Digital Video File Formats: Free Conversion Software


Converting Video with Streamclip

I love digital video more than ice cream.  BUT, incompatible digital video file formats can by a royal pain in the bazookie.

I heard from a reader the other day who bought a Sony HD video camera then was sorely disappointed to learn that the video format the camera recorded in was incompatible with video editing software.  In other words, he could not capture the video he shot on his new camera into his video editing software.

This is a very common problem.

He thought he had to run out and buy another camera, one that will record in a video editing friendly format.  Not necessarily, I said.

Here’s the deal.

Many cameras today record in mpeg2 format.  MPEG2 is a great format.  It is what works with DVD players.  When you rent a Hollywood movie from Blockbuster, it will be on a disc in MPEG2 format.   Almost all commercial DVD discs are MPEG2 format, making it extremely common.

So naturally, MPEG2 does not work with most video editing software.  It does not work on the internet.

Yup, a pain in the bazookie.

Video camera manufacturers decided that more people were interested in playing their video on their home DVD unit than they were on editing their video on a computer.  So, trying to please the masses, many camera manufacturers opted to record in MPEG 2 format.  That way, you can immediately play the video disc you just shot in your DVD player.  But you can not capture it in your computer and edit it.  Incompatible digital video file format.

Conversion software to the rescue.

Every software incompatibility has its corresponding software conversion fix.  If you have MPEG2 video you need to convert in order to edit, you need some conversion software called Stream Clip.  It is free.  You can download it here.

Using stream clip is easy. You open the program, open your file, and then export it in any one of several formats.  DV stream and quick time are probably your best bets for editing.  AVI should work too.

When you open the MPEG2 files, you will notice that the video is distributed across multiple file folders.  Open the VOB file, choose yes to opening all associated files, and then export it.

Stream clip also converts back into MPEG2 from any of the other formats.

So if you need to convert your video into a format compatible with editing, chances are good that stream clip is your answer.  There are versions for both Windows and Mac.

If you are buying a new camera, keep this in mind.  If you know you are going to be doing a lot of editing, make sure your new camera does not record in mpeg2 unless you do not mind converting it every single time.

Thanks for reading Video Production Tips

Lorraine Grula

Internet Video Gal

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  1. 4 Comment(s)

  2. By convertman on Apr 7, 2009 | Reply

    If any of you my fellow forum squad looking for video wmv to avi file or, simply saying do you ask yourself a question - how to convert WMV, AVI, MPG and other video formats into other ones? Have you ever had problems with creation of proper video content? Do you have no idea how converter programs work?. If you want to convert media files into various formats you should have one to do it with ease. With the help of this free video converter you can easy convert your media file into pefect one and save it in any video format: AVI, MP4, WMV, FLV, MP3, MPg etc. And that is for free! Hope that handy software will help you to make your processor get busy for a few spare evenings. :)

  3. By Priyantha Peiris on Jun 22, 2009 | Reply

    Iam struggling to get a compatible format of my vedio image on a Cd to be played on a DVD player and TV. The image format is XVID, which cannot be played on a Digital player. Can someone help.
    Priyantha

  4. By Internet Video Gal on Jun 22, 2009 | Reply

    Hi Convertman

    Sounds good to me. Handy software indeed for converting video files. Thanks for the information. Conversion can be a pain in the bahunkis if you do not have software that will do the job. Conversion is real easy if you have the right software. Makes a big difference.

    Lorraine

  5. By Internet Video Gal on Jun 22, 2009 | Reply

    Hi Priyantha.

    Thanks for visiting video production tips.

    DVD players and TV take mpeg2. MPEG2 is a real huge file that looks terrific, but is not good for the internet because it is too big. Go to the XVID website and they should have some conversion software to get it into mpeg2. XVID is common as well so you should be able to find a decent conversion software.

    I hope that helps. Let me know!

