Importing into iMovie issues

Yesterday, I started importing videos from our family's Canon VIXIA HG21 camcorder to our iMac (which we purchased Jan. 2014) through iMovie, Version 10.0.3. I had to leave it on all night, because there were about 160 videos to import. The computer went to sleep, so it stopped. I started it this morning, but had to stop the importing to take the camera to church. My brother was celebrating his b-day and I needed to take video and pics. Now I can't get it to continue importing the leftover videos. First it was blocking the "Import all" button, and now it keeps on freezing! It has uploaded most, but not all. Please help!

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Yes absolutely. You won't need imovie HD, indeed imovie HD won't import video from this camera.
In im09 you should be able to import directly from the camera from the file menu, if not (some cameras don't), you can now import AVCHD as an archive from the same file menu.

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Why won't my video won't import into iMovie. There is a red ERROR message underneath clip.

I just imported 40 out of 43 clips of HD video from my JVC HD Everio camera into iMovie '11. It's my first time using either equipment for editing. I selected import all but only 40 of the clips successfully imported. 3 of the clips were not able to be imported but I can still play the clips fine from the import window. The clips all have red error messages underneath them. This is an issue that I've seen posted other places online but it doesn't seem to be resolved. It's very frustrating for me, I've been researching online to try to fix this for hours now. The closest I have come to a solution involved deleting extra 3rd party plugins from my quicktime folder however I don't have a folder named "Quicktime" in my Library. So I don't know what to do. Please help!

The error message appears under video clips already imported into iMovie. Like in this screenshot http://km.support.apple.com/resources/sites/APPLE/content/live/VIDEOS/0/VI57/en_ US/imovie-start-poster.jpg on my mac out of the 6 clips shown per row, only 5 of them have the word "imported" underneath them in white letters and then one of the clips has the word "error" underneath it.
I don't think it's a corrupted file because yeah I can play the three clips just fine. The page that I read that had that fix in it (deleted plugins) was here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1893021?start=0&tstart=0 The correct answer is near the bottom of the page and was posted by iphonejunky. Maybe the fix would be that simple but like I said, I can't find a folder named quicktime in my library. I don't know if I'm just stupid or what.
I don't think I have Flip4Mac installed because I never consciously installed it. I use VLC for playing most video. The clips imported are all .mov

Trouble opening mpeg movie files and importing into iMovie 08

Hi, I'd be most grateful if anyone could provide any solutions to the following problem...
A friend has emailed me two .mpeg movie files which are parts 1&2 of a home movie which I want to edit in iMovie and burn to DVD. The footage was shot on a miniHDV camcorder (not sure which brand).
Opening in QT 7.6 gives the following warning dialogue: "The movie could not be opened. The file is not a movie file."
The files will however play fine in VLC Media Player, but not in mpeg Streamclip (the file appears to play but the viewer is blank with no audio/video). Trying to import into iMovie is unsuccessful. The iMovie browser won't let me choose the files or drag/drop.
Any ideas. I read somewhere that iMovie 08 can't import mpeg-1 files. Do I need to convert the files, and if so how?
Thanks in advance, and apologies - this is my first experience of video editing.

I have QT Player but it hasn't "kicked in" when I try to import my videos.
Something called PIXE VRF Browser is supposed to help in the conversion. The QT MPEG-2 thingy won't install until I buy QT Pro, according to what I get on the screen.
Sounds like you have too many applications trying to do the same thing. Either use the Pixela Pixe VRF Browser or use the Mac applications (Mac OS Finder, Apple QT MPEG-2 Playback Component w/MPEG Streamclip) but not both to do the same job. The Apple Finder should be able to copy multiplexed VOB/MPEG-2 files from either your PC burned DVD or directly from your camcorder DVD to your MAC hard drive where MPEG Streamclip/QT MPEG-2 component can convert them for use in iMovie '08. Frankly, I don't understand your work work flow or why you want to import your files to a GOP editor in the first place if your goal is to do frame level editing in iMovie '08.
As for Jon's suggestion, I am on dial-up and cannot download big files at 3-4 Kbps snail pace.
What does this have to do with importing your camcorder files to your PC and re-burning them to DVD for use on your Mac? If I were to make a recommendation here, it would have been to use an external hard drive here rather than DVDs for transporting files between platforms and then only if you want the files available to both. If your goal is only to edit them in iMovie '08 or iMovie HD on your Mac, then why not cut out the "middleman" platform?
I wish I could purchase these updates on DVDs but the genies couldn't even tell me if there's such a service.
Totally confused here. Are you saying your DVR-D300 files were commercial produced or that you are dealing with torrent downloads of copy-written material? These are two separate issues with facets beyond the scope of this forum.
As for "platform", I have iMovie08. iMac does not read the mini RAM disks when I connect the camera to a USB port.
Are you saying the Finder doesn't read them or that iMovie '08 doesn't read them? Do you "finalize" your DVDs before trying to read them via USB as the manual states may be necessary as indicated on page 150 of your manual?
How can I find out that iMovie09 will let me import and edit my Panasonic videos?
You could try going to the Apple site and checking the the tapeless camcorder compatibility chart. The Panasonic DVR-D300 is specifically listed along with a hot link for additional information. However, this still won't help you you don't finalize the content.

