This will be a great loss when 32 bit apps won't run any more... It hasn't been updated in 6 years so I doubt it will ever be. :-( I only use it for cutting and trimming, and it works perfectly on mp4 files. .ts files are only dealt with in SD, so most of mine being HD, I have to convert them first in mp4. [I've just tried Joyoshare Media Cutter that, on the contrary, won't do SD .ts but HD! Not bad, but not very precise — no GOTO IN/OUT, hard to set edit points to the image, and even when you do, you don't get the same thing when exporting the clip.]
Further to my comment Dec 22, 2017, the GUI misplacement is a Retina High Res thing, rather than related to MacOS version. I first noticed it on my 2015 27" 5k Mac (I believe it was El Cap then). 'Info' on the App and check 'Open in low resolution' definitely fixes it, but note that any major OS Updates resets it and you have to set it again.
This is an App that I really could not do without. It is as it says "MPEG Streamclip", strips Streams from Transport Stream files and the like. For example, a .TS DTV Stream may contain Video, multiple Audio Streams, Teletext Streams, etc. With this App, you can just output the required Video and main Audio Stream and dump the rest. This is really useful in the case of Stripping SD Multiple Streams, outputting to mpeg (Quick and no quality loss), Renaming the .mpeg Extender to .mts and Apple Final Cut Pro X imports it wonderfully for editing.
The fact that MPEG Streamclip has a cutter, is a bonus, but that's not it's real purpose. Sad that we will lose its use, when 32 bit Apps can't be used and in reply to Dougster, the only other useful App I've found for Stripping out Streams is remux 1.4, which I use for HD, as MPEG Streamclip is for SD only. AvideMux is more of a Converter/Editor and isn't quite as useful for Stream Stripping as MPEG Streamclip and remux 1.4.
As has been mentioned, the GUI misplacement is a Retina High Res thing, rather than a Sierra problem. 'Info' on the App and check 'Open in low resolution' and apart from the dialogue text looking slightly less clear, all will display OK.
I use VLC to playback my videos, have done so for quite some time. I use MDRP to rip my DVDs to mp4 formatting. I tried out this MPEG Streamclip in hops of cutting out a clip to send to a friend. Can't see anyway to do that yet and MP4 format will not import to iMovie so no luck there. But I was very surprised at the quality of the playback in MPEG Streamclip compared to what I am used to in VLC. Wow, the audio is much, much better. The video may be better too. Wont go full screen like VLC but for quality I didn’t even know I was missing, wow again. And yes, I have the latest Apple macOS Sierra.
It still works on macOS 10.12.x Sierra!
However, using v1.9.3b8, I ran into visual problems:
- The controls along the bottom of the play window are in the right place, but the GUI representations are not. You can figure this out quickly and compensate.
- When changing the aspect ratio, I found parts of the window became static during playback, which is disconcerting. However, if you export the resulting video, it looks fine. You have to trust that what you see is not going to end up being what you get. What you get is fine.
As ever, the learning curve is massive. But if you are comfortable with the vast array of settings, this remains a great tool! Still highly recommended, if you can deal with the flaky GUI distortions.
Would it be convenient to have built-in support for the MPEG-2 component that's included with Lion and above? Sure. Does it matter? Nope. Just follow the developer's extremely simple instructions per the MPEG-2 situation and it will work right away. It's not difficult to figure out despite what some would grouchily suggest, and it's worth the 60 seconds it takes to implement. Anyone who knows enough to need this program is more than capable of installing it properly.***
I'm using MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b8 on OSX 10.11.1 (El Capitan) and it works perfectly. I use it often when capturing old analog sources via a DV converter device, to trim the final clips and re-join them. I do the same with MPEG-2 often as well. Thank you Squared5 for this constant in my life! :)
***EDIT: I neglected to mention something important. You DO have to go search out the file "QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg" on your own. But it is very easy to find.
Anyone know if this still works in Yosemite. Only problem I've seen in Mavericks is keyboard shortcut to resize window flakey. Drag to resize works.
I can't find anything that says if with Yosemite Apple has continued deprecating parts of the Quicktime API Streamclip relies on. TIA
It has been a long time since this app has been updated so I am concerned for its future. However that is all the more reason to grab it now and keep it around--along with Quicktime 7.6.6, Perian and the old, free Flip4Mac plugin. I recently decided to go through my entire digital library of video files, some of which go back to the nineties. Many of these files used codecs that are long out of date and can no longer easily be found. Thus MPEG Streamclip. which has always been an excellent if slightly rough hewn (UI-wise) app, came in very handy.
