Converting VOB movie files for iMovie 09

I would like to import movie files into iMovie 09 which are in the VOB format. How do I convert the files to a format for iMovie 09?

I purchased this Mac two days ago. For a work application I purchased this camera 1 week ago. When I bought the camera I asked the vendor if software came with the camera that would allow me to load the videos onto the computer but when I received the camera no software was included and no one from Canon or the camera vendor would help. I had a Canon DC 330 that came with the software last year but someone from my company made off with it. Another story another day.
I've used PC's for years but I've been wanting to try a Mac anyway so I went into the Apple store with a VOB file that the PC would not read. It took a little fussing but the tech loaded the VOB file directly from the 3" DVD (took a few minutes to find a machine that read the DVD) into iMovie. Worked real slick so I walked out with a new Mac. I knew there would be a significant learning curve but nothing ventured nothing gained.
The Apple Store is over an hours drive one way but I suppose I'll have to go back and see if I can figure this out. Not an issue, just time consuming.
Anyway suggestions would be most appreciated. I will try the tip found on this post but any steps I can save would be great.

Similar Messages

HT1014 I'm working with imovie 08 and converted movie originally from VHS tape to .m4v files imovie wouldn't recognize it. I converted to .mov files and imovie generated thumbnails (for hours) and shows a New Event but there is nothing there. Any help?

I'm working with imovie 08 on Macbook pro OS X and converted movie originally from VHS tape to .m4v files imovie wouldn't recognize it. I converted to .mov files and imovie generated thumbnails (for hours) and shows a New Event but there is nothing there. Any help?

markmc78 wrote:
.. I'm really struggling with the concept of events/clips/projects.
consider usage of a diff. editor.. iMovieHD6, you're entitled for a free downlaod at apple.com:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html
but IF you're relaxed, opened your mind, follow the bright light, ommmm.. for Events & Stuff:
your intended workflow will add another step of quality-degradition (8mm>>avi>>mp4>>iM08) ..
consider the free tool Mpeg Streamclip www.squared5.com for 'chopping' that 90min beast into pieces..
rename these new chunks, follow advice given on my site:
http://karsten.schluter.googlepages.com/im08changeeventdate
there's the manual..
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iMovie08_GettingStarted.pdf
and the most recommended books from Mr Pogue's Missing Manual series..

I'm sorry, I have to convert the mov file. for use with fce and / or imovie11, better ProRes422 or intermediate codec?

I'm sorry, I have to convert the mov file. for use with fce and / or imovie11, better ProRes422 or intermediate codec?

FCE only used AIC for HD.
Al

Converting .MOD movie file for import into FCP

I have a DVD with .MOD movie files I am editing for a church. The files open in a PC with Windows Media Player, although I can not import them into After Effects in a PC, and they do not open in QuickTime Player.
I would like to edit these clips using Final Cut Studio in my macbook pro. Is there any way to convert these files to .mov???
Thanks for any input/suggestions.

.MOD files or VOB files?
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
Export to an easy set up codec.

Can't open .mov files for iMovie editing; can't even view in QuickTime, etc

Our band recently had a videographer record our performance using two panasonic hd cameras: AG-HVX200 and HPX170. Both were set to hd 720 X (?) at 30 fps.
All files were saved as .mov files.
We can't see them at all. We were told that they were designed to be opened in Final Cut Pro (which we told him not to do).
We do have Final Cut Express, but neither FCE nor iM allows us to select the files ("grey'ed" out).
Can someone please help us understand how to open these files? Do we need a specific codec?
Thanks much.