Why doesn't my .AVi file import into iMovies

I cannot get iMovies to recognise my .AVI files (from my Samsung ST50).
I can download the files from my camera to my hard drive (so the computer recognises them), and I can play them via Quicktime, so I know they work. But I can't import the .AVI files into iMovies. It seems to process the video when I go to 'Import'>'Movies'...- then nothing appears. I just get a 'No Matching Video' message in the event folder.
However my previous camera (an old Pentax Optio S40) produced .AVI's which I can import into iMovies. Are all AVI's not the same? Or is it a setting in my new camera (I'm not too tech savvy!).

Hi Rocco,
Looks like we missed this post when you first asked. Sorry about that.
What message are you receiving when you try to print? What version of Windows do you have installed? If you're running Win7, you may be facing this issue: http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat-com/kb/createpdf-desktop-printer-windows-7.html
-David

Rotated movs not staying rotated after being imported into iMovie

Hi,
Used Quicktime to rotate some camera phone videos and saved them as .mov files.
They play fine but on importing to iMovie they have reverted to their unrotated state!
How annoying!?

Ouch!
QuickTime 7 has done away with the ability to freely rotate (or skew) video tracks and the link you've provided shows screen shots that do not appear in QT 7 Pro.
Version 7 allows rotation (90° increments) and "offset" (location of the track as a layer).
Since I don't own a camcorder I rarely run into this issue. Some people shoot in "Portrait" mode (turn the camera 90° and shoot) and then have issues importing to a DV app like iMovie. It wants to scale or squish of stretch your video capture to the DV dimensions (720x480).
So. What's a gal gonna do with portrait video?
QuickTime Pro 7 can fix it, too. Just not as easy as version 6 and with less visual "clues" as to what is happening while you edit.
QuickTime Pro can have up to 99 layers (tracks).
Make an image format file (.png if you need alpha channels) sized to the iMovie format size. NTSC is 720X480 pixels. The image will be all black (paint bucket tool) and saved as .png or even .pct. Don't use .jpg because it doesn't allow transparency and avoid .gif format because of the lack of colors.
Open this new 720X480 image using QT Pro. Select all (Command-A) and copy (Command-C). It's now stored on the Mac clipboard.
Open the video shot in portrait mode. Select all (Command-A) and choose "Add to Selection & Scale" from the Edit menu.
Not done just yet.
Open the Movie Properties window and single click on your video track (the real video track). Click the Visual Settings tab where you can adjust its "offset" and "scaled size". Adjust these settings to what works best for your video track size.
Switch back to the Player window and test. Adjust as needed until you're happy with the file and the position of your video track against this black background image. If you don't even see your video track you'll need to set its "layer" number lower than your black background image. Negative values can be entered.
All happy now? Are you sure?
Two options for this new file. Save As (self-contained) to make a QuickTime movie you could use in a Web page. Had you used a color other than black for the image this is where you could "blend" it into the background of your page.
Export. To DV Stream. This helps "lock" your file and it will rapidly import into iMovie where you can edit it further.
What about the added B/W .png file? It only acts like a placeholder to force your portrait movie be served in landscape format. I'll bet it isn't 20KB's in file size.
Hope this helps other users. Lots of steps but great results (when done correctly).