For converting video from obscure formats and especially some Windows WMV/WMA formats I suspect MPEG Streamclip may be the only app still being widely distributed that will handle these old files for a reasonable price--assuming you have the codecs needed: This app must rely on a variety of codecs/plugins that are fast disappearing as they have been deprecated now--sometimes for years.
A brilliant application until DivX updated to 10.2,(Mpeg Streamclip seems to require DivX to convert files to mp3 format),which,for some reason,no longer works in tandem with Mpeg Streamclip when converting files to mp3 format.
I've awarded this software full marks because of its previous brilliance. Hopefully,a fix can be made to solve the above problem I am encountering.
Barry,I have checked my computer and I can find no MPEG-2 components anywhere. I do have Perian installed. I now understand QuickTime Pro does not have MPEG-2 included.
Barry,
This is what I use MPEG Streamclip for: to convert mp4 files to mp3.To convert flv files to mpeg. Also,to knock down the bit rates of said files.I have no problems with it.
The only time I did run into a problem is when I deleted DivX from my computer. Reinstalling that and MPEG Streamclip worked fine again. I don't know if this makes a jot of difference,but I use QuickTime Player Pro. Whether that has MPEG-2 playback incorporated,I do not know. Shame there is no way of contacting you directly through MacUpdate,because I could have then let you have my QT Pro serial to try it out.
Hello again,Barry! Not what you want to read,but I don't know what else to suggest. I have just uninstalled and reinstalled MPEG Streamclip with no problem. I don't know what type of problems you are having with it.
There's an mpeg2 trial available here>>>> http://www.divx.com/en/software/mpeg-2
BUT I have never paid for anything to get MPEG Streamclip to work. I can find no trace of any mpeg2 plug-in on my Mac!
Let me know if you manage to sort out the problem,but I wouldn't pay DivX for their software.
Firstly,I was incorrect in my previous post saying MPEG Streamclip would not work with Mavericks. It does,but I'm back to using Mountain Lion again (couldn't stand the loss of coloured labels in Mavericks).
Anyway,Barry,I needed to install DivX to get MPEG Streamclip to work properly,so maybe you could try that.
I love Streamclip. Did I say I love Streamclip. Fantastic little gem to ALWAYS have installed. [ on all my Macs ]. Thank you to the developers of this gem!
It's amazing this app is free! It's really best to read the short manual because some of the stuff it does is confusing, but it's not MPEG Streamclip's fault that video stuff and various codecs and settings have a bit of a learning curve to really understand. The app is stable and has never let me down!
I've been using MPEG Streamclip since I purchased my TiVo just before Christmas and it has been part of my workflow to work with documentaries off cable television. I use KMTTG to decrypt the television shows into MPEG files and then I used MPEG Streamclip to edit out the commercials. It wasn't always the most precise editor but for freeware with the flexibility that it has, who can really complain? However, it suddenly stopped working about a month ago. I can still open up MPEG files from my TiVo in it, but the video window is blank while the audio plays fine. Does anyone have any ideas on what I could try or do?
Excellent tool! Mostly I'm extracting audio from videos, sometimes recoding big movies into smaller ones. Does its job flawlessly. Highly recommend it!
Great tool! With the demise of Virtual Studio, this nice app has become my favorite transcoder.
The interface is somewhat busy and requires some knowledge of what you are about to do, but then, when you are about to transcode video, you don't do that by accident.
Streamclip has worked great for me in the past, but now it does not let me change the Quality setting (it's locked at 50% with inactive slider) and ignores settings like Preserve Alpha Channel. I upgraded to Lion recently, so I wonder if that's the problem. I got the latest beta, but no difference. I'm converting to FLV -- do I need the MPEG2 add-on component for this? I'm really stumped. Any suggestions?
I love this app and I have written a detailed positive critic of it.
BUT
- the latest MPEG Streamclip version saves .avi files that often cannot be read by the latest versions of VLC and Movist (The sound is OK but the image remains black). However, QT can read those .avi files from MPEG Streamclip.
