[MacDV] Streamclip vs. DVDxDV

[Mark M. Florida]

>> 4. MPEG Streamclip is FREE.  (but you gotta pony up $20 for Apple's
>> rock-solid MPEG-2 playback component)
> 
> 
> Do I need the Apple MPEG-2 playback component if I want to rip excerpts 
> into iMovie? I.e. can Streamclip do anything useful without the Apple 
> piece or is it required for all its functionality (which makes 
> Streamclip no longer free). It's general capabilities sound pretty good.

I would still argue that MPEG Streamclip is free.  It simply relies on 
QuickTime for MPEG playback -- which *Apple* charges $20 for (not the 
developers of MPEG Streamclip).  If you want to convert MPEG-1 files, 
you can do so for no extra charge since QuickTime can play MPEG-1 files 
with no additional plug-ins.

Keep in mind that this thread was comparing two similar products, one of 
which is free and one of which costs money -- the free app being the 
better of the two, and BOTH of them rely on Apple's MPEG-2 playback 
component, which DOES cost money.

Just bite it and pay the $20 to Apple for REALLY GOOD MPEG-2 playback... 
  But don't buy DVDxDV.

- Mark