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AddMovie is a utility for concatenating several files into one single movie. You can also use AddMovie to batch convert a collection of movies to another format.
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Highlights:
- Combine movies, saving in various movie formats
- Batch export movies to various formats
- Extract movie frames
- Split movies at arbitrary points
- Set movie's poster frame
- Extract sound track into an AIFF file
Supports various input file formats, including, of course, QuickTime movies. Since the output format is configurable, you can also use AddMovie to convert movie file formats, say from MPEG-4 to 3GP for display on your Bluetooth phone, etc.
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Tips: AddMovie works with all file formats supported by QuickTime. Some file formats are not currently supported by default, and in this case you may need to find and install the necessary QuickTime components:
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Flash Video (.flv): To combine movies in this format you can use QuickTime components developed by Perian: Perian QuickTime Components.
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Windows Media Video (.wmv): To combine movies in this format you can try installing the Windows Media® Components for QuickTime, by Flip4Mac.
Note that AddMovie outputs QuickTime (mov) file format, as well as exporting to other file formats. Use the Preferences window to specify output options. Appropriate file extensions are added automatically.
AddMovie Preferences: Various options available in the Preferences window, such as: choosing export format, making a "self contained" (copy video and sound from all source movies) or "reference" movie (yielding a smaller movie file with dependencies), chapterizing, and automatic software update checks.
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To edit preference settings for AddMovie select "Preferences..." from the "AddMovie" menu, or click the "Options..." button.
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Open file automatically after it is generated. After the movie is generated it can be opened automatically in your default movie player.
Display full file pathnames in the list display. You have the option of showing either the full pathname to the files in the file list table, or only the names of the files.
Auto-start playing selected movies. AddMovie has a drawer window which contains a QuickTime movie player. Open the drawer by clicking on the disclosure arrow at the top right of the window. If this option is selected a movie will begin playing as soon as it is selected in the list.
Remember file list. If this option is selected then list of files will be remembered when the program is quit and restored when you re-launch the program at a later time.
Scale duration. After the movie is generated its duration can be scaled. This is useful when generating a movie from a sequence of images. Enter the scale factor, then press the tab key to record it. Scale factors are numbers greater than one. The larger the factor, the longer the movie and duration of each image in the movie.
Export format. The generated movie can be exported in one of the formats listed in the popup menu. The list of formats is derived from the QuickTime components installed on your system. Once a format is selected click the "Settings..." button to specify various options that apply to the selected exporter.
Make self contained (flatten movie). Select this option and AddMovie creates a movie file which contains a copy of the data in each of the movies. Otherwise it only contains references to the files that were concatenated (resulting in much smaller movie files.)
Chapterize. Select this option to have AddMovie create movie chapters. Chapters enable you to navigate to the various parts of the movies using a popup menu in the QuickTime movie player.
Software Update. Select this option and AddMovie will check for updates every time it is launched.
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URL Download Directory.This is the directory downloaded URLs will be saved to when you drag them into the file list window from your browser. Use the "Select" button to choose a folder.
Using AddMovie: Using AddMovie is easy! Follow these steps...
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Add files. First, drag files or folders from the Finder into the "File List" window's list box, or use the "Browse..." button to navigate the file system for your selections, as shown:
(Click to zoom)You can also add items by dragging URLs from your web browser into the file list. AddMovie will download the URL, and if it is a valid file, such as a movie or picture, AddMovie will add it to the file list window. Use the preferences window to specify the directory where downloaded files will be saved. You can also specify if files by the same name will be overwritten. The default download directory is your Internet download directory.
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AddMovie reads all files that are supported by the QuickTime components installed in your system, or those that you obtained from third party developers. (These are usually installed at "Computer/Library/QuickTime" or "Home//Library/QuickTime")
Default components support types like ordinary QuickTime movies (.mov), graphics (.jpg, .tiff), PDF files (.pdf) and rich text (.rtf).
A typical third party component is Windows Media® Components for QuickTime, by Flip4Mac™, which will enable you to concatenate WMV files into QuickTime formatted movies. Another is the Perian component for converting Flash files, a popular video format on the Internet.
Because AddMovie relies on QuickTime components to do its job it is imperative that you always have the latest components installed for your system version.
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Reorder. Once you added your files to the file list you can re-arrange them to determine the position they will appear in the movie. You re-arrange files in the list by dragging them to their desired location. Files are added to the movie from top to bottom in the file list.
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Add chapter titles. If you are concatenating the movies, and your output format is selected as QuickTime "mov" files, then you have the option of chapterizing the movie. Click the "Options" button to open the Preferences window. Then click the "Chapterize" button. You can let AddMovie choose default chapter titles, or you can edit the chapter titles that appear in the File list window. To edit a chapter title double click on a title to begin an edit.
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Concatenate the files. Finally, to generate the concatenated movie click the "AddMovies" button. A dialog box will display asking for a name and location for the movie. The appropriate extension for the file will be appended for you.
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Export the files .Alternatively you can click the "Export Movies" button and each movie will be exported to the format you select in the Preferences window.
Auxiliary Features: The movie viewer window contains four buttons named "Split...", "Set Poster", "Save Frame" and "Save Sound..." :
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Splitting a movie. You can split a movie at any point, saving the two resultant movie "halves" into separate movie files. Drag the playhead to the desired split location and click the "Split Movie..." button. You will then be prompted for the name and location of the two movie parts. Note that this operation can take a long time for very large movies. This feature is useful for fitting large movies on multiple DVDs.
Setting a movie's poster frame. A "poster frame" is a still image of a movie that represents the movie in places like the QuickTime Player Favorites window and the Finder. The default poster frame is the first frame in the movie. Drag the playhead to the desired frame and then click the "Set Poster" button.
Saving a frame to an image file. Move the playhead to the frame you want to save as an image, then click the "Save Frame..." button. You will then be prompted for the name and location of the image file.
- Extract sound track into an AIFF file. You can extract a movies soundtrack into an AIFF file by clicking the button named "Save Sound..." You will be prompted for a location to save the file.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 and above.
How to install: Place the application into your Applications folder.