[MEncoder-users] iMovie compatible mencoder settings for mp4

[Towncat]

On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 6:05 PM, James Hastings-Trew <jimht at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Towncat wrote:
>
>> Hi folks,
>> I was trying to import an mpg movie (recorded with a Sony Handycam) into
>> iMovie '08. As it failed to do so with the original mpg file, and some
>> googling told me that it should be compatible with mp4 files, I tried to
>> convert the file into a QuickTime compatible .mp4 (based on the mencoder
>> documentation's advice). Here's my small script:
>>
>> ---
>>
>> mencoder $INPUTFILE  -ovc x264 -x264encopts
>>
>> subq=1:frameref=1:threads=4:bframes=1:pass=1:bitrate=$VBITRATE:vbv_maxrate=$VBITRATE_MAX:vbv_bufsize=5000:cabac:nofast_pskip:nodct_decimate:turbo=1
>>  -oac faac -faacopts br=192:mpeg=4:object=2 -channels 2 -srate 48000 -vf
>> scale=-10:-1,harddup -ofps 25 -o /dev/null
>>
>> mencoder $INPUTFILE  -ovc x264 -x264encopts
>>
>> subq=6:frameref=6:partitions=all:me=umh:threads=4:bframes=1:pass=2:bitrate=$VBITRATE:vbv_maxrate=$VBITRATE_MAX:vbv_bufsize=5000:cabac:nofast_pskip:nodct_decimate:keyint=300
>> -oac faac -faacopts br=192:mpeg=4:object=2 -channels 2 -srate 48000 -vf
>> scale=-10:-1,harddup -ofps 25 -idx -o tmp.$OUTPUTFILE.avi
>>
>> mplayer tmp.$OUTPUTFILE.avi -dumpaudio -dumpfile $OUTPUTFILE.aac
>>
>> mplayer tmp.$OUTPUTFILE.avi -dumpvideo -dumpfile $OUTPUTFILE.h264
>>
>> mp4creator -create=$OUTPUTFILE.aac $OUTPUTFILE.mp4
>> mp4creator -create=$OUTPUTFILE.h264 -rate=25 $OUTPUTFILE.mp4
>>
>> mp4creator -hint=1 $OUTPUTFILE.mp4
>> mp4creator -hint=2 $OUTPUTFILE.mp4
>> mp4creator -optimize $OUTPUTFILE.mp4
>>
>> ---
>>
>> However, iMovie still says that the file is incompatible.
>>
>> Do you have a suggestion as to what settings to use in mencoder to create
>> an
>> iMovie-importable movie (without much loss of data, of course)
>>
> Since you are editing the footage, compression is of secondary concern, so
> you can skip all the fancy options intended to aid compression - they simply
> eat up time. You simply want the file in the right format with as little
> degradation as possible, as quickly as possible:
>
> mencoder $INPUTFILE -oac faac -faacopts br=192:mpeg=4:object=2:raw
> -channels 2 -srate 48000 -ovc x264 -x264encopts
> crf=18:nofast_pskip:nodct_decimate:nocabac:global_header:threads=4 -of lavf
> -lavfopts format=mp4 -o $OUTPUTFILE.mp4
>
> The result will open directly in iMovie. I recommend "nocabac" as the
> result will read faster in iMovie. If you find that you can't scrub through
> the movie very quickly in iMovie, try putting the keyint=300 (or even a
> lower value) back into the -x264encopts.
>
> _______________________________________________
> MEncoder-users mailing list
> MEncoder-users at mplayerhq.hu
> https://lists.mplayerhq.hu/mailman/listinfo/mencoder-users
>

Thanks, I'll try these. You are completely right about compression, I should
have considered this, too. The script was originally intended to make good
mp4s from mpeg recordings, that's why.