- I cannot read (unrecognized format) .ts files that my descoder saves (they are all read and write but have no creator nor group nor type indicated in FileBuddy's info). However these files can be read with VLC and Handbrake (but without the editing capacities I need).
OF COURSE, I have Apple MPEG2 and all the codecs updated (Perian, FFmpeg,etc).
Please clarify.
Thank you
Many thanks to this developer. I have several VOB files that I played in QT Player under Snow Leopard, but I could not play them in QT using Lion. I had been using the QuickTimeMPEG2 component that I purchased from Apple. And although Apple claims you don't need this component in Lion, that's a lie. Fortunately, the developer of MPEG Streamclip provides a fast and easy means by which to install that component, and all is well again.
This isn't a program I convert with all the time but when I need to convert a pesky mpeg file that makes other programs crap the bed, this is what I use. It's wonderful, it's free and has a ton of features. This is also great for doing simple trimming without getting those media header nightmares.
The best freeware video app available, but it has one important limitation: MPEG Streamclip can input a bunch of commonly used MPEG2 Transport Stream filetypes — .ts, .m2t, .mts, .mmv, .rec, .vid, .aud, .avr, .tp, .tpo, .trp & .tod — BUT NOT M2TS! If the developer could also add .m2ts as an input source AND include it in that long list of filetypes that can be losslessly remuxed to MPEG, TS, etc. (called "converting" in the app, as opposed to exporting), that could easily make it the most important home-use (as well as professional) en/transcoder available, free or commercial. It would certainly make my life a great deal easier.
Hows about it, Stefano?
This is the BEST program and its FREE! You can easily cut and edit movies without problems (simplemovie x SUCKs for editing and costs almost $40). You can convert avi into various formats. Also this is the only program I've found (there may be more I haven't found them) that finds and fixes timecode breaks. If you've ever downloaded movies and only a fragment plays or some other really weird things, then run it through here and run 'fix time code breaks' and suddenly you have a restored movie. Save and done.
I use it to cut video streams recorded from my Dreambox. Excellent peace of software except one major missing feature: no support for HD video streams since many years. The software is stable, but not well maintained.
I've started watching all my movies in MPEG Streamclip fullscreen just in case i decide to export a little snippet on a whim. Thankyou! Adding Perian to the mix enabled avi xvid playback and export.
When nothing else works, I turn to MPEG Streamclip to get the job done. Very reliable and solid. This is just one of those indispensable pieces of software every Mac user should have. Thank you for keeping it free - the community loves you for it. :)
This program is the only thing I've found to fix time code errors. If you download video from the net you will frequently run into videos that play for a few minutes then end (but you know are longer) or when you rewind a new video starts indicating there are multiple 'chapters' these are time code errors.
You can also use this to easily chop up videos removing segments etc. I use to use simple movie x but it does a poor job of editing and frequently added huge areas of blank space to a clip besides its prohibitive cost. MPEG Streamclip is one of the most valuable tools you can have. And its free.
Thank to the developer. I'm not a great user of video software, but as musician often I've to manage my concert video ad this software works great. Is easy and powerful.
A COMPARISON OF "MPEG Streamclip" (MPS) and "Hand Brake" (HB):
After hundreds of tests from VOB files, parametered using HB's profuse help menus, forums and links, I could NEVER reach the same quality as with MPS whose Multiplepass and B-Frames options were selected. This was aiming at the same quality level (70 % = almost perfect) for both HB and MPS.
MPS systematically provided better color rendition and contrast, whatever HB's parameters were. All was tested on 4 readers : MpegStreamClip, Movist, VLC and NicePlayer.
For comparable results, always with an advantage for MPS, it seemed that HB was a bit slower.
Moreover, MPS can (almost always) repair the timecode ruptures that are frequent and hang HB (sometimes causing an overflow of the disk space, because HB's log becomes enormous or its first pass stores endless information). On other occasions HB could also hang my Mac, forcing me to reboot, a most seldom thing on a MacBookPro with OSX 10.6.5 and 2G memory that never happened with MPS.
Finally, while my tests of HB often ended with unreadable files (typically when the Pyramidal B-Frames or the 8x8 BCT options were checked), MPS never produced an unreadable file.
Therefore, I now use systematically MPS and I recommend it.
