[Macworld.com]

VisualHub is just that -- a hub for converting between various video formats. [more]

[Machound]

Isn't it a shame Quicktime is increasingly irrelevant to our media conversion needs. Quicktime has been left withering on the vine for 5-6 years now. I can't remember the last time Quicktime actually worked for anything I tried. It's totally useless for playback or conversion of my Sony HC3 camcorder's HDV videos, even with Apple's $20 MPEG2 Quicktime codec. I can't imagine why I wasted the $20 on Apple's MPEG2 codec. The open source program, VLC, is so much better for playback & transcoding -- buggy as it is. iMovie HD fails to recognize my HDV files at all. Quicktime and iMovie HD are equally useless with EyeTV 500 recordings.
I'll give VisualHub a try soon. Apple's media software leaves me empty-handed even for the simplest transcodes. Maybe FCP is better, but that's not an affordable solution for 'the rest of us'.

[MacBlaze]

Is Visual Hub that much faster than isquint? I use isquint to convert my DVR-MS files to mp4s but it still takes an hour or so to do an hour show... (isight imac). I'd be willing to spend the $$ if it sped up the process that much!
B

[Dan Frakes]

Quote:

---

Is Visual Hub that much faster than isquint? I use isquint to convert my DVR-MS files to mp4s but it still takes an hour or so to do an hour show... (isight imac). I'd be willing to spend the $$ if it sped up the process that much!

---

iSquint is the company's limited-capability version of VisualHub -- it only converts video to iPod format, and has fewer features even for that purpose. But I suspect that for basic video-to-iPod conversion, there won't be much difference in speed -- unless you've got an Xgrid /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Rugby]

I like this software. Its a great idea; making the video codec jungle more accessible. I have used this from the "start" and as you mention I have had some preview problems and also some problems with a few .avi files when converting to DVD. It will not preview or burn a DVD on normal settings I had to use the Force ffmpeg Decoding which works (in my case). On occassion I give my feedback to the Visualhub forum (same place as the free iSquint) in order to help this good idea to grow and evolve.
That said it has managed to burn some .avi files (+others) that Toast couldnt cope with, pretty good for a shareware. Good value /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
As mentioned here I am also somewhat dissapointed with QT, it is good at what it does but it should support more Internet files, well at least the Pro version should. For playback I almost always revert to the excellent VLC that also has loads of features, but most of the time it really bugs me I have to have an arsenal of players "just in case" a file (codec) will not play. So far I have: VLC, QT (with all the latest plug ins like Flip4mac etc), DivX Player (rarely used), RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, and lately Mplayer OSX (that correctly played a file none of the others could handle)
/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[tmedia1]

Quote:

---

Isn't it a shame Quicktime is increasingly irrelevant to our media conversion needs. Quicktime has been left withering on the vine for 5-6 years now.

---

I agree with you, but I'm not sure that its Apples fault. The video codec world has gotten totally out of hand when it comes to standards. I work in the multimedia business and often must transcode files from codec to codec and its a huge pain in the rear. Even using the venerable Media Cleaner, its still a challenge. I will certainly give this software a try.

[Machound]

Apple gets credit for pushing the boundaries of media interoperability in the 1990s. The AV Macintosh (Perfora or Quadra? -- I can't remember which) was an idea eight years ahead of its time, even if it fell short in many ways. Quicktime was the industry leader for media management from the mid-90's until 2001-02. Quicktime was once a significant reason for buying Macs. Now all of that is past. Quicktime is increasingly irrelevant in my media hub. I can't remember the last time Quicktime Player Pro actually opened any file on my Mac. It always complains about "unknown file type" with all my MPEG2 and MPEG4 recordings. It plays MPEG1 reasonably well, but who uses that anymore. I can't even play my iMovie content in Quicktime Player Pro without a lengthy transcode.
I'm at the cusp of installing Boot Camp on my Mini for the sole purpose of handling media files. I'm still holding out irrational hope for Quicktime because I hate sending money to Redmond, and I keep crossing my fingers that Parallels will allow me to use Windows' media options via W2K someday -- if improved Parallels video drivers ever come out.
Really, I ought to just pick up a Windows PC and be done with Quicktime. Maybe VisualHUB will buy me some time to see if Leopard brings Mac users into the current century of media interoperability. If not, then it'll have to be Boot Camp/MCE or a Windows PC with Vista for me -- ugh!
Why isn't this an Apple failure? Shelving Quicktime is a dangerous move for Apple in the ensuing media wars.
It's embarrassing to admit how far MS pulled ahead in the media realm since Windows MCE, notwithstanding Apple's strong position with FCP among video pros. Apple is neglecting average media users like myself. Letting all the MPEG2 incarnations languish is a conscious decision on Apple's part. Quicktime's $20 MPEG2 codec is crippled to the point of uselessness. If Apple doesn't carry the blame for this decision, who does???

[Benny_Hill]

I really don't get it, why people would spend hours ripping a dvd into an ipod and watch it on a small tiny screen(with 16:9 source the screen is much more smaller), why don't you just use the time to watch the dvd on a big plamas screen with great audio.

[Machound]

Ever try watching your 42 inch plasma screen at 35,000 feet?

[Dan Frakes]

Quote:

---

I really don't get it, why people would spend hours ripping a dvd into an ipod and watch it on a small tiny screen(with 16:9 source the screen is much more smaller), why don't you just use the time to watch the dvd on a big plamas screen with great audio.

---

Is this a trick question? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[rlav]

Thanks, Jon, for updating us on the projects. It would be great to have a new article to update us on the options available for transcoding. One thing that's been puzzling me with the demise (for now) of VisualHub is how to convert an enhanced podcast (.m4a) to a video format that Blogger can handle.

[rlav]

A bit out of date here, but I heartily agree with Machound that Apple has fallen dangerously behind with QuickTime. This doesn't sit well with all the company's other moves into video and other media.