IMovie video import format questions

I'm a new user to iMovie, I tried to import a .AVI file into iMovie and I could not drop and drag the file into the edit window. Ok.. iMovie must not support .AVI files, so I thought I would use Toast 9 to convert the files to .mp4 and .mov and even tired divx format. I burned these files into the movies folder and went back to imovie and used "File" "Import movie" browsed to the movies folder but no luck the files were grayed out. But other files that were .mp4 were available for use. Has anyone seen this before? Do I need to head over to Toast help. But just now I pulled up a .AVI file from na external HD and I was able to drop and drag the file into iMovie. Going file nuts here....

The problem with the MPEG 4 export from Toast is that it writes a text track. I've used QuickTime Pro to delete that track and the MPEG 4 is then recognized by iMovie 08. (By the way, iMovie HD recognizes the Toast MPEG 4 export without deleting the text track).
A different option is to use Toast to export as DV. This should work with iMovie 08.

Similar Messages

Fastest iMovie Video Import Fromat for iDVD Processing

Which iMovie video import format will end up being converted the fastest when I export the final result into iDVD?
Should I use DV? MPG4? Or one of the others?
Just what format DOES iDVD convert iMovies into? Seems to take a REALLY long time, even with my iMac G5. If I could initially import the raw video into the same format, seems logical it would take less time for iDVD to do its thing.
Thanks!
iMac G5, Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

DV is the native format for iMovie and iDVD. Encoding contents to mpeg2 is a looong process in iDVD.
Of course authoring a DVD in an app like DVD Studio Pro with mpeg2 files would be a time saver, however unlike DVD SP, iDVD does not except mpeg2 files. (it only encodes to mpeg2).
I usually bring my iMovie project into iDVD as a flatten project.
Meaning all the A/V tracks, transitions, effects, titles, etc. comprising a iMovie project is shared/exported as a DV file(s) into a new project.
I check to make sure the DV file(s) play correctly in the new project and just add chapter markers save and close iMovie. Open iDVD, import the iMovie project, author the DVD and wait for it to finish.
I find iDVD works more efficiently/faster encoding when it doesn't have to deal with mulitple audio tracks, transitons, effects, titles etc.
It also reduces the number of encoding errors that can occur in iDVD.

Proper Video Import Format

Currently - I am importing some home movies from VHS using a canopus into iMovie. I have chosen the import format = DV STREAM ...
- I will import the movie - do some editing - and then export it to iDVD5...
- then I modify the template settings and then save as a disk image...
- basically - it has to render all the video - I am guessing to compress into DVD format... this takes a long time
* Question: Since my only concern is to create a DVD ONLY - of this content ( and not to ever save the high-quality dv stream) - would it save me any time to import into iMovie as MPG4 or any other format that is closer to a DVD quality rather then to import as a DV stream? The rendering time in iDVD is where I am trying to save time ... and I am guessing that if it was in the correct format to begin with ... then maybe it would not have to re-render...?
Any time saving suggestions would be appreciated...
Thanks - RevDave

* Question: Since my only concern is to create a DVD
ONLY - of this content ( and not to ever save the
high-quality dv stream) - would it save me any time
to import into iMovie as MPG4 or any other format
that is closer to a DVD quality rather then to import
as a DV stream? The rendering time in iDVD is where I
am trying to save time ... and I am guessing that if
it was in the correct format to begin with ... then
maybe it would not have to re-render...?
Any time saving suggestions would be appreciated...
The answer to your question is NO. Stay with DV stream.
Creating DVDs requires patience (a virtue, right?) and lots of free hard disk space.

IMovie 10.0.2 import format questions.

I have iMovie 10.0.2 and am trying to figure out a few things.
1. Does iMovie modify the original AVCHD (60i) on import? Once I import a clip into iMovie, it appears as an mov file, but I have no idea how to check the parameters for that file to know how it was changed from the original.
2. The latest iMovie is supposed to be able to operate on AVCHD natively, but I haven’t been able to figure out how. The preferences window has ***TWO*** checkbox. I am no expert but that seems awfully light.
Thanks for any insights.