I am no expert on DVC Pro HD, but here is what I found out.
HD compression format by Panasonic.
Similar compression type to DV 25 but uses a higher bit rate up to 100 Mbit/sec, depending on
the specific HD format being recorded. Highly popular format because of its lowe r bit rates, and
incredible resolution considering how highly compressed the format is.
This format is very popular as an acquisition format used with Panasonic's Varic am camera as well>as several Panasonic cameras that record to P2 card systems. A lso used heavily to convert higher->end HD formats into a high quality offline e diting format. Uses component recording, DCT
compression at approx. 7:1 (intraframe), 4:2:2 color sampling, 8->bit depth and up to 8 audio channels.
1080 formats record at 1280x1080, 720 formats record at 960x720. At 1080p, frame rates include>23.98, 24, 25 fps. At 1080i, frame rates include 25, 29.97, 30 fp s. At 720p, frame rates include
23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 59.94, 60 fps.
Source: Moviola
I agree that you want AIC not DV. AIC is a 4:2:0 codec so you will lose some quality, but it is your best option without buying FCP.
Message was edited by: AppleMan1958
Message was edited by: AppleMan1958

Converting AVI movie files for editing in iMovie

I have a bunch of .avi movies from an old Flip Camera that I'd like to import into iMovie. I can play the videos using MPlayerX, but how do I import them into iMovie? iMovie doesn't recognize these files. I'm working on an iMac. Thanks for your help

Thanks I downloaded MPEG and I think I'm able to convert it, but iMovie still isn't recognizing the video even after saved it as a .mov. Maybe there's a wrong format? I'll look into Perian. thank you for your help

Converting Large AVI files for iMovie

I had an old 16mm film transferred into AVI files (HD, very high quality). The main file is too large to edit (200G), and even play on my machine. I had them converted by the same company that did the transfer, but there is so much loss of quality, they are only good for a small digital video. Goal is to produce this on DVD (from iMovie) for later distribution.
So my question is this--what file format should I get these AVI files converted to, so the end output is maximum quality for DVD? IAny help and advice appreciated!

Hi, thank you for your response! I don't have access to a MAC right now, so will need to check later (the EHD the large files are on is formatted for MACs), but I'm sure it's uncompressed.
Even editing with a RAID, don't I eventually have to compress to fit onto a typical DVD? So if I compressed or converted now, could I edit without a RAID? If so, I'm just wondering what best to convert to, for maximum quality on the finished DVD product later on.

Converting FCP .mov files for Final Cut Express

Working in FCP 6, I've transferred P2 footage (720p30) into an edit, via the Prores 422 (HQ) codec. No problems, edit done. But now my client would like the source clips to manipulate in her copy of Final Cut Express (version 4).
FCE doesn't recognize Prores, it seems, so I've tried converting a sample clip via "Apple Intermediate Codec," which does produce a recognizable file, but requires a render. From what I can see of FCE, the AIC codec is the way to go, but obviously I'm missing some setting, because whenI asked her to render, export as .mov, then re-import, and that new clip shows without having to render.
That tells me it's probably some specific codec consideration, but I'm not really familiar enough with FCE to troubleshoot it.
Any ideas about the proper export settings for getting 720p30 HD footage into FCE?
Thanks in advance!

The problem is a little more complicated with DVCPRO HD media because it uses its own anamorphic frame size for 720p media. Open the file you need to convert into the QT player and give the exact specifications from the movie inspector.

Convert AVI movie files for burning to DVD ..

Hey .. what is the simplest way to convert AVI files to a format that can be burnt to DVD for playback on a regular DVD player ?? I know Toast Titanium is the standard but is there any other way ??
Cheers guys.
Message was edited by: bigdazzler

what is the simplest way to convert AVI files to a format that can be burnt to DVD for playback on a regular DVD player ?
QuickTime Pro or MPEG Streamclip can convert them. Some AVIs require that Perian be installed, while others can't be converted in Mac OS X through any means; AVI is a container, not a format.
(45672)

I recently purchased QuickTime 7 Pro to convert avi files to mov files for editing on Imovie. However, QuickTime won't play the files. How can I get them to play and how can I convert them to mov files?

I recently purchased QuickTime 7 Pro to convert avi files to mov files for editing on Imovie. However, QuickTime won't play the files. How can I get them to play and how can I convert them to mov files?

