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Converting mpeg-4 footage for Final Cut Pro
Hey all,
I’ve received some HD footage in mp4 fomat, with h.264 and AAC codecs. I’ve tried both mpeg streamclip and quicktime to convert the footage to be able to edit it in FCP, but neither software is able able to convert the footage.In quicktime, it will export out a .mov file that has all the audio but only a white frame as the video. In mpegstream clip, I get an error that says “Cannot prepare the movie” and the file it spits out ‘looks’ like a .mov file, but when attempting to open it I get an error saying “This movie could not be opened, it is not a movie file.”
Any insight as to how to fix this problem so I can get editing would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your time. 🙂 -
12 Replies
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Install VLC player…then try MPEG STREAMCLIP. VLC player adds a great decoder to the system.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Hey Shane,
VLC player was already dowloaded on my computer before I tried mpeg streamclip.
Do I have to do anything special for them to work together? Or should that have already done the trick?Thanks.
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Hmmm…should of worked. Can VLC player play them? If not…might be SOL.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Yes, VLC and Quicktime can both play the mp4 footage fine. (FCP cannot.)
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And MPEG STREAMCLIP cannot…? Head scratcher.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
If Quicktime can play the clips fine, then you can just use Quicktime (Pro) FILE > EXPORT capabilities to convert the files to Apple ProRes422 or whatever other codec works best for your workflow.
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Sorry for my miscommunication there….mpeg streamclip can PLAY the footage, but it cannot properly convert it.
And as far as Quicktime goes, I’ve tried to convert it to both an h.264 and apple prores422 and both result in a quicktime movie that has all the audio and only a white frame for the video.
Eek.
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what is the originating source of the MPEG-4 footage? DSLR? Flip camera? DVD rips? iTunes downloads?
what errors are you getting with MPEGStreamClip? the software is quite powerful and there’s lots of technical settings that can cause playback issues if they are not chosen properly.
have you installed the LATEST version of VLC?
out of curiosity, can HandBrake convert the file to something usable? don’t think you can go to ProRes, but maybe there’s something that would work?
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Any reason why you wouldn’t use Compressor? Just use the ProRes preset.
Michael Alberts
Ambidextrous Productions, Inc.
http://www.ambidextrous.net -
It sounds like some aspect of the .mp4 is not QT compliant – hence the white frame.
Have you tried installing Perian? It allows QT to work with a lot of other formats, and it’s free.
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