Trying to convert avi to mpg4 for video ipod.

[Iluvatar]

So, my goal is simple:
Take an AVI video (in what appears to be divX codec), and stream it out into an mpg4 format which iTunes can read, and thus, can be transfered to my new video iPod.

I'm running Mac OSX.

I have been working on this for a few hours, and am still incredibly new at this. I seem to be having no trouble reading the file-to-be-converted, but I can't get the written file to come out right.

I've set:
File
encapsulation to mpeg4

I tried it with those settings, but I get an mpeg4 file that cannot be read by quicktime or by iTunes. I've tried changing the transcode stuff, but I don't really know what to set it to. Video I would think I would set to mp4v, but what doe I set audio to? There is no mp4a. I've tried numerous combinations, and had the same results.

I've read through to howto-streaming thing quite a bit, and have had no luck there. I've been searching the threads looking for an answer, but have found none.

Since VLC is so good at reading odd file formats, this will undoubtedly be a recurring problem with users like myself who are trying to get videos to their new iPods. So please give me what answer/advice you can.

[arsenicum]

To convert video to iPod compatible format you should transcode it to MP4v for video stream and MP4a for audio stream. Video resolution should not exceed 320X240, so if the original file has a bigger resolution, try to scale it down. Encapsulation method should be set to MOV.

I'm playing with the Video iPod for the second day, so this is all that I have figured out so far.

[Guest]

"To convert video to iPod compatible format you should transcode it to MP4v for video stream and MP4a for audio stream"

For some reason, I can't transcode to MP4a. MP4v is there, but MP4a is not an option. I only get:
mpga
mp3
a52
vorb
flac
spx

[Iluvatar]

BTW, the above guest is me, I just forgot to put my name.

[Iluvatar]

Well, I seem to have narrowed down the problem to one (I think). I cannot transcode in the mp4a format. It's just not there as an option. Do I need to download something to allow this to work? Or am I missing some setting?

[Iluvatar]

Well, I managed to do it, so I might as well answer myself, in case anyone else has the same problem.

1. Take the AVI file and use VLC to stream it to an mpeg-1 file. Do this using mpeg-1 encapsulation, and transcode it with mp1v and mpga. This gives you a normal mpeg-1 formated file.

2. Take the Mpeg-1 file and open it in MPEG Streamclip, which is free online. Than choose "Export to quicktime" under the file menu, and choose "Apple MPEG4 Compressor" for compression. Choose your frame size (I just used unscaled, seemed to work fine on the ipod). Set sound to MPEG-4 AAC, then press Make Movie.

What you get is a .mov file with MPEG-4 codecs. This gets drag-and-dropped into the iTunes Library, which will then update your iPod next time you plug it it in.



I could do this in half the time, though, if I could use VLC to go straight to MPEG-4. I'm not sure why mp4v is an option for transcoding, but mp4a is not. Any light shed on this would be great.[/url]

[morrisjm]

I'm using the following command line settings and they produce a .mov file but the file only plays in VLC and not in QT. The command line settings I'm using are (Windows PC):

--verbose="3" --intf="dummy" "InputFileName.avi"
:sout="#transcode{vcodec=mp4v,vb=384,fps=30,acodec=mp4a,ab=96,
samplerate=32000,deinterlace,width=320,height=240}:standard{file,mux=mp4,url="outputfile.mov"} vlc:quit

They produce a nice encoded file that plays well in VLC, but I don't know why it doesn't play in QT. I get an error stating the the file is not a movie file.

Any ideas?