Best way to convert mov files?

[Robin Lodal]

So my camera creates MOV files but I use Windows Movie Maker and it does not support MOV files. I have tried ALL kinds of online converters as well as Quicktime Pro 7 (the one you pay for!) and I still find that EVERYTHING cuts down on the quality tremendously! I am frustrated!! On Quicktime Pro 7 I converted a 12.5MB MOV file to AVI and it is now 5.53MB... and that is even worse quality when I converted it to a WMA file (now 3.37MB) with a free program!

Any suggestions on how to keep the quality when converting? I am so frustrated because everytime I want to make a video I need to do this and the quality is really compromised... I guess my camera is screaming for me to go to a Mac but that ain't happening for awhile since I just bought this laptop within the past year.

[red98vett]

Originally Posted by Robin Lodal

So my camera creates MOV files but I use Windows Movie Maker and it does not support MOV files. I have tried ALL kinds of online converters as well as Quicktime Pro 7 (the one you pay for!) and I still find that EVERYTHING cuts down on the quality tremendously! I am frustrated!! On Quicktime Pro 7 I converted a 12.5MB MOV file to AVI and it is now 5.53MB... and that is even worse quality when I converted it to a WMA file (now 3.37MB) with a free program!

Any suggestions on how to keep the quality when converting? I am so frustrated because everytime I want to make a video I need to do this and the quality is really compromised... I guess my camera is screaming for me to go to a Mac but that ain't happening for awhile since I just bought this laptop within the past year.

I'm not crazy about Windows Movie maker either -I can't remember what programs I've used (mine were for work) but found the quality acceptable and like you - had to play around - have you tried converting to mpeg ?

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by red98vett

I'm not crazy about Windows Movie maker either -I can't remember what programs I've used (mine were for work) but found the quality acceptable and like you - had to play around - have you tried converting to mpeg ?

Yep. It went from 12.5MB MOV file to 1.04MB MP4 file! So even worse than the others....

I wonder if I should just use a different program? Any suggestions? I am pretty much open to anything. WMM is great for making slide shows with pictures and what not.. but I am tired of my video quality being compromised.

[red98vett]

Originally Posted by Robin Lodal

Yep. It went from 12.5MB MOV file to 1.04MB MP4 file! So even worse than the others....

I wonder if I should just use a different program? Any suggestions? I am pretty much open to anything. WMM is great for making slide shows with pictures and what not.. but I am tired of my video quality being compromised.

I'd try another program & I can't remember the ones I have at work - I had to try a few to get what I needed. Some are very small downloads and you can always uninstall them if they suck -

It's a pain with all the different formats isn't it

Have you tried ojosoft ? They may have a free version but I don't know if they tag it or how many (videos) you can try.

I can check my computer on Monday for you - the programs I got lucky with were free

You could google and read the tech sites or forums - that's what I had to do for one that gave me grief trying to convert

[Nancy1999]

There are lots of tricks to learn, but anytime you compress a movie file, you are going to lose quality. Are these for uploading to U-tube? If so, Riva FLV Encoder works pretty well. One of the reasons it works so well is that when u-tube uploads your film it converts it, and it often doesn't select the best way to compress the film. However, if your video is converted with Riva, you can select frame rate and other things for best compression. Since Riva converts it into the type of video U-tube uses, there is no need for U-tube to compress it, and it uploads as is. Every time a video is compressed and reformatted it loses quality, so this eliminates one step of compression. Riva FLV Encoder - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com. I learned about this on U-tube. There are technical videos that tell how to do it exactly, but it's probably easier to play with the program.

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

There are lots of tricks to learn, but anytime you compress a movie file, you are going to lose quality. Are these for uploading to U-tube? If so, Riva FLV Encoder works pretty well. One of the reasons it works so well is that when u-tube uploads your film it converts it, and it often doesn't select the best way to compress the film. However, if your video is converted with Riva, you can select frame rate and other things for best compression. Since Riva converts it into the type of video U-tube uses, there is no need for U-tube to compress it, and it uploads as is. Every time a video is compressed and reformatted it loses quality, so this eliminates one step of compression. Riva FLV Encoder - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com. I learned about this on U-tube. There are technical videos that tell how to do it exactly, but it's probably easier to play with the program.

Yeah I needing them converted to use in Windows Movie Maker to eventually upload to youtube... I am downloading Riva now and I will let you know how it works. Thanks!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Robin Lodal

Yeah I needing them converted to use in Windows Movie Maker to eventually upload to youtube... I am downloading Riva now and I will let you know how it works. Thanks!

This video gives a little information on using it. I was really unhappy with my videos, until I used this to convert them, and it also makes a big file upload to u-tube much faster.

YouTube - Riva FLV Encoder

[Robin Lodal]

I am pretty sure this will work! I just converted a file from mov to avi and I was able to retain most of the quality (I LOVE how you can choose your own settings!!!)... THANK YOU SO MUCH... you have no idea how many stupid converters and programs I downloaded, that I just had to uninstall. *sigh* Windows Movie Maker is not my favorite... but it will do!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Robin Lodal

I am pretty sure this will work! I just converted a file from mov to avi and I was able to retain most of the quality (I LOVE how you can choose your own settings!!!)... THANK YOU SO MUCH... you have no idea how many stupid converters and programs I downloaded, that I just had to uninstall. *sigh* Windows Movie Maker is not my favorite... but it will do!

U-tube is just great for learning how to do things.