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117 Comments
- DigeratiPrime, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20no digg. this is the program you want:
http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/ - loneBoat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13^^ "AVI is one of the worst cedecs around"
Ermm, AVI isn't a codec... It's a wrapper... - jojoko, on 10/12/2007, -11/+20why would you want to convert it to avi?
- jasutton, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7AVI is just a container format. The codec (both of the audio and video) is what really counts. Anything can read an AVI container, but you must also have the codecs necessary to decode the audio and video streams.
- dvgraphics, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7schack: Thank you! It's completely understandable if you don't like QuickTime Player. I hear it's a rather unpleasant experience on Windows. Until 10.4, it wasn't too thrilling on the Mac either (Quicktime Player 7 was a complete rewrite to take advantage of OS X's underpinnings...Whereas 6 and before was just an OS 9 port). However, as schack pointed out, Quicktime itself is much more than a player, it's a media system, that serves as the underpinnings of of many pro applications and technologies. It can read and export to a total of almost 300 different formats- Including true high-def. To be honest, I haven't tried Real or WindowsMedia streaming as of late- but if you look at a live QT stream coming off a properly configured QuickTime Streaming Server, the result is amazing: High resolution, no buffer, etc.
It's a rather hard thing to compare....But I use a whole combination of applications to handle internet video: Quicktime, WindowsMedia Player, RealPlayer, VLC, MPlayer, Flip4Mac, DiVX plugins. They all kinda suck in different ways, but they all have their place too. (Excpet WindowsMedia Player for Mac...pure hell). - schack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Come on. You can't compare quicktime to this otherwise nice little transcoder. Quicktime is a media layer suited for professional production. Its able to handle production-house formats like IMX, DVCPRO HD 1080i, HDV 1080i, uncompressed 10 bit 4:2:2 and JPEG-2000. Its the layer beneath apps like FCP, Shake, Mokey and DVD Studio Pro. Its not just some basic player for your pirated divx-xvid-mpeg4-something movie. Quicktime is also the container-format chosen for the Mpeg4-H.264 standard. Quit comparing apples and oranges.
- InvisionUK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Quicktime is a compressed format. You're converting to uncompressed AVI. Of course it'll be a bigger file *sigh*
- DD32, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I Personally suggest MP4CamtoAvi: http://mp4cam2avi.sourceforge.net/
All it does is re-write the header from mp4 to avi with the mp4 codec, then any program which supports AVI can open it..
No Recompression needed, No nonsense, just a Direct conversion of the headers.
Works great.
D
Input files:
File type: *.MP4, *.MOV, *.AVI, *.3GP
(3gp support is experimental, no AMR audio)
Video: MPEG4 ASP, MJPEG, H.263, Sorenson Video 3
Audio: AAC, PCM, u-Law, ADPCM, MP3
Output files:
File types: *.AVI
Video: Source video, no recompression
Audio: Source audio, PCM or MP3 - hobbit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yep, schack got it right. If your interested in MPEG-4 or MPEG-4-AVC (Advance Codec also known as H.264 see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC) then the .mov container is better suited than .avi.
Why, as schack stated the QuickTime container was the basis for MPEG-4 container format (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuickTime#QuickTime_and_MPEG-4).
If you really don't like the QuickTime container, you can always to the MPEG-4 container (.mp4). I believe mplayer and VLC will handle these container and codec types.
However, if you are converting to edit the video, you should be using .DV as this is the least compressed video file type which is also common to most consumer video editing applications (Premiere Elements, Pinnacle Studio, iMovie). MPEG or Quicktime should be your final distribution container. - ashchristopher, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I really am suprised that something like this is frontpage news on digg. Converting video is nothing new, and converting video is ALSO not new. Oh well.
- realnebby, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Why would you want an AVI file over a quicktime file?
- sir_zman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Ok in fairness, when I chose the Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec video type instead of standard uncompressed, it created a very nice looking 10 MB file...
- johnjreiser, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11Exactly. Less .avi and .wma floating around, the better. Why not convert to .mpeg or .mp4 instead?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP4 - cocoamix, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Quicktime Pro was probably some of the best $29 I've ever spent on software, but it's nice to know that there's a free option as well.
- dongiaconia, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9Why did people mod the question above down? (and I'm assuming this one will be modded down as well) I am curious as well, why? What benefits are gotten from going to AVI? Wouldn't it be better to go to mpeg? or leave it as a quicktime file?
- EyeDye, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Most newer standalone DVD players support DivX, but I have yet to see one that supports any quicktime formats.
- Metal_Guru, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I already use this program. It works great!
- drshabazz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5i still can't believe anyone would want to convert from quicktime to avi
- yoshihama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4No, that honor goes to RealMedia.
- biblicabeebli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4uhg, AVIs are so problamatic on macs
*unhappyface*
Seriously though, why would we want to use AVI? It doesnt stream well (in my use, not the fastest internet here, not dialup but still blah), the layering of the different tracks is inconsistant so the audio/video are out of sink constantly, and just about every other wrapper out there is better (mp4, mov, mkv- that one is difficult to play with though). - mentor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Transcoding is bad, mmmm'kay.
? - arcman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I used to use that to avoid using Apple's bloated windows quicktime player, but that was before MPC and Quicktime Alternative.
- drshabazz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3you can rotate and flip images from within quicktime player. you don't need any special 3rd party software for that. just go to the movie properties then select the video track and you can rotate and flip to your heart's content. then you can resave or save over the file and there you go.
- Moldarin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Why would anyone like to do that?
- coheedcollapse, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Quicktime is the bane to my existance. Just like RealPlayer...I just use the alternative version and load it up in Windows Media Classic.
