MOV or DV to MPEG-2

[mused13]

OK, I'm new, but usually I can figure these things out, but I'm stumped. I've searched through this forum, but can't find an answer, hence this new thread.

I need to convert .MOV and/or .DV files to MPEG-2 files using MAC OS X. Why? I need them to play on a digital video player. The player company specifies MPEG-2 Video stream files (.mpg). I've tried various converter programs, but there always seems to be a problem (no audio, etc.). Can anyone advise me? Or...does anyone need a job and can do this for me? I'm willing to pay someone at this point! There's gotta be a way for me to do this.

T H A N K S

[redwudz]

I think you would get more replies in our Mac Forum for Mac specific questions. Moving you.

And welcome to our forums.

[phase52001]

I've tried various converter programs, but there always seems to be a problem (no audio, etc.)

Have you tried using "VisualHub"?

It converts most formats to most other formats.
It will definitely convert a MOV or DV file to a Muxed MPEG2 file. ".mpg". (Video and audio).
Not free, but not expensive. http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/

Drag & drop MOV or DV files, select MPEG option, press start, wait.
Just ran a test with my copy. Worked great.
Hope that's of some help.

[tomlee59]

I'm astonished that you searched this site without success. This is one of the most common conversions, and frankly has been discussed ad nauseam.

There are so many ways of doing this that it's hard to limit the discussion. As an arbitrary starting point, you could take a look at ffmpegx. Not free, but very cheap. It will do what you want. And there are many guides on performing precisely that task. Just search this site carefully, and also go to Major's ffmpegx site, which has a number of user guides and tutorials.

[mused13]

Thank you so much for your reply. Many of the discussions here are too technical for me. Also, I may have been searching in the wrong thread as I didn't even know there was a particular thread just for Macs. The moderator moved my post here from the Newbies section. Since posting here I have found and installed both ffmpegx and VisualHub. I've followed the instructions to the letter, but still seem to be having issues with the digital repeater (sound issues, mainly). I'll keep trying, tho.

Anyway, this forum is a very excellent resource and I thank all who have been so kind to me here.

[tomlee59]

I'm not familiar with the term "digital repeater" in the context of video conversion, but very useful diagnostic information is often found in the Progress logfile of ffmpegx. Click on the "i" in the Progress pane after it's produced one of your failed conversions, and see what it says. Lack of sound is most often caused by a missing or damaged codec, but it can also be caused by an erroneous audio track selection in the source. The logfile often provides a valuable clue to narrow down the list of suspects.

And welcome to these forums!