I recently purchased QuickTime 7 Pro to convert avi files to mov files for editing on Imovie. However, QuickTime won't play the files. How can I get them to play and how can I convert them to mov files?
Both the AVI and the MOV file extensions refer to the file container and not the compressed data the file contains. Both are generic file containers in that each may contain any valid combination of audio and/or video data that is compatible with the codec component configuration of the system on which the file was created. On the other hand, whether a file is playback compatible, conversion compatible, and/or edit compatible depends on the data actually contained in the file container. So, you are basically dealing with two separate issues here—the container and what is inside it.
Basically, if you want to make your files ediit compatible with iMovie, you must change your file container to one that is acceptable to iMovie and convert the data to edit compatible audio and/or video compression formats as may be necessary. The best approach is to determine what codecs were actually used to create the original AVI files and add them to your system if possible. In most cases a codec package like Perian can be added to your system's codec component configuration to may the AVI file playable. Once they are playable, in the QT 7 app then they can be chnged or converted to file types and compression formats that can be edited in iMovie. (While Perian handles most codecs commonly used to create AVI files, it does not handle all possibilities and, while the Perian codec package still works under cureent Mac OS versions, its development group has decided to drop further development/support of the package.)
Background: AVI is a file container originally developed by Microsoft back in 1992 but for which official support was discontinued about 11 years. Despite its limitations, Windows users still tend to use this file based on its open source ease of use and generic nature, thus, making its use so popular that most users are unwilling to switch to more modern but less generic file types. Since some AVI legacy compression formats have never been transcoded for the Mac or use beyond OS 9 or OS X PPC platforms, it is often important to know what specific compression formats are contained in the AVI file to know which codecs to add to your system and which not to add in order to avoid possible codec conflicts.
You can use many different converters to convert AVI files to iMovie edit compatible files. Most third-party apps contain their own buit-in codecs which do not relay on the Mac codec component configuration. Free ones, like HandBrake, usually have limited conversion capabilities while those that have more varied outputs are usually commercial in nature and will cost you additional cash. QT 7 Pro or the free MPEG Streamclip app allow you to access you own system's component configuration and use any available codec component like DV, AIC, MPEG-4, H.264, Photo JPEG, etc.—all of which are iMovie compatible for editing purposes—but only after making the AVI file QT 7 player compatible.
In order to determine what compression formats wewre used in your AVI files you can
1) Try checking the Finder "Info" window,
2) Use the "Inspector", "Media Info", or "Properties" window of any player app that will open the file, or
3) Use a general media utility app like "MediaInfo" to read the file characteristics.

Media encoder inserts black frame at beginning, when converting my MOV file to H264 for YouTube 720pHD

I'm using Adobe Media Encoder to convert my MOV file to H264, and selecting "YouTube 720pHD" (for Instagram) as I was instructed by someone at Adobe over the phone. But it inserts a black frame at the beginning or end. When I open the converted file on my desktop, the black frame is the first frame. After I upload to Instagram, the black frame is at the end. How can I get rid of the black frame?! Please help!

Welcome to the furum, Forrest.
Hmmm. I don't recall hearing of that problem. There may not be many users who can offer a solution.
This workaround should work, however: Open the exported movie in QuickTime Player and remove the first frame. (I think it's only the first frame that is black, not the first second. Remove all the black, whatever it is.) Save the movie. That may cause QT Player to save it into a new movie. Use the modified movie for your Web site. QuickTime Pro is required — $30 from Apple.
Note that you've posted in the iMovie 6 forum, not the iMovie HD forum for iMovie 5. There are fewer current iMovie 5 users here. Most were iM5 users, however, so someone might remember this problem.
Karl

I keep reading that i need converter software to import Canon DSLR (Mark II or D6) H.264 MOV file to iMovie? True? I'm confused.

