File format from PC to Mac? « Videomaker Community Forums

CalPix
Member

I'm in the forgotten zone - G5 iMac and a Canon HG10 creating ACVHD files.

Took five hours and buying latest iLife to find out that I needed an intel mac to deal reasonably well with the files. I'm using Voltaic (best and cheapest solution so far) but is it ever slow. Even with 2GB of ram.

I have access to a PC - which I've managed to load the files onto and edit with the Corel package and with Windows Movie Maker. However, the mpeg files off of it just don't work on my iMac. I've also bought the mpeg2 codec from Apple and still no go. I tried a bunch of settings, and am very frustrated all around. If the PC had a DVD burner, I'd probably use it - and it may come to just buying one for it. But, I'm a mac person so using the PC is just not my cup of tea - if you know what I mean.

So, all that preamble to ask; is there a setting that works for others in getting PC files over to the Mac. I tried AVI and it worked, but was very choppy - although I may have had it set wrong.

That all counts on my being able to convince the PC that my external drive will actually hold a file - last time I tried to copy a file to it the PC said there wasn't enough room, even though there was easily twice as much room as needed.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

Neil

Posted 3 years ago #
ThomW
Member

I don't know how to help you.Â I have asked the similar question and got all excited when someone else was asking so that I my benifit.Â All I can tell you is that to this day the only solution that I know of is to send it back to a tape on a camcorder and recapture it on to the Mac.

This industry sometimes forgets that there was a time in the not so distant past that the only time you got paid was when you woke up the next morning and went back to work. Earning royalties for something you did 20 years ago is only a recent phenomenon.

Posted 3 years ago #
CalPix
Member

Well, even more disturbing. Did a project and converted all the files via Voltaic. The final product was very jittery whenever there was motion. So, overall not really happy about this. Is anyone having better results using an Intel Mac? I double checked the camera and it wasn't on the 24 frame setting (which in reviews gives the same problem.)

Posted 3 years ago #
jerronsmith
Moderator

I would normally suggest that you use Quicktime files for this type of transfer. The quality problems you are having may actually be less about the file format and more about the codec that you are using to compress your video. You would want to use a codec that has less compression than an MPEG to have good video to edit. If it is sd footage the DV NTSC or DV PAL codec is usually best and quicktime has hd codecs as well that work.

Jerron Smith
Editor-Animator-Educator
blog: http://www.thepixelsmith.blogspot.com

Posted 3 years ago #