Conversion VOB to MOV, etc.. ERROR on MAC Leopard

[HowardNeedsHelp]

I want to convert a perfectly working VOB movie to .MOV. I installed ffmpeg and all the binaries. When I run the conversion, a MOV file is created. When I click on the new file I get a pop up Error Message "The movie could not be opened. The file is not a movie file." This is a quicktime player error message. Please Help!!! This happens with all my VOB files when I convert them to any other format with ffmpeg. If this would work to convert my movies, I would be glad to send along some money to the software creators.

I really would appreciate if anyone can help me out!!! Howard


My system:
Mac PowerPC 1.67GHZ
OS Leopard 10.5.8
2 GB SDRAM
20 GB FREE on Hard DRive
Quicktime 7.6.2

[rumplestiltskin]

Do you have Apple's MPEG2 codec installed? QT Player will not play MPEG2 files without it. (DVD Player will play DVDs and VIDEO_TS folders but Apple pays a licensing fee for that; you need to pay the licensing fee if you wish to play other MPEG2 media.)

Do note that VLC should be able to play the MPEG2 file, if I remember correctly, as it has the MPEG2 codec installed within it. Try VLC and let us know what happens.

[HowardNeedsHelp]

I really appreciate your responding. I have VLC installed and my movie plays great in the original VOB form. The MOV file that is created with ffmpeg won't play at all in either VLC or Quicktime. How would I install MPEG2 codec?

[rumplestiltskin]

Does VLC play the original VOB?

[HowardNeedsHelp]

VLC plays the original VOB perfectly.

[HowardNeedsHelp]

I am running ffmpegX 0.0.9y and VLC 1.0.1

VLC plays all my original VOB movies great.

All 6 or 7 of my VOB movies when converted with ffmpegx to MOV, etc.. are not recognized and can not be opened by either Quicktime or VLC.

I would be very appreciative for any help. Thank you.

[rumplestiltskin]

I am not positive whether ffmpegX requires Apple's MPEG2 decoder in order to transcode from MPEG2 to something QuickTime-compatible. (I know MPEG Streamclip does.) VLC has its own codecs and it can transcode (although it is a somewhat confusing process if you've never done it before).

I think you'll find the purchase of Apple's MPEG2 codec a worthwhile investment as it brings MPEG2 capability to many QuickTime-based apps (like MPEG Streamclip which does the VOB>MP4 transcode quite well).

You may buy the codec here:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A?mco=NDc0MjQ3Mw

[HowardNeedsHelp]

I purchaed the MPEG2 codec from apple and installed it, but not luck. Same problem persists with ffmpegx.

Next, I will download and try MPEG Streamclip.

All suggestions and advice about the best working VOB conversion software for under $100 that will run on my PPC Mac is appreciated. Thank you.

[rumplestiltskin]

Your DVD has a VIDEO_TS folder with the ".vob" files in it. Drop the first VOB of the title you wish to convert onto MPEG Streamclip and the app will ask you if you want to open the DVD; you do. It will load.

If you want to test a short clip. set "in" and "out" points in the video (using the "i" and the "o" keys). Now select "Export to MPEG-4..." and set the quality to 100%. Set the audio to no more than 160kb (if you intend to play the file on your iPod or an AppleTV). Leave the framerate blank. Set the size to 640x480 (assuming 4:3); set the cropping top and bottom as needed. Note you may use the "Preview" button to see a reasonably close example of the output so you may alter the size or cropping. Set the bitrate to something like 750kbps up to around 1300kbps depending on the source material (original framerate, sports or slow movement, etc.)

Don't forget to remove the "in" and "out" points once you've established the correct settings. If you cancel from the dialog to remove the points, the last settings you used will remain intact. If these settings work, you may save them as a "preset" so you can return to them at another session.

Another app to try is VideoMonkey.

Now that you're got the MPEG2 codec installed, many other apps may work for you. I've stopped using ffmpegX except as a last resort when I'm presented with some really recalcitrant oddball encoded file.

Let us know your progress.

[HowardNeedsHelp]

Thank you so much for sticking with me. I have a new post for help in the everything Mac section of the Video Forum relating to this project. Using your wisdom, I was able to use MPEG STREAMCLIP to convert to an MPEG file that will play in Quicktime, but iMOVIE will not recognize it. So, now I am at the point where I need to get my file into iMOVIE, and am having problems.

Again, I am grateful for the help!!!!

[rumplestiltskin]

Export to DV (look in the File menu) from MPEG Streamclip if you want to edit the video in iMovieHD (v6). Newer versions of iMovie work fine with MPEG4 (so "export as MPEG-4").

iMovieHD -only- works with DV so anything you want to import will have to be converted by iMovie into DV (unless you give it DV in the first place which is what this MPEG Streamclip process does).

[HowardNeedsHelp]

This is very very helpful. Thank you!