This is a cool tool though, very incredibly simple it seems and free like it was stated earlier.
Personally when it comes to converting any type of video I go for VirtualDub, it's free, I'm pretty sure it's open source, and it works incredibly well for any format. Allows for a ton of compression options as well. - Predicament, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If MPEG4 and AVI were people, MPEG4 would beat the ***** out of AVI.
Honestly though, I'd like to see some people compare and contrast various video formats. I'm convinced that MPEG4 is the best, but what do I know? I'd like to know everyone else's views. - coolbru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Couldn't agree more. QT is the only media architecture that actually tries to do stuff right. AVI has no internal sync, can only handle one codec at a time (It's quite easy to create a QT movie that uses several codecs simultaneously (both audio and video), and there are many reasons for doing so). AVI is pretty much a playback only format, as is WMV (disagree? ok, copy 5 seconds from the middle of a movie into a new one - if it takes you longer than 10 sec, you're using the wrong tools. Still disagree? Now play it backwards). I'd even go so far as to say that it's extremely hard wok to produce WMV/Real/AVI final content without using QT-based tools (have you ever scrubbed backwards in WMV? do tell me when it catches up).
You only have to look at the zillions of incompatible subtitle formats and the vagaries of VBR MP3 audio in AVI to see why AVI totally sucks as a container. Hell, it can't even handle movies without a soundtrack properly. - saska, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Because I refuse to make people install iTunes in order to watch videos taken with my digital camera.
The hypocrisy of this being okay because it is Apple does not fly with me. - fa_pa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I would recommand mencoder from mplayer it can basicly convert what mplayer plays which is pretty much everything. There is also a gui called MeWig http://mewig.sourceforge.net/
- chevyorange, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8My God, if anything please convert crappy AVIs to QuickTime!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2last time i used RAD video tools, they failed miserably.
maybe i should try them again ;) in the meantime, are there any other free solutions out there to accomplish the same task? - krinn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Just don't put H.264 in AVI. I hate downloading files and finding the audio is horribly desynched because AVI doesn't handle b-frames properly, or because someone tried to put VBR MP3 into AVI, which doesn't work either. Use MP4 or MKV for that.
- evangelion01, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4You mean.... transcode .mov files to mpeg4? avi is nothing more than a container, just like mkv/ogm.
- Zaffel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"you've heard of programs out there like premiere, after effects, vegas, avid xpress, combustion, etc, etc, right?"
yes we use two of the programs you mentioned, After Effects and Combustion and yes on these programs I have never seen AVI used in a "professional setting". Just because it "can" be used doesn't mean that people in the know would take AVI seriously enough to actually use AVI. So you missed the point. Thank for participating anyway. - slapout, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Because many people, esp those at work, can't view quicktime files.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3RAD tools have been around for a looong time. But I digg anyway. I used to use this to extract bink files (movies and music) from games so that I could watch/listen without opening up the game.
- combatcupcake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I work in the movie biz, I do visual FX and Compositing (mainly in HD), and work with lots of editors. I have NEVER heard of anyone using .avi for any professional work, even PC editors working on Avid. Quicktime like AVI is just a container format, its all about what codecs you use, and pretty much every piece of software I use (Final Cut, After Effects, Shake, Maya, Motion, Monet, Vegas, Premiere. etc),takes quicktime files, only one that doesnt only takes image sequences.
Quicktime is better supported I find and less hassle. Codec issues are less as well, AVI has a lot more issues.
And as for Mpeg, Mp4, h.264, etc.: those are all finishing formats, and highly compressed, you would not edit or do effects work on them. That is what you convert to when all the work is done.
If you are working with software that doesnt support quicktime.... get some new software, honestly! - Zaffel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2oh, avi. that must be "a"lways "v"isually "i"mpaired
- indijay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Anybody knows how to rotate MOV in 90 degrees? I shor Eiffel tower with tilted camera (rotated 90 degrees) and got movie rotated as well!! Desperately trying to rotate, can't find anyway
- Guspaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I just use ffmpeg to transcode the file to avi.
- powetgames, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i'm on a mac. find me an app that'll convert avi and divx into quicktime and I'll be impressed.
- simbaB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1ffmpeg is the swiss army knife of video conversion tools. I've yet to see it choke on anything I've thrown at it.
- MemoryDump, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1how about something that converts AVI to MOV for FREE? That's what I'm looking for at this moment so I can stream some clips on the web.
- Zaffel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I whole-heartedly agree! but don't tell c0001 that, he will go out of his way to insult you even though he has no experience at what you are talking about. good to see others in the VFX industry know what's going on.
cheers! - C00001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1when you don't use compression, it records the data for every single pixel for every frame (or field).
it adds up real fast. like the difference between a wav and an mp3. - prothall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Er.... only one person mentioned Mencoder? I mean, sweet heavens, the thing converts even the most god-forsaken video formats/containers into whatever the hell you want. You have movies you somehow extracted from a PS1 game? Why yes, it can even convert those to any other format it plays. Or just play it as colored text.
Why do people bother with this stuff? - JesseJ, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2How about a AVI to VHS guide? It would be as practical.
- gumpy5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I use mencoder, it's fairly simple to use, and converts a whole ton of extra formats.
- Muss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Anyone know a way to convert m4v files to avi or other more compatable format?
- benthere, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1+1 digg for VirtualDub
If you install avisynth (http://www.avisynth.org/) and QTInput (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104293) you can convert Quicktime videos easily.
Just create text file named filename.avs with this line:
QTInput("FileName.mov")
and then open that in VirtualDub and convert/edit all you want. -
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