HOWEVER, HB has some advantages over MPS:
- it does a better job when there are blocks of pixels. It can mould them into a finer grain, so that no block is visible anymore. For example, the 7 Gb of the DVD "The deer hunter" contains many scenes where blocks of pixels are visible. Using HB, they are no longer visible. However, it comes at the expense of a small contrast loss (a frequent and limited drawback of HB)
- HB can read and code.WMV files, while MPS is not able to read more than 3 minutes unless a complementary encoder is paid (Flip4Mac ?)
- HB has a good batch processing function. MPS does not offer this most useful possibility.
- HB might beat MPS when shorter files are aimed at. I did not test this hypothesis, because I aimed at the same quality as the original (or better quality when blocks of pixels where bothering in the original DVD).
- HB provides a good management of the subtitles. MPS is a disaster in this regard.
To sum, although HB should be able to provide the same quality as MMPS, provided that its parameters are "equivalent" to those (unknown) of MPS, I could never find this eventual HB parametering. MPS provides better results (contrast, colors, details) in a slightly shorter time than HB and is much more simple and safer to use.
If you are looking for quality and are ready to spend an average 3 to 4 hours per movie, without a batch capacity and loosing the subtitles, MPS is definitely the right application.
If you have doubts, I suggest that you buy this movie "City of Angels", with Meg Ryan and Nick Cage and test the scene of the sunset on the beach (6th minute) with MPS and HB, you will see...
This is by far one of the "must-have" software utilities to have
at zero cost, no restrictions! Especially if you youtube, use mp3's,
imovie, and video really, and tend to sometimes burn a cd/dvd.
It works with most firefox video download addons(just spotlight
after download completes, and click on file). It is an awesome
converter for any type, both video and audio. User interface is
incredibly friendly and to the point without confusing eyecandy.
I found my way around and even edited in and out points no problem
after playing with a bit. It can wipe sound off video and save
leaving you to dub over video or save as mp3 to listen to. I'm not
sure why you'd need separate mp3 converter when this covers it.
Quality is maintained when converting video to various other formats
and you have much control of parameters! (fine-tuning visual quality).
I personally like to save in MP4.
Before you download various software to start your own mac video
production for youtube, myspace, etc, try this one first! You may
find it does quite a bit alone! It follows the motto: keep it simple
keep it close to complete(not much missing), and keep it 100% FREE
Version 1.9.b3 is now able to read entire large films in Snow Leopard. A most appreciated upgrade.
The only major drawback left with this excellent app is the impossibility to select the audio channel when editing .VOB files into .mp4 files. The edited file is exclusively saved into the first channel.
A preference enabling to choose the preferred output language, like in Handbrake, would be much appreciated.
A. I never said that MPegStreamclip attempted to edit MTS.
B. I prefer free softwares that do everything well, too.
C. As I found nothing satisfactory for MTS on the Mac (thank you Apple and the total mess they have achieved with QuickTime), I was very happy and still am to use MTSConverter.
To sum : I see nothing specific in Corpsecorps comments that would justify that I change my mind about MTSConverter.
Since MPeg Streamclip is not able to read and convert more than 5 minutes of a HQ film in Snow Leopar and also because I needed an app. to edit MTS films (the new standard in HQ movie cameras, for which Apple has made very little effort until now) I have tried a new product called MTS Converter. MTS Converter is cheap, very easy to use and versatile. It converts almost every movie in almost any format. The only drawback is that it is much slower than Mpeg Streamclip (for those format available in Mpeg steamclip).
For those with DHCP movies to use in a Mac I recommend this MTS Converter app. I also found the support for this application both responsive and efficient.
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It hasn't been updated in 6 years so I doubt it will ever be. :-(
I only use it for cutting and trimming, and it works perfectly on mp4 files.
.ts files are only dealt with in SD, so most of mine being HD, I have to convert them first in mp4.
[I've just tried Joyoshare Media Cutter that, on the contrary, won't do SD .ts but HD! Not bad, but not very precise — no GOTO IN/OUT, hard to set edit points to the image, and even when you do, you don't get the same thing when exporting the clip.]
I'm using MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b8 on OSX 10.11.1 (El Capitan) and it works perfectly. I use it often when capturing old analog sources via a DV converter device, to trim the final clips and re-join them. I do the same with MPEG-2 often as well. Thank you Squared5 for this constant in my life! :)
***EDIT: I neglected to mention something important. You DO have to go search out the file "QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg" on your own. But it is very easy to find.