Mac iMovie to motion jpeg

[dedee]

Anyone familiar with iMovie?

I'd like to record a short video using the built in iSight webcam and save it, or convert it, to motion jpeg format which can then be viewed on a Sony digital photo frame.

We've made the movie but I can't seem to find out how to convert it to motion jpeg (the only video format the picture frame will take.

Can anyone help.

Thanks

Andy

 

[RogerS]

Does this help?

An “iMovie project file” is actually just a package file used by iMovie to allow speedy editing. Right-click (or control-click) the imovieproject package and choose “Show package contents”. Inside the “Media” folder you will find your video file as “filename.mov”, “filename.DV”, or other format, which was pre-determined when you first chose to create a project (look for the drop list in the “Create Project” dialog next time and just change it to “MPEG-4″).
Try using the video file that you find in the Media folder for your “digital photo/movie frame”, whatever that is. Also, not sure what version of iMovie this is, but the recent versions do not have “Export” under the File menu. Instead, choose the “Share” option. If you want to have a separate file that is some format or in some type of container other than a MOV container, use the Share option. Here is how:
File >Share >. In the options dialog, change the option at “Compress movie for:” to “Expert settings”. Click Share (yes, again). At the “Export:” drop list, choose “Movie to MPEG-4″ or “Movie to iPod” which will yield an M4V container with MPEG-4 video codec inside. Check with the”digital photo/movie frame” to see if it can use the same file container as iPod.
iMovie is often confusing to new Mac users. They don’t realize that iMovie actually IS a video converter, so they don’t need to download any third-party converter.

 

[dedee]

Roger,
I'm using iMovie 09. A Ctrl click on the project does not list s "Show Package Contents" nor a "Media" folder. and there is no option to change the format when first creating a new project.

The Share > Export drop down there is no Compress movie for:” to “Expert settings”. Click Share (yes, again). At the “Export:” drop list, choose “Movie to MPEG-4″ or “Movie to iPod” which will yield an M4V container with MPEG-4 video codec inside.

Unfortunately I do not have the photo frame - it will be a pressie for my father at xmas and is with my brother in the UK. I will send him the .mov file that iMovie has created and see if it plays.

Thanks for trying to help. Video codecs, file types etc seem to be deliberately over complicated to me - or am I just getting old?
Andy

 

[RogerS]

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jsp ... &#12288381

seems to suggest exporting to iDVD and then create mpeg from there.

 

[dedee]

Roger,
I've got it into iDVD but there does not seem to be any method of confirming the format nor sharing nor exporting it and specifying a different format.

If I understand this correctly .mov file could well be in Motion JPEG format otherwise know as a codec - am I correct.

How can I confirm the codec (ie motion jpeg) of a .mov file? If I look in finder it states the codec as H.264, Linear PCM - what on earth is that.

I fell as if I am swimming against the tide here...

Andy - with a headache.

 

[dedee]

answering m own post here - sorry.

It appears that H.264 is a codec and is more compressed (ie smaller file size) that MJPEG.

I'm a wee bit amazed, maybe operator error, that I do not seem to be able export/share/save a file in iDVD nor iMovie in MJPEG format.

There appear to be lots of converters around but I am fast losing the will to live with this.

Andy

 

[RogerS]

I'm confused. Do you really mean MJPEG? Which is quite an old standard. Huge files.

Or one of the MPEG variants?

 

[dedee]

Roger,
you're confused, me too!

The spec of the Sony Photo Frame states :-
"Compatible image file formats....
Video: MotionJPEG Maximum resolution: 726 dots × 576 dots Audio compression format: Linear PCM, μ-law, IMA-ADPCM"

I assumed that Motion Jpeg would abbreviate to MJPEG.

I've posted in the Apple Support Discussions forums under both iMovie and iDVD. I think iMovie to Motion JPEG is impossible.

Andy

 

[RogerS]

OK...I see the problem (I think).

I don't believe that the Sony Picture Frame can output a moving image such as that which comes out of iMovie or any movie camera.

