Import of AVI files

Question

I did a search and can see this has been discussed before, but it's still not clear to me how I can solve it. My camera produces video clips in .AVI format. I can play in quicktime, I can import and edit in iMovie HD, but the files won't import in iMovie 08. What can I do? I saw some suggestion to get visual hub. Is this the best/only solution?
Anyway, I find it amazing that Apple would make an update of iMovie that won't import old iMovie HD projects. What if Microsoft updated word so it cannot edit old documents?

Answer 1

My camera produces video clips in .AVI format. I can play in quicktime, I can import and edit in iMovie HD, but the files won't import in iMovie 08.
Basically, there are three levels of compatibility here -- playback, conversion, and edit:
1) Some files (like MPEG-1) can be played by QT applications but cannot be properly converted to other formats (e.g., MPEG-1 loses its audio) or be edited (requires an MPEG based "engine") since data is synchronized spatially using blocks of audio data interspersed with blocks of video data in a single data stream while QT requires parallel streams of data synchronized temporally.
2) Other files (like an AVI with M-JPEG video and DVI ADPCM audio) are conversion compatible. That is they can both be played by QT application and converted to other compression formats by them but cannot be edited. Contrary to what you seem to think, your files are not edited in iMovie HD as AVI. Instead, they are converted to DV as part of the import process and are edited as such. On the other hand, iMovie '08 edits in a number of "native" compression formats and assumes you will only import compatible compression formats so it does not perform an automatic conversion to any of the possible edit compatible formats as it doesn't know which one you may wish to use, what settings you would prefer, or how much time you are willing to invest for a return in terms of quality.
3) Lastly, out of the hundreds or even thousands of possible audio/video compression combinations, on a few can be edited at the frame level. (I.e., iMovie is a frame level editor not a GOP (Group of Pictures), "muxed" content editor. For instance, if your digital camera saved its AVI file using M-JPEG video and say Unsigned Integer audio, your file would be edit compatible in their AVI container and import without a problem (or at least they used to do so).
Or, can I use QT pro? The problem with that is there is no trial. So, I might buy it and then it does not work for me,
It would as long as you have the proper decode component installed whether Perian, DivX, 3ivX, from your digital camera manufacturer, etc. But why spend the money if you don't have to? You can always download the free MPEG Streamclip utility which accesses the same QT components and QT structure embedded in the Mac OS as QT Pro.