I've been using FFmpegX to convert AVI files from our VIO POV camera into MOV or DV files for use in iMovie and it always seems to damage the footage.

What do other people use/recommend?

Ta 🙂

mpeg_streamclip from squared5.com seems to do the magic for pretty much any file on PC. They are Mac people, so I'm guessing the mac version works okay.

Joe

I use handbrake to convert AVi to MP4's give it a try, as it supports any number of different formats (simple interface, you just pick the device you want to output to).
Not the fastest program, but reliable…

Not sure about iMovie, but I use Perian to make Final Cut compatible with the VIO POV files.

-j

Coolio. One of our Toms has just suggested Perian too.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/perian.html

Oooooh… Perian codec installed and things looking good.. let's see if I can export a vid to Vimeo/YouTube without it ending up looking ruff…..

http://www.vimeo.com/6848865

Hmm… it looks a bit better (maybe?) but I think it's time to start using a new camera.

I have a plugin for QuickTime that will open AVI files with sound. Not sure what it's called, but you could export from QT as MOV or DV? You don't want to compress AVI (MPEG4) any further…

Try Dvision to 'fix' broken AVI files, this may be your problem.

I know the problem: The camera has been inserted where the sun don't shine.

The problem with these solid-state cameras is that the video footage is very fragile. By that I mean it is heavily compressed and quickly falls apart when you start editing. I imagine the problem is exacerbated when using the newer HD models of these cameras – most of them still seem to be using about the same bandwidth to record their footage (note: this is purely from what I have read; I have no hands-on experience with the new HD cameras).

As far as I know, there are no cheap solutions that produce robust video footage that can withstand any serious editing. The only solutions I know are DV tape (delicate, quite pricey) or high-end solid state (very pricey).

-j

Also – I just looked at your Vimeo video and it looks about right for VIO POV footage. You might get a marginal improvement by modifying the output settings in iMovie (bit rate, compression level or similar).

As a comparison, I get very similar looking results from my setup (VIO POV, Final Cut Express, Perian): here

-j

Cheers boss!