Movie format for iMovie

I recorded some clips from my Sony camera, imported to iPhoto, able to view it with Quicktime but iMovie does not recognize it.
iMovie imports all my clips I got from iPod touch in iPhoto but not the ones from my sony camera.
I copied the camera clip to desktop and did a manual import ... the clip would not show up when I browsed to import.
what should I do?

When you say import, are you looking in the Event Library for the iPhoto event?
Your video should be there.
If you don't see it, there is a free app for the Mac called MPEG Streamclip. Drag the mpg file into MPEG Streamclip and then FILE/EXPORT TO QUICKTIME. Choose Apple Intermediate Codec as the video codec.
This should import into iMovie.

Similar Messages

Converting mts to format for Imovie

Still trying and trying to find an answer. So I have tried http://www.iskysoft.com/topic-mts/convert-mtsm2ts-files-to-imovie-on-mac.html which says it will convert it to a version for imovie so I downloaded trial so that I could try it. TOok an mts file Converted it to the version for imovie. Tried to drag and drop it into imovie. Nope wont do it. Tried converting it to the MPEG format in this trial version nope wont drag and drop into imovie either.
Im willing to buy a converter but want to make sure it will work. Have found nothing thus far that I can figure out how to convert an MTS file to a version that can be dragged and dropped into Imovie.
Sigh so frustrated by this.
I have mts video files on my desktop in a folder. Which I had taken from camera. They are no longer on my camera so I cant download directly into imovie. Trying to figure out how to convert them to a format for imovie and have tried several trials another of those being wondershare.
Maybe I am just slow but have had no success so far.
I have spent literally hours so far tonight trying to solve this problem.

mts doesn't need a 'conversion' just a re-wrapping.
two options
• ReWrap2M4V - google for it, it's a free automator script; to make it run, you have to install two other items, basically to get a functioning installtion of the ffmpeg package - sounds tricky, just follow installtion advices, easy. re-wraps any mts within split-seconds
• AVCCAM - is a QT-plugin provided by Panasonic; it teaches any QT-based app to handle mts; after DL in installation, use most popular tool Mpeg Streamclip to open your mts; then, without any settings nor conversions, goto 'save as' and choose mov.

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.

What is best movie format for iBooks Author

What is the best movie format for iBooks Author?

Thanks for the people who helped my. Thanks to you I now have the answer. It is as follows:
1. Load your movie into Quick Time Player.
2. When in Quick Time Player go to File then Export to then check Broadband H.264, 5Mbp/s maximum data rate.
This worked for me so many thanks.

Best clip format for iMovie 8?

I have a few .avi clips from a Nikon CoolPix which load alright into iMovie, but they take a long time to load. Is there a better format for iMovie and should I convert the clips to that format?
Thank you,
ray

iM is meant by concept for camcorder imports.
its internal codec is appeleintermediate.
I doubt, a 'manual' conversion is faster than iM's.
but give it a try, a popular (and free) tool is Mpeg Streamclip

Video: MOV/H.264 format for iMovie

For years I have used a Sony HandyCam with digital tape, inside of a Sony underwater housing to do underwater video. Great quality and editing it in iMovie is a piece of cake. I have had no compatability issues. Trouble is hauling the housing, the tapes, etc. I am thinking about buying an Olympus TG-2 IHS which records in MOV/H.264 format. One camera to do it all.
I am concerned about editing in iMovie since this format is a compressed format versus the digital tape. Does anyone have any experience to share with this format in iMovie?

That will require conversion to a format that iMovie can use, which will give slight quality loss.
You forgot to mention what Mac you have, what verisons of OS X and iMovie, so:
iMovie 11 - cameras supported:
http://help.apple.com/imovie/cameras/en/index.html?lang=en_US
iMovie 9 - cameras supported:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290?viewlocale=en_US
iMovie 8 Camcorders supported:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1014
Digital camera RAW formats supported by OS X Lion:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4757?viewlocale=en_US
Digital camera RAW formats supported by OS X Snow Leopard:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3825?viewlocale=en_US

Best Native format for iMovie (2013)