I keep reading that i need converter software to import Canon DSLR (Mark II or D6) H.264 MOV file to iMovie? True? I'm confused.

iMovie 9.0.9 is the latest version you can run unless you upgrade to the Mavericks operating system (OS 10.9).
Your profile (at the bottom of your post) mentions OS 10.4.11 (Tiger) which is why I mentioned that.
The list of supported cameras is not comprehensive but articles such as:
https://getsatisfaction.com/apple/topics/make_canon_eos_6d_h_264_1080p_footage_e ditable_in_fcp_imovie
do indicate that conversion is needed before import, at least for iMovie 9. Although it's a recent article it doesn't specifically mention iMovie 10.
iMovie 10 has a very much changed interface and a different folder structure so upgrading is not trivial so I would not advise rushing into upgrading.
Maybe someone with knowledge of this camera can help.
Geoff.

Converting MOV Files for import results in loss of sound

I have some .mov files which will not directly import into iMovie 08. I believe this is because they were created using "save as..." from QT Pro, with an original file format of .mpg w/muxed audio.
I am now converting the .mov files using the "export..."comand from QT Pro. iMovie is recognising the results, weather it is .DV Stream, .Mp4, or even a true .mov file. The problem, every time I convert from the original .mov I loose the clips audio. Is this a side effect of converting a vid clip with muxed audio or am I doing something wrong?
Thank you for any help you may be able to provide.

QuickTime can't extract audio from muxed file formats. Don't use it.
MPEG Streamclip (free) can export to QuickTime formats with the audio. Use it.

Importing/converting DVD to .mov file for FCP

I had a friend give me a homemade DVD that I want to import/convert into a .mov file for editing in FCP. I've read the threads on MPEG Streamclip, but it asks to select the file(s) to import (vs one file). Not sure if I'm on the right track.
Here's what I see on the DVD:
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s63/jtnacc/ishot-4.jpg
Any help would be appreciated.
John

Hi Piero... Congrats man... your explanation is the best simple explanation of getting material off a DVD into a form where it can be editied in FCP.
Just to make it clear to anyone else...
1- go to http://www.squared5.com/ and download the FREE program MPEG STREAMCLIP.
Install it in your applications folder. Start Mpeg Streamclip, and insert the DVD into your drive.
2- Go to FILE > OPEN and use that to navigate to the DVD, look in the video_ts file and select the first .vob file of a series, e.g. VTS010.VOB; you'll be asked if you want to open all files of that stream, and you answer yes. You'd better also apply the command Edit/Remove Timecode Breaks before exporting.
This takes a minute or three depending on how much material ois on the DVD.
3 - Now go to the Mpeg Streamclip command line and select **Export to QuickTime** (NOT Export to DV)
Use these settings :
Compression: Apple DV-PAL (DV-PAL for UK/Europe, or Apple DV-DVCPRO/NTSC), Quality: 100%,
fps: 25 for PAL or 29,97 for NTSC,
Audio: uncompressed, Stereo, 48 KHz.
AND hit go !
Mpeg Streamclip will promt you to name the new file name and a location for saving.
This can take a minute for every minute of material.. so is a slow process.
I decided to use the "in" and "out" markers on Mpeg Streamclip to define smaller chunks of the DVD to convert at a time... rather than risk it running for 40 minutes and crashing (which it did first time). If you're ripping the DVD for editing purposes then this should not cause any problems.
Once it's finished, go to the save location, and you should see a Quicktime movie with the name you gave it.
You can now go into FCP and IMPORT this Qtime move and edit it.
MARVELOUS
Thanks again Piero - this has really helped me
P

How can I convert .mov files for use with other apps?