Can't Import Into iMovie (still)

I've tried all of the following things:
1) Using Roxio's Easy VHS to DVD to convert my old home videos (they save as .mpg files)
2) Using my Nikon CoolPix to shoot videos (they save as .avi files)
3) Using my iPhone 3GS to shoot videos (they save as .mov files)
None of these will import into iMovie. I've tried the drag and drop method as well as the file>import method. And in the Roxio program they have an "export to iMovie" button. I get an error message every time. In the case of the .avi files it says error -43, in the export form Roxio it says error -5000. The .mov files don't produce an error message, but when I attempt to import, nothing happens (if I import from the file menu the status bar pops up and immediately disappears with no progress). Any ideas?
Message was edited by: JamesLJ

1) I downloaded MPEG Streamclip for this function, but it says I need to purchase the MPEG-2 converter for $20, which I don't want to do since it seems that the Roxio software has this function (converting to Apple Intermediate).
2 & 3) I Don't see an iPhoto event in iMovie. I'm using iMovie '09, to clarify. Is this one of the features they got rid of in the switch to '09?
I used MPEG Streamclip to convert an AVI file (recorded with my Coolpix) to Apple Intermediate Codec. It converted, but I still got the same error message when I tried to import it to iMovie. I went to file-import, and selected the movie. The status bar popped up as if it was importing, but after it finished, the error message "Could not copy file [file path and name] (-43)" And that's also the reason I don't want to buy the Streamclip add-on. This seems to be an issue in iMovie.

Older DV Tapes Will Not Play or Import Into iMovie

I have a lot of DV tapes shot ten years ago on a JVC camcorder that I want to import into iMovie.
I have a new Canon Vixia hv 30 and I'm assuming these older mini DV tapes are compatible because these old tapes play fine in the camcorder itself, and also on my TV, but when I try to import them into iMovie, they do not display in the iMovie import window. However, new tapes shot recently with the new hv 30 display and import just fine.
Is there a problem with the old tapes being incompatible in some way I'm not understanding?
Dino1956 answered a similar problem in 2008:
*iMovie Camcorder Import Fix*
*Connect your camera. put it in 'play' mode (sometimes also called vcr). start up imovie (hd or 08; both work, but i use HD). go to the blue 'import' screen. it should just say 'camera connected'.*
*Now comes the trick. don't click import, but instead put your camera in 'record' mode. you should now see whatever it is that your aiming the camera at on your computer screen.*
*QUICKLY put your camera back in play mode. again very quickly press the 'play' button, either on the imovie import screen or on your camera. your DV tape will start to play back.*
*-On my computer, the video now suddenly shows up in imovie! You can now click the 'import' button in imovie, and imovie will start importing the tape in realtime. This is a bit slower than the normal import method, but hey, at least you can now get your video into imovie!*
...but this solution doesn't work for me. I cannot "quickly" click the Play button on the camera monitor or in the iMovie window after switching from record to Play on the camera because there is a 5 second time lag on both the camera's monitor and in the iMovie window while the iMovie screen/camera monitor switches over from Record to Play.
Is there any way I can get older DV footage into iMovie from my Vixia hv 30? My resources are at a very low ebb right now.

I found a clue on the www.hv20 website: Old DV tapes recorded before HDV...you need to go into the hv 30 menu and select "DV" rather than "HDV", then the video shows up in the iMovie import screen and imports easily.

How can i import into imovie using the camera's built in memory?

How can I import into imovie from my cannon video camera built in memory. All that comes up when I connect the USB cable is what is stored on the memory card and it doesn't give me the option to use what is stored on the built in memory

That is not a feature of iPhoto - suggest to Apple - iPhoto Menu ==> provide iPhoto feedback.
With the new Photo app later this year the integration between IOS and the Mac will be much greater
LN

Why do some AVI files not import into iMovie?

Some of my AVI video does not import into iMovie. When I try, it gives me a non-specific error message. Is there a way I can import it? Other AVI files import with no problem.

AVI is a container, not a format; the audio and video in an AVI may use any codec, and some codecs can't be used in Mac OS X. Installing Perian may help.
(34138)

Certain mp4 files are not importing into iMovie

I downloaded various files from the video page at a blog website [ http://www.911blogger.com/ ]; they're mp4 QuickTime. They won't properly import into iMovie, and quickly return a "An Unknown Error Has Occured" message box.
This is confusing, especially since iMovie can make mp4 movies. And since mp4 is a QuickTime format -- and QuickTime is made by Apple, who also makes iMovie.
It doesn't matter what size of file; none import. I asked the guys who own/operate the blog website if they put any special locking features on their video file downloads from their podcasts, and they said they (paraphrasing) "didn't do anything except use an iPod video converter" or something to that effect.
So, any idea's?