It is intended to display a stream or series of still images....jpegs. And MJPEG is just that. A series of jpegs.

 

[dedee]

Roger, I beg tio differ.

Here is the Photo Frame in question
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dpf-performance/dpf-d830l

Quite clearly states that it can play video - see under Features > video playback and sound. Or is this just very clever marketing speak


Andy

 

[RogerS]

Feel free to differ away!

Saw your post and the reply. Digging around a bit more seems to suggest using Animation Codec as an intermediate but where/how you get hold of that or if it is part of an existing package like QuickTime or maybe QuickTime Pro I can't find out.

EDIT: I think that QT Pro can export motion jpeg but you'd need to check as they drop options between versions.

 

[dedee]

Roger, over on the Apple discussions forums I've been advised to give this a go to convert the .mov file to MJPEG
http://www.videoformatguide.com/mjpeg-v ... ormat.html

I'm still a bit confused by your assertion that MJPEG is just a series of still images, a bit like old fashioon film then?

Does that mean it will not look like a video when it is played back?

Wikipedia (I know) states thus

"In multimedia, Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) is an informal name for a class of video formats where each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is separately compressed as a JPEG image. Originally developed for multimedia PC applications, where more advanced formats have displaced it, M-JPEG is now used by many portable devices with video-capture capability, such as digital cameras"

Which sounds like a video to me.

Andy

 

[RogerS]

This was the link I read it in

http://www.derekfountain.org/articles/mjpeg.pdf

Only slight problem with that piece of software.....you have partitioned your Mac to run Windows, I assume ? :shock:

 

[dedee]

Yep, spotted the Windoze only format so used this instead.

Having now saved a video in MJPEG it looks identical to the original.


Andy

 

[RogerS]

....
Having now saved a video in MJPEG it looks identical to the original

Andy

Do you mean same number of bytes? Same CRC checksum? Or that is has the same .mov extension? Or that it doesn't work in the Sony?

If it has the same .mov extension it may still work. .avi .mov etc are just wrappers - it's how the video has been encoded (ie motion jpeg, mpeg2, mpeg4) before it gets wrapped up that is the key.

Confused of Malvern

 

[dedee]

Roger,

sorry I meant visually it looks the same, as for the size - a tiny 6mb video is now nearly 20mb in MJPEG. I don't actually have the frame, it is a gift for my father which I have had delivered to my brother who will load the video before he gives it to him.

It is a shame that the picture frame does not accept any other codec as I can now see that the compression of the original H.264 codec is far greater.


Sorry to cause confusion.


Andy

 

[nanscombe]

I'm not an expert but ... (they all start like that :wink: )

Here is my simplistic explanation of the difference between MJPEG and a compressed video file, excluding audio.

In an MJPEG file all of the photo information is saved.
Frame 1 - stored as a full image
Frame 2 - stored as a full image
...
Frame 10 - stored as a full image
Etc.

This is more like old celluloid film, ie each frame is a separate photo.


When video is encoded to save space, H2.64 etc, only the changes between frames are saved, ie:
Frame 1 - stored as a full image (Key frame)
Frame 2 - only the changes between frame 2 & frame 1 are stored
Frame 3 - only the changes between frame 3 & frame 2 are stored
Frame 4 - only the changes between frame 4 & frame 3 are stored
...
Frame 9 - only the changes between frame 9 & frame 8 are stored

Frame 10 - stored as a full image (Key frame)

This would assume that every 10th frame was a key frame.

That way a lot less would be saved.

I hope this is correct and seems understandable.

 

[dedee]

Nigel, thanks - your explanation is indeed understandable.

This has been my first foray into the world of the moving image and I guess I was naive in the extreme to think that just because I had a webcam and the ability to make movies that recording one for use in a different bit of kit (the photo frame) would be easy.

Considering the limited inbuilt memory available to these photo frames it is surprising that Sony choose to use a codec that is so bloated.

Andy

 

[RogerS]

Looks like you've got some editing to do then :wink:

 

[nanscombe]

Avidemux seems to allow output in MJPEG format, and is free. It may be worth a look.