As of tonight, converting MOV files from my Kodak cameras to a format that can be handled in
Windows Movie Maker is no longer an issue.
I found a free program at
SourceForge.net, called
MP4Cam2AVI, and it does the conversion beautifully without increasing the file size and distorting the video output. There is a slight difference in
full screen depth of color with the new output being a little darker in my clips, but the normal window size viewing is quite similar and crisp (given the camera and the user's shortcomings).
Compare file sizes of original MOV and the new AVIs.
I don't know quite what all the bells are whistles are on this program but if you have a digital camera that shoots still pictures and can take movies in MOV format only, then you might be intereted in this free and small download. Get it
here and see the info and screenshots.
Yeah... I know about Quicktime. I had purchased
QuickTime Pro Version 6 a few years ago and found it very helpful for the few files from my Kodak digital cams that I had to convert (files ended up fuzzy and way big tho). I had only used it for a couple conversions which quality I didn't like aside from the hugeness of the new files. These could have been issues peculiar to that one camera tho. However, QuickTime movie editing and splicing is something which it did well. Unfortunately I used it only a couple times, not $30 worth of work IMO!
Back when, I was still on dial-up so the entire idea of putting movies online seemed crazy. Broadband is more common now although not everyone has it. Sometimes I have to connect at dial-up speeds when my cable connection goes nuts. That bites! Speed definitely spoils us when we get used to it!
Hubby wanted me to install
iTunes on my machine and when I did that, I had to make the decision to overwrite my old QTPro version then with the freebie version 7 because iTunes refused to install unless QT was also upgraded. ...thus losing my MOV editing capabilities on this machine. I still have everything I need to reinstall my version 6 QuickTime Pro files -- as old as they are now. I installed the files on my laptop just in case I wanted to edit Kodak digital camera movies again, but that didn't last long! James needed iTunes on that machine too. Oh well!
Anyway, thanks to SourceForge, I now have a conversion solution that is practical for my use. After conversion from MOV to AVI, the clips can be edited in Windows Movie Maker. Now, to find
the time to do THAT! I took some (not very good) movie clips of the dogs playing in the small corral. I discovered at the time that unfortunately, the camera I have cannot ZOOM while in video mode. Not great, since the Anatolians were playing, chasing and running around our 1/4 acre corral enclosure. Nevertheless, I will get them online when I can, now that I can edit the clips if needed.
Labels: compu-internet, Freebies
© 2006 
