[BigFatDuck]

i have a still camera that records video in .mpg format. i can import and few these files just fine, but what i want to do is simply crop the beginning off one so i do that in quicktime pro but when i export the file it loses the sound. i've tried exporting to several different formats (mpeg 4, ipod, quicktime movie, etc.) and each time the sound is gone. is there a reason or solution?

[albloom]

Yes. And yes.
If you look at Window/ShowMovieProperties in QuickTIme, you
will see the movie is "MPEG1 MUXed" meaning that the audio and
video parts are combined (multiplexed, MUXed) in a single stream.
That can't be edited or saved in a different format without losing
sound.
Drop the MPEG on iSquint, free at
web page
which will convert the MUXed MPEG to a deMUXed MP4 (prove it
to yourself by seeing separate audio and video streams in Movie
Properties) that solves the problem.

[BigFatDuck]

ok, but if i understand the process correctly that's going to compress the video twice. because i need to cut a segment from the beginning and turn the image (quicktime pro can but isquint cannot), i'll first need to demux using isquint which automatically compresses (though with your choice of quality) to mp4. then i open this file in quicktime to do said edits, but the only way to save the edited file is to export which will again compress, am i right?

[Nap]

You can use MpegStreamClip to export to a format with little compression, like DVStream, make your edits in iMovie, then do the export to a compressed format. Streamclip does demux the audio on the fly so the DVStream and subsequent exports will have both sound and video.
It also allows some editing without re-encoding the mpeg-1 file, if you prefer that instead of exporting from the mpeg format.
http://www.squared5.com/

[dougster]

We have had good success converting our Sony still camera (1+ min .mpeg muxed videos) using MpegStreamClip also. Haven't tried iSquint, but maybe in the future.