iMovie -> QT -> AVI -> windows

[desertracer]

We have some home movie and we want to convert them to SVCD/VCDs. I'm trying to leverage the loading of my wife's iMac so that she can enjoy her new installed OSX. What I'm trying to do is to capture and edit the RAW DV stream in iMovie under OSX and export them to QT or AVI format so that TMPGenc in my win2000 PC can read it.

However, I've spent several days on this issue but with little success. I can export the iMovie project into iDVD format (which is QT DV NTSC 720x480). Then I transfer this file to PC and there is a free quicktime filter available for TMPGEnc, but the quality of this filter is horrible. Exactly like the the condition under QT Pro with the High Quality Mode disable. Therefore the video source quality is degraded even before the compression.

Then I think I should make a AVI first before I sent it to my PC. However, my 42mins QT DV file (9GB) got converted to a AVI (NTSC DV stream) and it couldn't be read by TMPGenc. I've tried portion of the project (like 3GB in size) and it does work great.

My question, anyone has done this type of cross platform video conversion between Mac and PC? I know Toast has its own VCD converter but it just takes so long to encode the movie. If I can leave this work for my PC then we can use the iMac for something more fun. Thanks in advance.

[Ross]

The last time I used TMPEnc for a large file, I broke the QT into less than 2gig chunks, pasted then back together using QT to make a referrence movie (allow dependencies). Transfered the ref and chunks to PC, TMPEnc with QT import thought it was all one piece.

[desertracer]

Thanks for replying. Do you have the QT input filter installed in your TMPGenc? I found that actually degrade the video quality....

[Ross]

I don't remember any degregation of quaility, I'am sure I would have used Motion Jpeg A or Photo Jpeg. However, DV is also low loss, low compression. Keep in mind, Quicktime is not a codec, and neither is AVI for that matter, they are simply containers for the codec. That still doesn't mean QT import for TMGEnc isn't trashing it somehow.