Someone wrote this below and I have tried and I cannsee and I can import again!!!
Thanks,
When the camera is connected go to Import and select the device. Then in the top right corner there is a little filmstrip icon. Click on that and there is a check box for 'Hide Previously Imported Clips'
Uncheck that and that solved it for me!

IMovie video import: It only finds videos in iPhoto?!

Based on Jobs' roll-out presentation, I expected iMovie 08 to find "all" my video files, as he stated it would. In fact, it only found and displayed my low resolution still camera videos that had been imported into iPhoto. (Does anyone actually use iPhoto for video files from DV or HD cameras?)
Granted, this is a really cool way to collect and view all those iPhoto videos that I've never really looked at before, but what I want to edit with iMovie is my DV video that is dispersed on a few drives and in many folders. I expected iMovie to search for and provide access to all of those files too.
Apparently the only way to access my DV video files is to either copy or move them. Neither is practical. Copying all that video would be a huge waste of disc space. Moving them would destroy all my existing FCP and iMovie HD projects.
Why can't iMovie find all my existing videos wherever they are and in whatever format? Then I could view their content and import (and thus copy) only the individual clips I want to use in an iMovie project. That would only duplicate the video files that are actually being used.
iMovie 08 has great potential for a consumer video editing tool, and it will obviously grow in features and capability over time. However, the release version is quite obviously a work in progress. Once again it is clear that Apple considers its software users to be beta testers...and they let us pay for the privilege.

+I can't import any video into iMovie. It imported 2 videos from iPhoto and that was all. I have about 30 videos in iPhoto. I've tried it all.+
Search trough this forum a bit. Some people have reported problems with certain characters in file names. It also only imports certain video formats. Some still cameras produce video clips in "unusual" formats that require conversion before iMovie '08 accepts it.

IMovie Video Import

Sorry to sound dumb but I can not find the information I need.
Can you only import video taken on iPhone or iPad to iMovies or can you use the lightening SD Card Reader to import videos from your SD card?
If you can import from lightening SD card reader, what format does the videos have to be in?
My camera is AVCHD .MTS format and I would like to view these videos on my iPad. IS THERE AN EASY WAY TO DO THIS?
I have tried to convert them to .MOV but the quality is realy bad compared with the original.

You can import AVCHD MTS 1080p 30p videos to iMovie, however, you cannot directly import 1080/60p or 50p MTS videos to iMovie, you need to convert MTS to imovie compatible mp4 or mov first.

Video recording format question ...

I'm sanity checking how I record video for 2013. I have no issues buying a new camera if recommended. In this case I'm referring to recording "home movies" - a kid's birthday party, spring break trip, band concert, etc. My intended target is to watch on a big screen TV via Blu-ray disc, streaming to a PS3, occassional playback on a computer. My current consumer camcorder records in 1080/60p, 1080/60i, and 1080/24p. I have seen other consumer camcorders offering 1080/30p.
I will also have some footage shot on a Droid phone in 1080/30p, although that amount of video will be minor in comparison; I just mention in case of minor influence on an opinion. And by "streaming" on my PS3 I mean playback of a compatible format file via a DLNA server without transcoding on the fly. Presently the PS3 can play all the formats as far as I know. I've been shooting in 1080/60i.
What recording format would you recommend?

Even though it's not a supported bluray format, I'd record at 60p. Converting from 60p to 60i is a really easy process, each field has more data than it needs as a full frame is recorded for each one, so there is no quality lost, and having that extra data gives you a lot more options if you want to do slow mo shots.
The reason some cameras are recording at 30p even though it's not part of the bluray spec is that a 60i signal made from a 30p source is effectively 30p. It just plays each frame twice as fields, rather than two different fields as would happen with an interlaced clip.

