MPEG-2 -> H.264 (quicktime) ?

[BassKozz]

I just spent $50 at the Apple store on QuickTime Pro ($30) and the MPEG-2 plugin ($20) to use to convert my MPEG2 home videos to H.264 QuickTime *.mov files...

And, I haven't been able to sucessfully convert them... Don't ask, let's just say windows and quicktime don't play nice. i've been plagued with error messages, etc...

Are there any other apps I can use to convert my MPEG2 files to QuickTime (H.264) *.mov files ???

Thanks in advance,
-BassKozz

[GMaq]

Hi,
You've been tricked like many before, including myself. Good News! There is a freeware program called MPEG Streamclip you'll find it in the "Tools" Section in the left margin. It kinda works over top of Quicktime and manages to make it do what we thought it should when we bought it. It works very well and does much more than H.264. Check it out!!!

[edDV]

I don't know about getting it into a mov, but you can demo these other encoders for free.

http://www.mainconcept.com/site/?id=811
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/x264_Video_Codec.htm
http://developers.videolan.org/x264.html

Other refs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264
http://www.compression-links.info/MPEG-4_AVC_H264

[BassKozz]

Gmaq,

Thanks for the tip...
Apple store has a no refund policy so I am out $50... oh well. You live you learn.

I am looking into MPEG StreamClip and I noticed on the product page it mentions that you need KL QuickTime Alternative 1.61 or higher and then goes on to say:

KL QuickTime Alternative is a free unofficial distribution of QuickTime. It has a quite smaller installer (less than 15 MB) and includes MPEG-2 decoding in the "Extra QuickTime plugins". When you install it, be sure to enable the checkbox "Extra QuickTime plugins", otherwise the MPEG-2 decoder will not be installed.

But do I need this since I've already shelled out the extra $$$ for the MPEG-2 decoder from apple ?

Thanks for the help,
-BassKozz

[celtic_druid]

Do you actually want Quicktime H.264? Or just quicktime compatible? Because x264 is free, faster and better quality than quicktime. If you limit the settings then it is also quicktime compatible. I would go with mp4 over mov for the container though. Still since you have Craptime pro you should be able to remux an x264 mp4 to mov without re-encoding.

[GMaq]

BassKozz,
MPEG Streamclip uses Quicktime Pro OR Quicktime Alternative. You only need QT Alternative if you don't want to pay for QT Pro and the MPEG-2 Playback Component (Which you have of course). I use it with QT Pro and the MPEG-2 Component and it's very stable.

[BassKozz]

Thanks GMaq