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Digital Video File Formats


Learning all the different digital video file formats can be a royal pain in the tush! I hear people complain all the time that this confusing alphabet soup makes them throw their hands up in frustration.

Do not despair!

It’s not as hard as it seems. I’ve put together this 15 minute free video tutorial on digital video file formats. It covers all the basics and will teach you everything you need to know (and then some) to get your videos up and running on the web.

Here is part two of the free video tutorial on digital file formats.

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  1. 7 Comment(s)

  2. By Phillip Skinner on Mar 9, 2008 | Reply

    Hi thank you for this cool insight into making videos I’ve also signed up for more info so looking forward to finding out more video tricks and how-to’s from you … it looks like you have been into this video making for quite some time going by that enormous system you showed in the clip wow … While I’m here have you seen this latest software Idea where you can use other folks video and get paid like an AdSense advert here you go looks cool to me….

    blinkx AdHoc rewards you for sharing videos. Next time you embed a video from a video-sharing site, simply run the embed code through blinkx AdHoc first to start making money. When you add the embedded video, it will have contextually relevant ads placed near or on it. If your viewers click on these ads, the advertiser pays blinkx, and blinkx will share 50% of that revenue with you. How does it work? http://adhoc.blinkx.com/

  3. By techproject on Mar 11, 2008 | Reply

    Great style

  4. By manolito mariano agustin on Jun 2, 2008 | Reply

    hi!
    i am confused with the High Definition standard, there is 720i. 720p, i know interlaced and progressive, but why there a lot of them? Please reply

    Thanks a lot

  5. By admin on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    Hi Phillip.

    blinkx adhoc sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing that info. Many video sharing sites have similar programs.

    And yes dear, I HAVE been doing videos a very long time. Since before most of you were born!

    Thanks for visiting!
    Lorraine Grula

  6. By admin on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply

    Hi Manolito.

    Interlaced and progressive refer to the technical way in which the video picture is brought to the screen. The frames are interlaced together to form what appears to be one image. In all my years of producing video, this is not something I have ever really had to be concerned with except for having to de-interlace still frames in order to stop them from being jittery.

    The video file format shouldn’t be affected by interlacing or progressive. It is a different issue.

    The file format a video is in will determine what kind of software you need in order to play it.

    Hope that helps.

    Thanks,
    Lorraine Grula

  7. By Flip Video Cameras on Aug 20, 2008 | Reply

    I am a member of a website that publishes all it’s videos in mp4 format, which I don’t seem to be able to watch on my PC either through Windows Media Player or Realplayer. Is there something I am doing wrong? Can I convert these videos into .wmv or .mpeg files which I *can* watch?

    Flip Video Camerass last blog post..Flip Video Software (Part 2)

  8. By admin on Oct 14, 2008 | Reply

    Hi

    I am just as confused as you are as to why you can not watch mpeg4 videos on your pc.

    I have both real player and windows media player on my pc and both programs will play an mpeg4.

    Now, windows media player says mpeg4 is not a recognized format, but then a dialogue box comes up and says, “do you want to try it anyway?” When I click yes, WMP opens up and plays the file.

    I am sorry I do not have a better answer for you.

    In my experience, video and computers sometimes do inexplicable things. Things that should work sometimes don’t. This could be due to a file, or even a program, being corrupted.

    You might indeed wish to try converting the file. Try converting it to .wmv (windows media video) Just a few months ago, I downloaded some quicktime files that simply would not play on my Mac in my edit program (final cut), although quicktime is recognized by final cut. The files would play in quicktime player. So, to fix the problem, I opened them in QT and converted them to a dv stream. Then they slid into final cut just fine. I first tried converting them from quicktime to quicktime and that didn’t work. (I know that sounds a bit odd, but I thought if the files were corrupt somehow that converting them into a NEW QT file would mend the corruption.)

    Anyway…sorry you are having difficulties. I’d like to be able to say that video and computers always play together nicely, but alas, sometimes they just don’t!

    I hope this helps.

    Lorraine Grula

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