How tp run MPEG files on a Mac?

[Luke Raymond]

Quicktime Pro is not some flashy application. $50 simply gives you access to A/V conversion and compression algorithms that allow you to author quality media. The basic (free) Quicktime is intended for A/V decompression and viewing, not authoring.

$50 is a small price to pay for the power that it unlocks for you.

If you are having problems, it is probably not the 'lousy' software.

Perhaps you could provide more details on where your content is originating, what codec you are using to encode it, what your final format is (MPEG doesn't tell us much -- MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4??)

• Luke Raymond

I DID upgrade to QT pro. A TOTAL ripoff!

QT itself is a lousy viewer for mpegs .. it converts the format to
widescreen w/o asking and badly degrades the image.

I have looked, so far unsuccessfully, for an mpeg mov converter.

 

[Luke Raymond]

This is EXACTLY what the Mac Store told me. Hiw frustrating ... in
the biggger world, PC, there is no comaptibility problem.

If you want help in a Mac section of a forum, this probably is not the best way to go about it. You are making a false and sweeping generalization here. Recently I found myself sitting in front of my uncle's PC, trying to get a video to play which had been encoded with some obscure codec. There will always be compatibility problems, on ALL PLATFORMS. You will always need to have the right software to access the files you want, and someone will always be missing that software, or update, or patch, that causes their system to be incompatible with your files.

Now, if you really want help, I'm willing to try and help you. I need to know:

• Authoring program, authoring application.
• Final format (more specific than 'MPEG' please)
• Codec used for encoding.

• Luke Raymond

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

OK.

But Macs exist in a Windows world, not the other way around. So we can call it Fortress Mac in the Windows Wilderness GRIN

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Liz ..

QT pro as a ripoff:

1. the program has an unusual installation procedure that releases functions but does not ANYWHERE indicate that changes have been made or rename the program.

2. The program does not easily use the Windows root structure (I hate it too but it is there).

3. There is NO support for it and NO manual for it.

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Liz ..

I also just tried and most of the mpeg versions I made, all of which run fine on my PC with any other viewer, will not even load in QTpro.

I am trying to export as 640/480 ... will tell yu what happens.

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Perhaps is it not the QT, BUT every other viewer (RealTime, Blaze, MSoft, etc) have no problme with the files and show them in high res.

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

I have no problme with anyone who wants to live in the Mac world, until I need to work with them. This is just one special example. Ss for then$50, (actually, it is $30) the riposs is in the lack of support, the enigmatic hiding of the "new features" and the lack of ANY support.

The files I have generated are mpeg1, I am not sure what other data would help?

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

I tried this and did fix the screen format, TX. BUT

1. now I get no sound
2. there is a lot of loss of resolution vs the orig mpeg.

BTW is there a version checker that can read an mpeg and give me the codec etc?

 

[lg]

I tried this and did fix the screen format, TX. BUT

1. now I get no sound

I am sorry you are having so much trouble - it would really be easier if we all go back to square one and find out which program you are creating your production in. I do not believe that Quicktime Pro can fix the type of mpeg you are using because your type of mpeg uses one file for the audio and video while QT needs one for each in order to edit.
That is why you get no sound.

Please tell us what your source file is. Is it dv? How large is it? What program created it Stephen?

2. there is a lot of loss of resolution vs the orig mpeg.

BTW is there a version checker that can read an mpeg and give me
the codec etc?

Sorry, I know of no way to determine the specific type of mpeg you have, perhaps someone else does.

You can try this however: open your movie in QT, at the top of the player select Movie> get movie properties> click on the drop down menu on the left and select whatever it says (propably mpeg1 muxed or something like that), now in the right dropdown menu select general. This is where QT tells you the codec used and the data rate. For mpeg files, because there are different kinds, it really isn't much help.

Tell us how you authored your production, we really need that info in order to help if you want to encode a version for the mac. Your other alternative is to find a mac video player which can play it.

Liz

ps. can you post an example of your video somewhere so that we can test it and download it on a Mac?

 

[lg]

I have no problme with anyone who wants to live in the Mac world,
until I need to work with them. This is just one special example.
Ss for then$50, (actually, it is $30) the riposs is in the lack of
support, the enigmatic hiding of the "new features" and the lack of
ANY support.

Just want to mention Stephen that there is extensive info at Apple.com on how to use QT. There is also a QT Talk mailing list at Apple.com that is very helpful in solving issues such as yours....

Liz

 

[Ian Eisenberg]

Why not say it is a computerized world in which Microsoft likes to impose it's will on the user base whereas Apple offers choices.

Look, I use both platforms. Apple by choice as it is the best tool I have found for what I do (or for anything for that matter), and Windows because Maya unlimited is not available for the Mac as yet.

When it comes to doing things seamlessly or just letting me do what I want the Mac wins hands down. I do not have any problems sending my clients video clips wether they be on the Mac or the PC. The only complaint I ever hear is that video and images tend to be dark and contrasty on the PC, or too light. But then again Windows doesn't have anything like Colorsync, so I am not at all surprised.

OK.

