A New Quicktime format....can't manipulate

[ababab]

Has anybody found a "cure" for these Star Wars QT-files, yet ?

[aparr]

i'm still looking for some help with this too, if anyone has found a solution.

- adam

[Guiboche]

I have had some blocked QuickTime files in the past and have found a way to get around them. The process is kinda tricky, and I'll try my best to explain. Please bear with me.

Apple has a little program called "QuickEditor." It's a very simple edit program used to cut and past QuickTime video. Because this programs runs on top of QuickTime’s software, QuickEditor lets you open blocked QuickTime videos. Here's where it gets tricky.

QuickEditor doesn't let you copy and paste blocked QuickTime video. You can only view it. But it doesn't stop you from creating a transition from it. Meaning QuickEditor lets you creates fades and dissolves even if your source video is blocked (like the starwars files). If you can only create dissolves then how do you copy the video, right? Easy. You create a dissolve into nothing. You use 100% of your source video (the blocked video) going into 100% of your source again. Since there is a dissolve into nothing, it will simply copy the QuickTime video frame-by-frame. Now you have new QuickTime video that you can save, and import into Premiere if you wish.

Dissolves can only be created for about 90 seconds, so this means you have to copy the video into 90-second segments. QuickEditor will flatten the video in the end once it’s saved.

Hope this helps. I have used this process in the past for various trailers that have been blocked in the past. I am downloading one of the starwars videos right now to check if this process works. I’ll get back to you all if it does.

[ababab]

Nope doesn't work.
I just get a black screen and no sound when I load the clip into QuickEditor.

Oh my God! Have Apple really found a copyprotection that actually works !

What is really funny is that of the 4 "Making of Episode II" clips, one wasn't copyprotected!? (no. 3).

[BadAsh]

How do you access this "QuickEditor" program?

NOTE: I have QuickTime Pro 5.0.2

What are the steps I need to follow to create the "dissolve" and use the "QuickEditor?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: BadAsh on 2001-07-16 13:41:36 ]</font>

[BadAsh]

Okay, I did some searching around and I found an old program called "QuickEditor" that was created back in 1998 that appears to be what you are talking about. The only problem is that the developer made it to work with QuickTime 3 and maybe it will work with version 5 but he is no longer making the PC version so is it worth paying $35 for something that is unsupported and may not work with future versions?

But, then again, if it does indeed work then I'll shell out the money... I have so many trailers I would love to convert. I don't understand why companies would copyprotect movie trailers... its kind of like saying "you can't copy our commercials"... oh yeah... someone is gonna make alot of money off of trailers.

I just want to be able to make a movie trailers VCD... is that a crime?

[Guiboche]

Yup. I couldn't export the starwars files from QuickEditor either. The only thing I can finally suggest is shutting off QuickTime's directdraw performance and use a video screen capture program.

[moog]

I haven't found away around yet either. But what I do if Iwant to make a VCD copy I just find the asf file if avail and use that. Starwars ep 2 shorts are only in QT. So I don't think Lucasfilm wants this on VCD anyway since they will add up to a hour or more show. Final Fantasy had one trailer that I was able to convert. A behind the scene clip I could not. But screw them. The movie made only 19 mil in 5 days. So a note to the film companies:
Trailers are commercials. Alienate the fans and they will alienate you. Lucas however has understood this and turned the cheek on certain things.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: moog on 2001-07-16 16:38:34 ]</font>

[BadAsh]

!!! Good News, Good News !!!

Okay, I have been frustrated with the more "secure" format we are seeing in most newer QuickTime MOVie files. I have tried using just MOV2AVI, just TMPGEnc, etc., etc. but nothing worked. Alot of times I just gave up after trying one program. Well, after some good suggestions from this thread and many suggestions from Guiboche I decided to give several tools a try.

First I made the mistake of buying QuickTime Pro. Bad mistake. These files are "blocked" by Secure Copyright protection... of course that won't work. Then I "secured" a copy of QuickEditor. Well, that took way too much work and while it worked for the Video, the output was rather poor considering the High quality of the source and extracting the Audio still had to be done elsewhere involving even more cumbersome work. So, I fell back on some tools I haven't really used too much in the past. Through the use of several programs I was able to easily create VCD ready MPEGs of so called "blocked" QuickTime MOVie files. Here are the steps:

Step 1
Extract Audio using MOV2AVI (-w will extract WAV)

Step 2
Use "RAD Video Tools" to extract just the Video

Step 3
Use VirtualDub to create a new AVI with both the Video from RAD Tools and the WAV Audio from MOV2AVI

Step 4
Use TMPGEnc to create a VCD ready MPEG from the newly mixed AVI

Okay, I bet you are asking yourself, why not just use MOV2AVI to extract both the Audio and Video... well, I am a newbie to all of this and I don't know how all the command line switches work so I don't know how to set the proper codec or what is considered the best quality for MOV2AVI and/or what its defaults are and just using the defaults results in a poor quality AVI Video. Next you are asking yourself, why mix the RAD Tools AVI with the MOV2AVI to create a new AVI via VirtualDub. Well, I don't know why but TMPGEnc doesn't like the AVIs produced by RAD Tools but, creating a new one with VirtualDub works.