Looking for some advice on what formats are recommended to use with iMovie (2013) and FInal Cut Pro (2013) and a Canon XA20.
Would like to film in best quality but confused on what formats are now actually supported in iMovie (2013) and recommended for use. I understand iMovie '11 was unable to import AVCHD without processing. Is this still the case with iMovie (2013) or was this fixed. Can iMovie handle MP$ @ 35 Mbps and is this a format one would want to edit.
The XA20 can record in both AVCHD and MP4 in the following:
Movie format
Recording mode
Resolution
Audio format
AVCHD
28 Mbps LPCM (59.94P)
1920 x 1080
Linear PCM
28 Mbps (59.94P)
Dolby Digital
24 Mbps / LPCM
Linear PCM
24 Mbps
Dolby Digital
17 Mbps
5 Mbps
1440 x 1080
MP4
35 Mbps (59.94P)
1920 x 1080
AAC
24 Mbps
17 Mbps
4 Mbps
1280 x 720
3 Mbps
640 x 360
Would appreciate any thoughts. I've gone through many posts and see there were limitations on iMovie 11, but not sure if these were fixed in iMove (2013). If I would be better to forget iMovie and move to FInal Cut Pro (2013) let me know know thoughts.

What format and bit rate would that be?
Recording Format
Bit Rate
Resolution
Frame Rate
AVCHD
28 Mbps (59.94P)
1920 x 1080
59.94P*1
24 Mbps
1920 x 1080
59.94i/PF29.97/ 23.98P*1
17 Mbps
1920 x 1080
59.94i/PF29.97/ 23.98P*1
5 Mbps
1440 x 1080
59.94i/PF29.97/ 23.98P*1
MP4
35 Mbps (59.94P)
1920 x 1080
59.94P
24 Mbps
1920 x 1080
29.97P/23.98P*2
17 Mbps
1920 x 1080
29.97P/23.98P*2
4 Mbps
1280 x 720
29.97P/23.98P*2
3 Mbps
640 x 360
29.97P/23.98P*2

File format for iMovie 13 (10.0.3) export

What are the exact file format characteristics used by imovie 13 when exporting a file in HD1080p (i.e. the type of audio codec, video codec, frame rates, and bit rates)? The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to upload a large movie that I export to a file from imovie before uploading it to youtube via the youtube website (it's too large to export it directly from imovie to youtube - it won't allow it even though I have the capability from you tube to export large movies). I'd like to ensure this movie is in the optimal recommended format for youtube upload. Thanks for any insight.

Klaus,
I tried it several times with no avail. When you press the Share button what happens? Do you get a dialog or something like that which provides options to do the export? When I press the share button, nothing happens. You can see a click but no dialog, no options. It should give you options so you can pick the format you want it export as. Then I could see it taking all night. Does that that make sense?
I attached three images showing each Share button/menu. None of which will do anything when clicked. Notice the Share menu is selected but no child menu shows up.
Thanks,
Calvin

Best Movie Format for iDVD

I have several DVDs of children's stories that I am making a backup copy protect the originals. I use iSkysoft DVD Ripper to make a movie & then load this into iDVD to burn.
I tried the Quicktime movie format & that worked fine in iDVD, but the quality was not great. I have the choice in iSkysoft of choosing several formats; QT, MPEGs 1,2 & 4, DV, ASF, & FLV MPEG-4.
I have been experimenting with the MPEGs, but iDVD will not accept them.
What is my best format choice for the best quality DVD from iDVD (I am using Professional Quality encoding)?

You need to convert the VOB files back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.

How to convert .avi files to .mov format for use in FCE ?

Hi guys,
I need to import an avi file into FCE. How do I convert it to mov format ?
Thanks

i am in the same boat. i have a canon G9 and automatically downloaded to iphoto without thinking. the videos i extracted seem to be .avi. what do i have to do to edit them in FCE4? i tried to convert them with prism, the video is messed up. i tried to put them into imovie instead, it won't let me do any effects on them. it's so confusing bc it lets the videos load in, or so i thought, but then it won't let me do anything to them? what do i do?

