Sunday, September 16, 2012

Exporting Video Using QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows

QuickTime Version 7 Pro for Windows was one of the first popular video editing programs. It is quirky as a red banana. It might be more accurate to say it is a trimming program with some video editing functions.

One of the things that $30 gets you is an export feature that does a good job of rendering your video out to H.264 .mp4 video. That is, if you know what to do and where to do it in the program.

This post is about QuickTime Pro for Windows. QuickTime Pro for the Mac is not the same program. The Mac version is much more integrated with the Apple operating system and can do things the Windows version cannot.

Difference Between QuickTime Player and QuickTime Pro

The free QuickTime Player is a media player for certain types of .avi, .mov, .mp4 and other video file types. It cannot read or open .wmv. There are also some forms of .avi videos that it cannot open as well. You will need to be aware of this and not waste time trying to make it do something it can't.

If you have iTunes you might have the QuickTime player installed on your system. If not, boogie over to Apple to download just the player. You can view content with the QuickTime Player.You cannot edit.

For editing functionality you need QuickTime Pro (QT Pro) which you need to purchase from the Apple web site.

Export Video Ready for Upload 

The goal is to export a version of your video that can be uploaded to a video web host or video distribution service.  You should make an effort to send them a video that looks and sounds good; technically speaking.

The current requirements are:
  • H.264 video in the .mp4 video format
  • The data rate for high definition video is 5000 kbps (Kilobits Per Second) and 3000 kbps for standard definition video. In QT Pro you can set the data rate.
  • Maintain the aspect resolution of your video. If you recorded in 720p make sure the software exports in the same format as the video.
What You Will Need
  • QuickTime Pro
  • Video in a format that is acceptable to QTP
  • Comfortable using Windows and willingness to dig in and make changes.
I'm hoping that the Blogger photo thingy feature is working this time. The idea is that you click on the photo to kick it up to full visible size. If not, then I gotta go back to the drawing board.

File Menu – Open File and select the video that you want.
Once you have your video in the player go back to the File Menu and select Export (Do not select Export for Web)
Export Save Window – Select Movie to MPEG-4
Click the Options Button, this will open the Export Menu
Change the MP4 Export Settings H.264, the Data Rate to 5000 for HD video and make sure the image size and aspect ratio match your video. This is one place where QuickTime Pro can be a bit quirky. 
Confirm your export info by checking the bottom of the screen information section. When you are ready, click the OK button.
Give it a unique name so that you can identify the exported version of the video. At this point, click the Save Button. Make sure you know where your video has been saved.

If you have a slow or finicky computer go do something else and let your computer render the video. Depending on the size of the video and the data rate this could take a while.

After the video has been exported it is a good idea to test the video in another media player such as VLC, Windows Media player, Miro or whatever you happen to have. You want to check for a clean un-blocked up video and good audio.

If there is a problem then you will have to be a detective to find out where it occurred. Could have been in the source video. It could be a result of the export. Knowing if there is a problem before you upload can save you a lot of grief.

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