I have QuickTime 7.1.1 installed, with a license for QuickTime Pro.
QuickTime Pro shouldn't affect the ability to import to iMovie. All QuickTime Pro does is enable certain movie editing commands in QuickTime Player. It doesn't add any codecs or new elements to QuickTime.
But third-party QuickTime codecs could certainly be affecting iMovie 6's ability to import a movie. If any are installed, they should be temporarily removed and the Mac restarted.
They are discussed here:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1852869#1852869
Karl

Can't select multiple video clips to import into iMovie

Hi, i can't select multiple video clips to import into iMovie, it only lets me import one video at a time. Apple please fix in next update or if anyone has a solution please post.

Obviously you can not select the video to import until after iMovie populates the list of videos that are available to be imported
LN

I need to share raw footage that is already imported into iMove, how do I do that?

I have raw footage imported into iMovie '11 that I need to beable to give to someone else, is this possible without first turning it into a project and exporting it that way?

Go to ~/movies/imovie/imovie events, then copy the files to a DVD or an external hard drive.

1080P movie imported into iMovie at optimised 920x540 but is oddly finalised at 1080p?

Hi.
I have a video shot in 1080p which I imported into iMovie from my camcorder using the optimised setting (920x540px). I edited the movie and now want to finalise it. But I'm wondering why when I click finalise the project it says it's doing so in 1080p?
I assumed when it imported the project it did so at 920x540px and would have disgarded the additional data 1080p data.
What's happening?
Thanks!

Just had a thought. Something AppleMan1958 said in another post.
Is this because iMovie also imports the original 1080p file into the Camera Originals folder? So when I finalise the edited project it does with the original 1080p footage?

Is an 8.7GB file too big to import into iMovie 9?

Is an 8.7GB file too big to import into iMovie 9? I am using iMovie 8.0.6 on a Macbook Pro running OS 10.6.8 on 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB Memory. I can't get my movie file to import into iMovie...any advice would be much appreciated!

When you import into iMovie, your video is converted into DV format. This uses 13 GB per hour of video. So the first thing you have to do is make sure you have 26 GB free on your hard drive, plus another 10GB free for OSX to perform, plus 10GB free if you plan on burning a DVD.
iMovie has non-destructive editing. If you have used any part of a clip and discard the rest, that entire clip is still saved in your project - unused but eating up disc space. If you use no part of a clip and discard the clip, then the clip can go in the trash and you get back disc space. So...
If you import 2 hours of video (26GB) as one clip, and only use 2 minutes, your 2-minute segment retains its 2-hr source in memory. 2 min = 26 GB.
One thing you can do is set the iMovie preferences to automatically create new clips every 3 minutes. (2 hours of 3-min clips = 40 clips.) This allows you to find the 2-minute segment you want and delete all of the unused clips. Say your 2-minute segment comes from 2 of these 3-min clips, so you keep 6 minutes of source footage and delete the rest. Clips that are entirely unused will be completely deleted and give you back disc space. At .65 GB per clip, your 6-minute project is now only 1.3 GB, and you've just regained 24.7 GB of disc space.

Screen Capture Video Loses Quality When Imported Into iMovie - WHY?

I am using screen capture software to make a video of my screen at 1024x768. The video is for a tutorial. I want to use iMove to get things like transitions and such into the movie, and to add text and audio. The problem is that, although the video looks great in QuickTime, it loses quality significanly when I import into iMove. The text on the screen is blurry, and the quality of everything else is terrible as well.
Is this s limitation of iMove? Can screen capture video be imported? Does it only work with DV?
Also, I tried to convert the file to many other formats, from QuickTime to MPEG-4, so it's not the file type.
If anyone can help me out, I've be very grateful.
Thanks!
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Your dimensions are getting in the way. iMovie converts your 1024X768 to a DV Stream file that is 720X480.
One workaround would be to set your display resolution smaller. Try 800X600 (if your windows fit that size).
If you're using Snapz Pro you should set your window capture to 640X480. This size will import nicely into iMovie.
An even better way would be to do all of the work using QuickTime Pro. Again a 1024X768 QT.mov file would not fit on the most common display settings used. When you add the QT Player window the controller would be below the screen and not accessible for most users.
800X600 would make a better file (smaller, too). It would still be 4:3 aspect and would also import into iMovie.

Importing into iMovie issues

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