Conversion of video into movies:
This is made easiest with Quicktime Pro, but as of 7.1 it can probably be done without Pro.
Use iMovie to make a movie (titles, transitions, and iDVD chapters). Select "File" > "Export", and choose "Quicktime", and "Compress for:" "Expert Settings". Then follow the directions for compression options below.
To do it with Quicktime Pro: Right click the movie project and select "Show Package Contents". Go down to Shared Movies -> iDVD. Enclosed will be a file with the same name as the project. It is a reference movie with internal pointers to the actual dv clips in an adjacent folder. Open the file with Quicktime.
Assuming you have Quicktime 7.1+, export the file (File -> Export..). Change the name as desired. In the "Export" list box, choose "Movie to Quicktime Movie" then click the "Options.." button. There will be items to change under the four buttons. What these settings will be will depend on the purpose and target for the export. I have identified three categories for myself:
Movies on local hard drive:
Under Video Settings.. set Compression Type: H.264, Key Frames: Automatic, Frame Reordering on, Data Rate: Automatic, Quality: pointing to the M in Medium. Under Video Size.. set Dimensions: Current, Deinterlace Source Video on Under Sound Settings.. set Format: AAC, Stereo, 48kHz, Target Bit Rate: 128 This yields approximately an 880kbits/sec data rate.
Movies on web, better quality:
Under Video Settings.. set as above, but Quality: pointing to the L in Low Under Video Size.. set as above Under Sound Settings.. set Format: AAC, Stereo, 48kHz, Target Bit Rate: 96 This yields approximately a 440kbits/sec data rate.
Movies on web, better compatibility:
Under Video Settings.. set Compression Type: Sorenson Video 3, Key Frames: Automatic, Data Rate: Automatic, Quality: pointing to the M in Medium. Under Video Settings.. set None. Under Video Size.. set Dimensions: 240 x 160, Deinterlace Source Video on Under Sound Settings.. set Format: AAC, Stereo, 48kHz, Target Bit Rate: 96 After encoding, set the size to double (View.., Double Size) and save. This yields approximately a 550kbits/sec data rate.
Chapter markers
Chapters in a video are a very useful UI addition. (However, this technique requires Quicktime Pro.)
The chapters will be in the Reference DV movie and must be moved to the final movie. Right-click the project file (as before), navigate into it and open the reference movie. Do "Window" > "Show Movie Properties". A dialog window with several lines of files will be opened. Click the Chapter Track one and then click the "Extract" button at the top of the window. Click the newly created quicktime window and pick "Edit" > "Select All", then "Edit" > "Copy".
Open the compressed movie produced above. Pick "Edit" > "Select All", then "Edit" > "Add to Selection & Scale". Do "Window" > "Show Movie Properties". Select the Video Track and select the "Other Settings" tab. At the "Chapters" selector choose "Chapter Track". Close the dialog window. Notice the new chapter selector to the right of the progress marker. Move the position to the desired place you want to see when the movie is first opened. Save the movie.
To clean up: Close the "Untitled" Quicktime window that you copied the chapters from (don't Save), close the dialog window from the reference movie and then the reference movie itself.
Notes for pre-7.1 Quicktime:
Deinterlacing: In pre Quicktime 7.1, at file export time (above) save the video as a self-contained file (File -> Save As..). I usually save with a date in the form of yyyymmddmainname_s.mov name format. Use JES Deinterlacer to deinterlace the video. (Change defaults on Project tab: Blend fields; Input tab: Remove jaggies, Reduce noise) I usually replace the _s in the name with _d.
H.264 wash-out: In Quicktime pre-7.1, H.264 encoding had a problem with the picture becoming washed out and flat. There did not seem to be a proven work-around to the problem. It might have been an issue with Quicktime encoding the color profile of the local computer monitor. It helps to set under Video Settings.. -> Adjustments -> ColorSync: Source Profile: sRFB, Destination Profile: Current. However, this did not fully compensate.