But Macs exist in a Windows world, not the other way around. So we
can call it Fortress Mac in the Windows Wilderness GRIN

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Liz:

MPEG1 Muxed
Data size 51 MB
Data Rate 305.2

Does this help?

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Liz
it would really be

easier if we all go back to square one and find out which program
you are creating your production in.

ProShow Gold

I do not believe that

Quicktime Pro can > ps. can you post an example of your video somewhere so that we can
test it and download it on a Mac?
--

-Hmm, maybe I can put on my wesite but at 50Mb it rather large for a transfer (the hgher res file is 150mb)
Stephen M Schwartz

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Lets not go there, I am a scientist and we still have a lot of Macusers. Most of the time there is no problem, but .. usually at some key time ... we need to do something that is easy to do with PCs and run into a hassle on a Mac.

I really could care less about the Mac platform, except that it gets in the way when I need to find a way to do something that involves macusers.

As one very important example, Groove, the best collab software, is not supported on the Mac platform simply because the user base is to small to justify the effort.

Another example is album software, we use Thumbsplus .. again it is avalable on the PCs but not on the Mac so it is hard to exchange jpgs.

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

For example, it is impossible from the info there to even figure out how to accomplish the upgrade.

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

Luke RI am honestly NOT interested in being yelled at and am pretty sure that nothing I have said here i not factual.

If this was a professional issue, I would just tell my Mac colleagues that they need to use PCs for our shared work. That is how we work in Linux where there are very real SW issues that Windows can not address.

This is personal, "hobby" stuff and is just being done for pleasure.
So, if getting answers means being yelled at, I do not need it.

Soapbox off.

This is EXACTLY what the Mac Store told me. Hiw frustrating ... in
the biggger world, PC, there is no comaptibility problem.

If you want help in a Mac section of a forum, this probably is not
the best way to go about it. You are making a false and sweeping
generalization here. Recently I found myself sitting in front of my
uncle's PC, trying to get a video to play which had been encoded
with some obscure codec. There will always be compatibility
problems, on ALL PLATFORMS. You will always need to have the right
software to access the files you want, and someone will always be
missing that software, or update, or patch, that causes their
system to be incompatible with your files.

Now, if you really want help, I'm willing to try and help you. I
need to know:

• Authoring program, authoring application.
• Final format (more specific than 'MPEG' please)
• Codec used for encoding.

• Luke Raymond

--
Stephen M Schwartz

 

[Stephen Schwartz115733]

What I would like is a slideshow program as good as ProShow Gold that can write to the Mac plarform as well as PC. By Mac I mean QT on the mac simply because so many Macusers lack the other media players.

I have not found one.

So, the laternative would be to fins a way to convert my files to work on the Mac ... that is nder QT. I did put the details I know how to find on here above in the thread to Liz.

Tx for any help.

Stephen M Schwartz

 

[lg]

it would really be
easier if we all go back to square one and find out which program
you are creating your production in.

ProShow Gold

OK, I understand now after looking at it more closely. Here is their support address:
http://www.photodex.com/support/contact.html

they seem to be familiar w/macs and QT and should be able to help you solve your cross-platform issues or at least answer your questions re QT - it appears some of their programs have trouble working with QT (32 bit vs. 16 bit).

Speaking for myself, I have iMovie(free, but for mac only) which I use to create tutorials and slideshows(sometimes) with transitions and music and voiceovers and then either send to iDvd or save to QT in a variety of formats which are viewable on both pc and mac through QT with no issues. It took me a while to learn the ins and outs of computer video for sure but Quicktime really covers all the bases quite nicely. Real is terrible and WMP is too limiting for me but I do keep it handy for those files that Quicktime does not handle - mostly the web based ones where QT is not an option.

I personally know of no video player that is capable of playing ALL video types or one codec that is recognized by all as a standard cross platform solution(mpeg4?), hopefully some day soon ...but then we won't be having all this fun

BTW, Did VLC player work on the macs for viewing?
Liz

 

[lg]

I must clarify:

Speaking for myself, I have iMovie(free, but for mac only) which I
use to create tutorials and slideshows(sometimes) with transitions
and music and voiceovers and then either send to iDvd or save to
QT in a variety of formats which are viewable on both pc and mac

by formats I mean codecs specifically- usually Sorenson but sometimes Cinepak or Apple's mpeg4 and with different data rates depending on whether it is web based or cd based and what type of target machine (OS, processor, video card etc)
Lots of factors involved here.

through QT with no issues. It took me a while to learn the ins and
outs of computer video for sure but Quicktime really covers all the

and I am still learning.
--
Liz

 

[Bob Overlock]

Stephen Schwartz

I have been following this thread and I am new to Mac systems, but I may have discovered a solution. I just downloaded some of my u/w video from a PC (mpeg2) and found it would not play on QT. I then went looking for a solution to that problem and found that Apple offers yet another plug in for QT that does allow mpeg2 play. I went ahead and purchased that and sure enough it plays the mpegs from the PC just fine. Once the mpeg is loaded and playing in QT you can eport it to a QT .mov file.

I hope this is helpful. I don't like the policy of needing to purchase each bit of a software separately....QT then QT Pro then Mpeg plug in, but it did allow me to move material easily across platforms.
Aloha, Bob