Importing Format Questions

Ok when you import a cd as mp3 format, when I check the file it gives me the name of the song, artist and album. Now when I import using the AAC format it just says track # and song, also when u go into proterties it doesnt tell you any info about the song at all.
Is there a way to get the info u get from a mp3 in a AAC? Is there also a way to get album art and stuff the music that I imported off my cd? I know WMP does that when you play the songs.
Also if I import a CD in AAC format and try to burn it onto a CD will it work in my car? Its only mp3 from what I know.

Hi - I know this was posted months ago but I happened to run into a similar situation and found a solution. Instead of using the partial scoring with the ~%XX% syntax, I just used an equal sign for all of the correct answers. This makes it all or nothing, as opposed to giving credit for some checking some of the correct answers.
Also, when using the partial scoring, make sure that the total percentage you're divvying up does not go over 100%.
Hope this helps (you or someone else)!

IMovie video issues and question

I am working with the latest version of iMovie and I'm having issues with my screen freezing and keep having to force quit my computer in order to get
everything back to a normal state.
I will be making a movie in imovie 10.
Everything appears fine for about 20 min.....
Then it freezes and then..... well.... see image below
I think it may have something to do with where iMovie (previous version) was set up to use an external harddrive to save and work with files...?
How do I change this in the new version?
I want to try and reproduce this issue where everything is on the internal harddrive.
My machine is
20-inch, Early 2008
Memory 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 128 MB
Software OS X 10.9

mmmmm.
Well I opened imovie and watched the errors and such flow on console....
It is all jiberish to me......
Did a google search on a few and well.....more over my head talk...
"CoreAnimation: warning, deleted thread with uncommitted CATransaction"
"Cannot find function pointer NewPlugIn for factory C5A4CE5B-0BB8-11D8-9D75-0003939615B6 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn"
"Error loading /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin/Contents/MacOS/DVCPROHDAudio: dlopen(/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin/Contents/MacOS/DVCPROHD Audio, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin/Contents/MacOS/DVCPROHDAu dio: no matching architecture in universal wrapper"

Imovie is limited to its import formats and does not allow for storing video in any rawformat. Which means all videos will contain lossy compression applied to the video-.with no way to edit full format video. Is this statement true?

Imovie is limited to its import formats and does not allow for storing video in any rawformat. Which means all videos will contain lossy compression applied to the video….with no way to edit full format video. Is this statement true? Does iMovie support HD 1080p @ 60 fps?

Iggy826 wrote:
… Is this statement true?
yes and no!
using the intended Import from Camera routines, iM converts automatically in its very own AppleIntermediateCodec. so, answer is yes.
but …
a) Apple claims , aic is non-lossy intermediate codec. working with proRes in FCPX taught me, there are even less non-lossy-ness codecs
b) iM offers an Archive feature, which is basically a simple Finder/copy operation which 'clones' your SDcards content into some folder on your harddrive; e.g. you can later use these untouched 'raws' in another editor such as FCPX. so, answer is no.
c) when you 'override' the import routines by manually re-wrapping mts into a mov container, iM handles the 'native' h264s ... so, answer is no.
d) adding any effect, transition etc. reduces any interlaced source to 540p. (if you're working with 720p source, res is kept) … so, answer is yes. or, in 720p case, no.
< Johnny Depp's voice >… savvy?
Does iMovie support HD 1080p @ 60 fps?
via Import from Camera? No.
via re-wrapped mts>>mov? I was told yes, some say no.
one thing to be kept in mind when talking about these 'issues':
iM, this 12€, is meant as a CONSUMER toy tool.
it supports AVCHD vers1 (=no 1080/60p, no >24Mbps, no 3D).
fingers crossed, we'll see soon some iM/QT/FCPX update for support of AVCHD v2 ........
the main consumer devices are within the specs, iM supports.
using professional equipments makes usage of professional software (FCPX, AP) optional.
sorry for lengthy answer.