As you may have noticed, we are starting most likely with a compressed Video file (MOV), converting to an AVI, mixing with Audio (WAV) to create a new AVI and then converting to a lossy compressed MPEG format... so isn't this counterproductive... aren't we destroying the quality of the video... well not necessarily and not to a great extent. First off, you will need a large amount of disk space (depending on original source length). With RAD Tools, extract using NO Compression. Then when assembling the "master" AVI in VirtualDub also use NO Compression. This will ensure that you start with a good source when converting with TMPGEnc.

Okay, with a little testing you may find that using the Huffyuv Codec creates a smaller AVI with very little noticeable difference and if the small loss in video quality is okay with you then go for it.

Well, it took three (3) different programs and four (4) different file formats to get there but it works.

So far I have converted the following files:

Spider-Man 2002 Trailer (High-Res)
Planet of the Apes Trailer A (High-Res)
Planet of the Apes Trailer B (High-Res)

I plan on messing with some of the Star Wars Episode II stuff tomorrow and I also want to tack the "Star Wars Dark Redemption" fan movie soon.

My main objective here was to be able to rip Movie Trailers to VCD. These new "blocked" MOVie files have really sucked but the process I have described here appears to work and I plan on using it often.

I hope this helps many of you. Please post any results you may experience using this method.

[aparr]

i REALLY appreciate your responses on this BadAsh. i'm having a problem with the RADVideoTools portion of the process.

what exactly are the steps that i should be using in RADVideo Tools to extract the video?? i'd really appreciate some help with this step. i know how to extract the audio, but i'm really struggling with the video portion. i can produce an avi file, but it's all just solid black frames.

if you can help me with this, i promise to send you a couple of things on vcd that will make helping me well worth you while.

thanks,

adam

sebulba@starwarsfan.org
http://www.starwarsfan.org

[ababab]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-07-17 19:42:38, BadAsh wrote:
I plan on messing with some of the Star Wars Episode II stuff tomorrow and I also want to tack the "Star Wars Dark Redemption" fan movie soon.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

So, have you tried:
http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/video/making/making1.html

No go. Right?
All I get in all the programs I've tried is a black screen and no sound.
The only prog. which will run this is (surprise) QuickTime Player. Damn!

[BadAsh]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-07-20 03:00:17, ababab wrote:
So, have you tried:
www.starwars.com/episode-ii/video/making/making1.html
No go. Right?
All I get in all the programs I've tried is a black screen and no sound.
The only prog. which will run this is (surprise) QuickTime Player. Damn!

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry, I should have posted.

Yeah, I tried the SW Episode II Making of stuff to no avail. Those files use a high-level "Sorenson" encryption that makes it virtually impossible to extract the video. Doing so will only result in lots of nifty blank screens.

Oh well, give it some time... I am sure some enterprising hacker will work this out eventually.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: BadAsh on 2001-07-20 03:09:38 ]</font>

[videomaster]

I might know how to do it, I'm downloading the file now

[videomaster]

The only way to put this into AVI or MPG is to register to Quicktime Player and get the full options etc. Where you can edit the file and convert it into AVI. Then u can go from AVI to MPG. If you guys don't want to pay for registration, hack the program. I've got a serial number maker so u can register it for free. Anyone want it, ask me.

[BadAsh]

I've got QuickTime Pro and the Star Wars MOVies files people are talking about here will NOT export to AVI. They use the new Sorenson Copyright Protection and are thus "blocked" from Export or "Save".

[videomaster]

sorry BADASH
I Didn't realise.
I will try and find a way of doing it. There is always a way.

[disturbed1]

Try using a tool called frame grabber. It captures uncompressed avi from the active the window. You'll need a good comp. to play and capture at the same time.

If can't locate it through google, I might be able to help "secure" a copy to you.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: disturbed1 on 2001-07-20 09:32:00 ]</font>

[moog]

I havent tried this yet with the Star Wars behind the scenes. I have EzCd Creator Deluxe 4 which has Cd Spinner (like Total Recorder). Im going to play the qt movie and record audio off soundcard. Then convert the video in RAD to AVI, then mux the audio. The Audio will be in WAV file and will be good as the original source prior to mux.

[aparr]

hey moog,

i've also got CD SpinDoctor, and CAN grab the audio of these star wars files, but can't find any way to do the video. i tried RADTools, and just get the black frames.

i've thought about using the s-video tv-out on my video card, but the only problem is that i don't have an s-video in on my vcr, so i'd have to get some sort of cable adapter.

seems like there should be a way to crack this on the computer without using a vcr.... between us all, hopefully we'll find an answer.

later,

adam
sebulba@starwarsfan.org
http://www.starwarsfan.org

[Nickhamm]

Try using hypercam. I haven't tried it yet, but it works great for shockwave flash to AVI.