When loading movies taken on a friend's digital camera to my PC, the video files were saved as Quicktime .mov files. I am now unable to pull those files into any other software program (I want to put them onto a CD or DVD and play on external players.) How can I convert .mov files to a .wmv or .avi or mpeg?
Thanks - J
RS720G Windows XP

Kodak Digital Camera QuickTime MOV Problems
After battling a number of serious problems with the videos taken by my new Kodak Digital Camera, I decided to write up this page so that anyone searching the web would find out the true answers without as much grief!
I’ve also made some other comments about my experience with the camera, in case anyone was considering buying a Kodak camera in the near future.
I bought the camera just before Christmas 2004 in the US. At the time of writing, it is a pretty good model for domestic use—about 5.2 megapixels, costing about US$400 (or AU$600 back here in Australia). From a company as reputable as Kodak, I expected no problems.
The first disappointing thing was that the spring inside the spring-loaded battery clip, inside the camera, came loose within days. It proved impossible to reattach it without completely dismantling the camera, which (despite my engineering qualifications) I was not willing to do. This would usually have been a warranty item, but Kodak’s warranty does not extend to other countries. I’ve since had to jam cardboard in to keep the battery clip engaged, and have taped the battery bay shut to avoid it opening accidentally when taking the camera out of the case. This works fine with the docking station (an extra AU$100!), but it means I can no longer charge the battery without the docking station (since you need to take it out to charge it). I was not impressed!
The camera takes good photos, and I have no complaint with that. The controls and camera menus are well-designed. The large display is excellent.
The EasyShare software is not as easy to use as it looks, has a habit of crashing, has a web update program that is always running in the background of Windows, and transferring images is nowhere as easy or quick as it should be. I’ve now uninstalled it completely, and simply copy the photos directly from the device. (If the camera memory is nearly full, and you just want to transfer the last few photos, then it’s impossible to use the EasyShare software to browse the camera’s photos without it actually downloading the whole lot through the USB cable—and it takes forever! Copying from the device directly doesn’t hit this bug.)
The capability to take video using the camera was a great attraction when I selected it, and, if it worked properly, it would make it quite a handy little camcorder in its own right. With a 512 MB memory card in it, over an hour of video can be recorded at Video-CD quality (320 x 240 24fps video, 8 kHz audio). It’s not full digital video, but it would still be a pretty good feature for a US$400 camera. If it worked.
The first disappointing thing about taking videos is that the optical zoom cannot be adjusted while the camera is recording. It can only be adjusted between video sequences. I don’t know why this restriction was made in the design.
The real problems, however, start when you try to do anything with the video clips captured by the camera. Kodak has chosen to capture the videos in QuickTime format. This is fine—QuickTime is, technically, excellent—except that there is no simple way to convert QuickTime MOV files to AVI or MPEG or VCD. The Kodak software comes with a QuickTime player, so you can see the video clips on the computer you installed the software on—and they look good. Problem is that you can’t just dump those MOV files onto your Video-CD creator (it will usually want AVI or MPEG files).
It takes some time to realise that Kodak have not even bothered to include any software with the camera that can convert these MOV files to a more useful format. This is a serious PR blunder, and anyone bitten by this is unlikely to go near the Kodak brand ever again.
After some web searching, owners of these cameras generally find that the best (only?) freeware solution to convert MOV to AVI is Bink and Smacker’s RADtools program.
RADtools is amazingly powerful for the price (i.e. free), but it hits two fundamental problems with Kodak Digital Camera MOV video files, that are the fault of the Kodak camera, not RADtools. (I know this because every other MOV converter hits the same problems—except one, as you will see below.)
The first problem is that the sound cannot be converted properly. When you convert any Kodak MOV files, there is an “aliasing” of the sound at the upper frequencies. This is a technical description—you get a whispery, tinny, C3PO type of echo to everything. It really destroys the quality of the video clips (especially bad when I am trying to capture priceless memories of my 4- and 7-year-old sons—I don’t want their voices destroyed for all time).
Every conversion program I tried ended up with the same audio problem. I concluded that it is something strange in the way the Kodak cameras store the MOV files.