Are there any aps (free or paid) that convert panasonic avchd to a format imovie will import?

Are there any aps that convert Panasonic avchd video to a format imovie will import and edit?

[http://wetpixel.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t16884.html]
This might provide a bit of insight.

All Possible Import Formats for iMovie

I was wondering if there is a complete list of import formats. I want to edit a clip using iMovie, however, the program does not recognize the file format. What is/are the possible format(s) of movie files that can be imported into iMovie for editing? Thank you!

Hi
No version of iMovie is a general video importing tool.
eg You can not directly import from DVD ( iM'08 had a work around a while I THINK )
(DVD needs mpeg-component to QuickTime Pro to be converted - or I use Roxio Toast™ to do this)
So what kind of material do You want to Import/Capture ?
I use
video - miniDV tape Cameras - streamingDV - and via QuickTime Pro I can convert many formats to this as QuickTime .mov that then imports nicely into iMovie.
audio - ONLY .aiff 16-bit 48kHz (from Camera) and 44.1 from Audio-CD (NO .mp3 or anything else - all converted to .aiff) - THIS saves a lot of troubles
photo - .jpg (.bmp results in very red toned photos to me)
AIC - is also a supported video-format - especially if exported to FinalCut ! as it needs much less rendering than video from iMovie (directly).
.avi - containing Iv50 - IS NOT compatible but needs a Window PC and needs to be converted to .wmv first then to streamingDV in QT to work.
There are Video Converting programs to buy - I have non of them.
FinalCut is not so much better.
So please - be more specific - there are lot's of codecs out there
.avi, .mov, .wmv, .mp4 - ARE Containers and can contain any strange Codec. So one needs to find out what the true Codec is.
Yours Bengt W

Using iMovie 7.1.4 on an iMac w/ Snow Leopard; HD video imported with a Firewire cable transfers fine, but audio arrives with major static; problem persists w/ different cameras

Using iMovie 7.1.4 on an iMac w/ Snow Leopard; HD video imported with a Firewire cable transfers fine, but audio arrives with major static; problem persists w/ different cameras & Firewire cables; source DV tape has no audfio static.

I forgot to write down my computer specs:
iMac 27 Mid 2011
2.7 GHz Intel Core i5
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB
OS X 10.9.2

Can i connect a Samsung VP-D381 to iMovie to import videos?

I have recently bought a Samsung VP-D381 Mini DV camcorder, and have just tried to connect it to iMovie to import a video that i have just recorded, only to find that Samsung do not have any software or drivers for the Apple OS...
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how i could get this to work?
Thanks

Hello,
(I posted the same answer to a similar thread)
I have the same camcorder and same issue, though with iMovie '09.
Symptoms on my Samsung VP-D381 are :
I can import when in Camera mode (live capture)
I cannot import what has been recorded on tape (import window stays blue)
I can forward and rewind and stop.
I found a trick I hope will be useful for you :
open iMovie.
without connecting it yet, put your Panasonic on "Play".
when video plays, plug the DV cable in.
iMovie opens the video import window and then you should see the tape playing.
press the "Import" button to capture the DV stream.
Let me know if you find other ways to get it to work. I'm quite frustrated Samsung cannot make a DV camcorder work with iMovie, 14 years after DV went out!
Pierre
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Video import question

i just recently got a new fifth generation 30GB video ipod. my question is: is there any way i can get videos from windows media player to itunes? like if i download them from a website? also, will i need a converter for this or only for DVDs? i'd appreciate any answer.
Thanks
windows Windows XP

I don't know if it will work for .wmf files but if you import the video into itunes and then right click (windows, not sure for MAC) there should be an option for converting to ipod. If that doesn't work I use www.imtoo.com they have some good software for converting files. There's another people seem to like but I started with this one and it works fine. They have one for converting to MP4 files and one that converts DVD to MP4.
Good luck......Eric
PC- HeHe Windows XP Pro

IMovie video import format questions

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