question with them but haven't heard back yet.

A PC based friend suggested I re-write the file header and change "Generic-MPEG4" to something more compliant. Anyone have any idea how I'd do this? Is there some software?

[sdm]

ffmpeg x can also export to DV, and *maybe* it doesn't use quicktime to decode, in which case, the divx 6 component wouldn't cause a problem (assuming that was the problem)

.

[terryj]

I'm leaning with SDM on this one...go with ffmpegx to
create your DV stream. Unless you select "Convert with Quicktime",
ffmpegx will use its own native engine to
"correcty" convert the file.

Also last I looked, you needed Divx Fusion to mux Divx 6
files out of QT Pro...is this no longer the case?

For the record I STILL don't use DIVX 6 for much of
anything, instead I use 3ivx for the majority,
and ( just lucky I guess) haven't had to use any
DIVX higher than 5.21.

[phase52001]

I found a solution that works for me.
Still not sure exactly what the cause was.
I assume it's something about the various MPEG4 formats.

I found a program called "iSquint" which is designed to convert your video for use on an iPod. I used this to convert the files that were causing me problems from "Generic MPEG4" to another MPEG4 format, "xvid".

Problem solved and it does a very nice job of it too.
Just do a search on "iSquint" if interested. It's FREE!