[mazinz]

This must be the samerthing that is on the Lord of the rings behind scenes/trailer, i got a while ago. and this answers my post moreslight prob with tmpg and .mov). I was able to fix this as i used to have the ATI Radeon card(full version) and just ran the picture/sound into my svhs deck. the quality still was very good. But it woulod be much easier to do it all on a PC.
Hey would using a hex editor and possibly erasing the heading work to wipe off the copyencryption??

[moog]

That may work. Will need to look at the script. I can't export this thru ADOBE since it's locked out and I'm not going to go crazy xporting to VHS then back in to try to get this to VCD. I'd just leave it on the tape if I did bother. Hell. Normally I wouldn't care and say the hell with the studio and not watch it more then once, but this is StarWars.
I am not familiar with this, but can anyone decipher the giberish when you change the .mov into .txt if any clues can be found in there?


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: moog on 2001-07-23 23:56:48 ]</font>

[Orson]

The program used to protect these files isn't a $500 program called
Sorenson Video but a freeware program by apple called Plugin-Helper.
There is a Win32 And Mac version but only the mac version can protect the movies.

Here are the app names i use to convert protected mov to avi:
1) Radvideo (Convert mov video to avi - No audio)
2) TMPGEnc with QTPlugin (Convert mov audio to Mp2 - No Video)
3) VirtualDub (Mux)

-If the above method fails, i use Ulead VideoStudio 5 to convert to avi

-If that fails i use Dumpster to edit the resources of the mov file

How to use dumpster: (read the readme file distributed with the app)
1) Make a backup copy of the mov file
2) Drag the mov file onto dumpster (easy right)
3) look for the string "NASV" and change values to all zero's
*This method doesn't work with fullscreen mov's because it has the sprites and all that extra JUNK so you'll be unable to find the "NASV" string.

Download Dumpster at: http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/quicktimeintro/tools/index.html
the rest of the apps you know where to find...

I hope you can understan what i mean..

[moog]

I have it now and put it in my QT pro file. At least I will be able to use it for my work. I'm having trouble finding this NASV in the Star Wars shorts folks. Since this has sprites and a couple of other things this may not be convertable.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: moog on 2001-07-24 17:05:11 ]</font>

[mazinz]

this may help with sprites. the lord of the rings has sprites, but when i installed quicktime 4 i made it pro but using basic stuff. When i first threww it in tmpg it told me the spitre adapter was needed. i ignored this and went to convert (which did not really work), BUT when played in quictime what was sprites(on my clip it was the top and bottom similar to letrterbox) was now dead black space.
SO if you have a way that will work for the clip, uninstal quick4 and then reinstall try that clip with sprites and ignore it(cancel) when it says you need that file adapter(which it will then try to dl from the quicktime site) to play it properly. this may work

[moog]

I am sorry but I couldn't understand a word you wrote.
Can you please rewrite it with the proper punctuation and grammar. If it's easier write it in steps.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: moog on 2001-07-24 19:39:09 ]</font>

[Gargoyle]

I ran into the same problem with the new "Spiderman" trailer; a simple program called MOV2AVI by James Holderness worked for me:
http://www.divx-digest.com/software/mov2avi.html
It runs in a DOS box, and uses command-line switches: for Spiderman I used "mov2avi spiderman.mov -q4 -c14" ( highest quality, no compression), and it worked great, but made a HUGE .AVI file (about 650MB for the 2:00 minute trailer).
Then I just ran it through TmpgEnc to convert to VCD.
I tried a few compression codec + changed the quality setting, but didn't get very good results, but also didn't experiment with it too much.

EDIT--
I'm wrong - this doesn't work for the "Star Wars" .mov; no video.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: gargoyle on 2001-07-31 08:39:18 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Gargoyle on 2001-07-31 08:40:19 ]</font>

[ababab]

Seems like a lot of people have luck with conversion of Spiderman and what have you.

But I have yet to see one poster claming that he converted:
http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/video/making/making1.html !

Sorry but Mov2Avi, Radtools and so on, just dosn't work with the SW Mov's! So no more suggestions about those, ok?


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ababab on 2001-07-25 02:54:04 ]</font>

[aparr]

... and to anyone who can show me how to successfully convert these star wars files, i hereby promise to send you something which will make it well worth your while.

- adam
aparr@midsouth.rr.com
sebulba@starwarsfan.org
http://www.starwarsfan.org
http://www.cinemawatch.net

[moog]

On the Apple Quick Time Authoring Tools page there was a program called Hack.TV.
Is this just a capturing device from outside sources?