How to convert MPEG-4 into MPEG-2 with a Mac

[VidHunter]

Hi,

My question is how do you convert MPEG-4 into MPEG-2 format? Is there any good mac freeware or shareware (freeware is best if possible) that can convert MPEG-4 into MPEG-2?


Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[Baldrick]

Moving you to our Mac section.

[terryj]

no freeware, everything good is going to cost, from the
$15 ffmpegx to the $30 MpegStreamclip
( the cost of the Mpeg-2 Component), to the $24 Visualhub.

stop thinking in terms of FREE and start thinking in terms of
SIMPLICITY and EASE OF USE. *shrugs* becasue that
is really what you should be worried about.

Too often people want "free" but then want to come here and
tell us they are pulling their hair out trying to make "free" work.
When the answer we usually give them is " go pay for/buy this
piece of software, get it done with less hassle."

skip the middle man, just go buy one of the above I mentioned.

[Expanderz]

Roxio Toast will also do this. The advantage is the fact that its an all-in-one product.

[VidHunter]

Thanks for the shareware suggestions and help. I will do some research on them. As you say, ease of use and effectiveness are the most important points I should look for in a program. I was asking to see if there was another awesome freeware like MPEG Streamclip; however, if there isn't, I don't mind paying some money for a good quality program like MPEG Streamclip. I think I might try the MPEG-2 component. I know MPEG Streamclip works very well.

[mhar4]

MPEG Streamclip won't to MPEG4-->MPEG2, only the other way around.

[VidHunter]

Really? So even if I buy the MPEG-2 component for MPEG Streamclip, I can't convert MPEG-4 to MPEG-2?

[SERBIAN]

No..MPEG Streamclip is not MPEG encoder..

[terryj]

too true...It will demux VOBs, and it will "flatten" VOBs to Mpeg,
but it will not convert mp4, avi, or mov to Mpeg-2.
Sorry for the confusion.
However, VisualHub, ffmpegx and Toast will do the job.

[VidHunter]

Thanks for all the help. I am now using FFmepgx, and I am LOVING it. I am having a blast with it and sizzle. The coolest part is when I use the DVD mpegenc option I also get an audio file of the video among other things, so I can use it with sizzle. Can't wait to test out the other options.

[mhar4]

Actually, VLC is also pretty good at this task. Simple but effective.

[tomlee59]

Yes, VLC is indeed a wonderful piece of software. Most people only know it as a player, and don't realize that it has quite an array of transcoding abilities as well. Thanks, mhar4, for posting a reminder to that effect. VLC is free, simple and powerful. Can't ask for much more than that!

[VidHunter]

Cool. Thanks for the tip.