Converting .MOV and .RM to .WMV

[Leighj]

Howdy,<br><br>Periodically I've seen posts on whether it's possible to convert MOV, QT and RM video files to .WMV files.  Here's a relatively simple technique to do this - with the following caveats:<br>1.  You have to have a relatively fast PC/HD interface (I was using a 900MHz Athlon w/ ATA100 7200RPM drive and 900+ MB Ram)<br>2.  With that hardware I was able to convert a Quicktime movie (320x176 - the Lord of the Rings recent TV advertisement) to a 200kbps .WMV file w/ decent image quality - the system you have will definitely affect frame rate/quality<br><br>STEPS:<br>1.  Setup movie (Quicktime, RealMedia etc.) in an undisturbed corner of your desktop<br>2.  Run Windows Media Encoder and select the "Capture audio or video" option - hit next<br>3.  For video - choose the "Screen capture" - press Configure... and select "Region of screen" - then use the button below the WxH dimensions to select your movie capture window<br>4.  For audio - select your sound card - hit next<br>5.  Type in filename to save to - hit next<br>6.  Choose the "file will play directly from computer" - hit next<br>7.  Select the profile you're accustomed to using (for me I use 200kps, 12fps, approx 288x172, 1s. buffer and key frame, 40% quality)<br>8.  Then get to the "Finish" window.<br>9.  As soon as you hit "Start" to begin encoding, press the "Play" button on your Quicktime or RealMedia player.<br>10.  Your Windows Media Encoder will minimise and your video should be playing.  At the end of the video, maximise your Media Encoder to stop the recording process and if all goes well you've created a copy of your video file!<br><br>I've been using this feature to stream RealMedia broadcasts on my desktop so that I can access them on my PocketPC via wireless ethernet - particularly to keep abreast of the recent tragedy.<br><br>This method works fairly well and best of all it's FREE!<br><br>Anyway hope someone finds this method useful...<br><br>JL

[Robby]

thats a bit of a long winded method, and you need a lot of power and expensive bits in your pc (7200 rpm hd).<br>I find that it is quite possible to run .mov files through TMPGenc using the patch, and if you rip the audio from .wmv files using graphedit then multiplex it, it is fine.

[leighj]

Rob,<br><br>Just tried TMPGenc as you suggested with the latest patch (from the author's website).<br><br>Unfortunately looks like it wasn't able to recognize any of my .mov files which probably have some newer and proprietary codecs.<br><br>So I guess I'll have to stay with my longwinded method unless someone else has any other recommendations.<br><br>Regarding system requirements - I guess cost is relative to everyone's budget but a 7200RPM 30GB drive costs about $100 (and falling), and the CPU w/ fan & motherboard can be had for under $200.  The RAM (512MB) is also less than $100.  The box and power supply will probably cost another $100.<br><br>So assuming you cannibalise your existing PC for video card, sound card, CD-ROM, floppy etc. - you can have a mid-range PC for US$500 before tax.<br><br>Of course you could also upgrade Quicktime for $29.95 to get that .mov conversion functionality.  For me, upgrading my PC added more value (and was more justifiable from a work standpoint) than buying the Quicktime upgrade.<br><br>JL

[Paul]

"JL" haha thats real kewl d00d

[Solarix]

Windows XP has a built in Video converting tool. I have found it makes converting any video file into .wmv format very easily. It even has two presets for pocket pc's. So right now I have the Music Video for Dig from MuDvAyNe on my Casio unit with decent framerate, and good quality and it only took up 3.5mb.

[esw]

I downloaded the lord of the rings trailer today, and it appears to be not even the "standard" .MOV format, but has some sort of built-in interface put into the file. None methods I tried could convert it.. and I dont have the computer power to use the screen-capture method So, I guess no lord-of-the-rings trailer for my casio...

[leighj]

ESW,<br><br>This link wasn't working when I just tried it but it's a good source for the latest LOTR trailer:<br>http://www.tolkien-movies.com/media/officialtrailers.shtml<br><br>I think you'll find one for the MPEG version about 30MB) too as well as all the Quicktime versions.

[esw]

cool, thanks. I was looking at lordoftherings.net, which is also the ofical site. anyways, I'll try getting the trailer from this one

[Robby]

you can get windows media encoder on win98 and i beleive 95 too, and of course 2k.  It just comes on the CD with XP.<br>It is possible to encode .mov to .wmv, then wmv to graphedit, although you have to lift out the audio with graphedit first.<br>I dont like anything that involves showing it on screen and setting it to record - it seems innaccurate and unproffesional, also give me lower quality compared to filesize.

[Leighj]

Rob,<br>Have you tried encoding any of the recent .mov's to other formats using either TMPGenc or WME?  If you were successful please feel free to describe the details (for .mov samples just download anything recent from Apple's quicktime website).<br><br>I'm going to ignore your comments about the screen capture method being "longwinded" or "unprofessional" for now if in fact you have an alternative technique that can successfully convert both .mov and .ram files.<br><br>I know you're trying to be helpful but one can sure lose credibility by negatively commenting on other's suggestions when your own isn't successful.<br><br>JL