Strangely enough, I noticed that the QuickTime player didn’t distort the audio like this. The audio sounds just fine through QuickTime. More on this shortly.
The second, more serious problem is that RADtools could not properly convert some of the video clips at all. (This problem only affected less than 10% of the clips I originally filmed, but most of those clips were very short—less than 20 seconds. It seems that the probability of this problem gets worse, the longer the clip.) RADtools would misreport the number of frames in the clip, and would stretch out a small number of frames of video (in slow motion) to match the length of the audio.
Again, I confirmed that this is a property of some of the MOV files stored by the camera. Other conversion tools also had problems with the same MOV clips.
After more angst, I found a number of websites in which frustrated owners of these Kodak cameras have reported the exact same problems.
It was only then that I discovered that QuickTime itself can convert MOV files to AVI. Believe it or not, it’s built into the QuickTime Player that Kodak supplies, or that you can download free from apple.com. The problem is that you can’t use it unless you pay Apple to upgrade to QuickTime Pro.
After realising that this would probably be the only way to get decent audio for these clips, I paid the AU$59 to Apple Australia to get the licence key that enables the extra “Pro” menu options in QuickTime.
Sure enough, you can “Export” any MOV file to a number of formats, including AVI. And guess what? The audio comes out fine!
So, the first piece of advice I can give is: pay Apple the US$29 (or whatever amount it is in your country) to upgrade QuickTime to QuickTime Pro.
From here, however, there are still a few snags to untangle.
The first is that the default settings for Exporting to AVI don’t give a great result. It defaults to the Cinepak codec, medium quality. This looks terrible compared to the original QuickTime movie. Even on maximum quality, that codec just doesn’t give good results.
I finally found that the best option is to use the Intel Indeo Video 4.4 codec, set on maximum quality. This creates AVI files that are 10 to 20 times larger than the original MOV files, but the quality is there. If (like me) you only want the AVI files so you can dump them into your Video-CD program, then you want to keep the quality as high as possible in this first step. The extra hard disk space is not really a concern. When your VCD program converts the AVI files to MPEG, it will compress them to the usual VCD size.
Now for the biggest snag: those problem MOV files are still a problem, even for QuickTime Pro. Unbelievably, these Kodak cameras are spitting out MOV files which have some sort of technical flaw in their data specifications. QuickTime is able to play them back fine—and that seems to be all that the Kodak engineers really checked. However, if QuickTime Pro tries to export them, then when the progress bar gets to the end, it never finishes. It just keeps going. If you check the output folder with Explorer, and keep hitting F5 to update the file listing, you can see the file getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. It never stops.
That this happens even for QuickTime itself (the native format for these files) confirms that the problem is with the software built into these Kodak cameras. It would be nice it they issued a patch or a fix. I couldn’t find one.
Fortunately, there is a “workaround” for this problem. I found it when trolling the net trying to find solutions to all these problems. The workaround is to use QuickTime Pro’s cut and paste facility. Open the problem MOV file, then press Ctrl-A (the standard key combination for “select all”—in this case it selects the entire film clip, as you can see by the grey selection of frames at the bottom of the player). Then hit Ctrl-C (i.e. copy, which in this case copies all the frames, but not the incorrect data structure in the original MOV file). Now hit Ctrl-N (i.e. new, in this case a new MOV file or player). In this new player, press Ctrl-V (i.e. paste). Now you have a new version of the MOV file with the bad data structure exorcised. You can save this under a new name, but make sure you specify “Make movie self-contained”—otherwise, it will simply be a link to the original (bad) MOV file, which you are probably going to delete once you save the exorcised version. (You also cannot overwrite the original file, because it needs to access that to make the “self-contained” movie. You need to give it a slightly different name, save it “self-contained”, then delete the original and rename the new copy back to what you wanted it to be. A pain, I agree, but at least the **** thing works—finally!)
The exorcised MOV file can now be used to Export to AVI format. (I also keep all the MOV files on a separate CD, in case I want to reconvert them to a different format in the future. I figure it’s better keeping the exorcised ones than the haunted ones.)
So I hope that all this answers a few of your questions. No, you weren’t being incredibly stupid.

Converting VOB movie files for iMovie 09

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for