What is the best format for iMovie imports

Hi There,
I am trying to convert some home movies to iMovie on my mac the movies are on DVD in VLC> VTS files. What is the best file available on Xilisoft video converter Ultimate for best quality in iMovie please.
so many choices but none specifically for iMovie.
cheers

I don't seem to have DV or AIC as an option! Nor M-JPEG.
What is available depends on which converter you are trying to use. iSquint, for instance, will only convert to MPEG4/AAC or H.264/AAC. A converter like MPEG Streamclip, on the other hand, will convert to DV, AIC, M-JPEG, Photo-JPEG, MPEG-4, or H.264 but requires the $20 QT MPEG-2 Playback component to work on VOB files.
Also, although my VOB file is about 15mins, when I enter it in my converter it comes up as 2 seconds in the 'Duration' column. Why?
This is a common problem with MPEG-1/2 files. Usually it stems from timecode breaks. Such breaks are ignored by many non-Mac multi-media players but not by applications relying on the QT structure which synchronizes tracks "temporally" rather than spatially as with "multiplexed" GOP files or interleaved tracks. Once again, this is why I prefer MPEG Streamclip for converting such files. It includes a "fix timecode" option ("Command-F") to correct these breaks.

Best format for iMovie input: DV or AppleIntermetiateCodec

I thought (and I think I read here several times) that the best input for iMovie, if you use a MiniDV camcorder, was to import the DV files into the app.
Now I have read an article ( http://imovietricks.blogspot.com/ )where it is said that iMovie does not properly work with those files and that a previous conversion to AppleIntermediateCodec should be give better quality.
Can someone give more information about this subject?
I think is a very interesting subject not only for the quality but because AppleIntermediateCodec files are half the size as DV files which make them more easily stored.

I have only DV camera and this issue is very important to me. I have read probably all the threads about it and have seen no solution. I even bought an e-book from a guy who said here that he knows the solution (but didn't of course open the secret here in forum) and guess what he recommended in his book? To convert the files to AIC.
As there have been so many discussions about it then I wouldn't say that iMovie works perfectly well with DV. Even Macworld mentioned this in their review of iMovie '08:
+"...The bad news is that in order to get this real time performance without renders or progress bars, there is some sacrifice in quality. For interlaced video such as DV and 1080i HDV, iMovie now uses single-field processing. This means every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage..."+
http://www.macworld.com/article/59668/2006/12/imovie08.html
Sorry, but I have difficulties believing anyone who claims that iMovie '08 handles DV fine. If all these reports were wrong and iMovie really could give full quality from DV then Apple would have refuted such reports (especially ones by popular magazines like Macworld) and given some guidelines.

How to convert Mpeg 2 to usable format for imovie

I have been trying for months, and am completely frustrated. I have a 2x2.8 Ghz Quad Core Tower running 10.6.8. I have all three imovies installed - Imovie HD, imovie 7.1 and imovie 9. All have the most recent updates. I had trouble importing several HD tapes, using my Canon Vixia HV30 - when I plugged it in, Imovie did not recognize it. After trying several suggestions on apple boards, I finally gave up, and I sent the tapes out to be recorded to an external drive. They came back - several in .mpeg format and 3 in .avi.
I can import the .avi format without difficulty, but not the Mpegs. They are greyed out in imovie. After researching, I purchased and downloaded the Quicktime Mpeg plug-in (for $30 CDN) and also Mpeg Streamclip. When I try to convert using Mpeg Streamclip, the program just freezes at 1% encoded. Perhaps I am not using the proper settings in Streamclip?
Does anyone have a suggestion for how I import these clips into imovies?
I am SO frustrated. All I want to do is edit 2 years worth (about 10 hours?) of home movies in imovie - a presumably simple thing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle.
a DVD is in a compresed format called mpeg2, which is standard across all DVDs. This is what is known as a 'final delivery format' and is not suitable for editing. Because is is compressed, a 4.7GB DVD can hold a two hour movie (dual layer DVDs twice that), whereas the DV stream from a video camera, which runs at about 13GB per hour, is not compressed and IS intended for editing.
In other words you have to 'reverse engineer' the DVD back to an uncompressed format in ordfer to edit it. There is a penalty for doing this in terms of slight quality loss, but it is one you can live with.
When you have your DVD as an icon on your desktop, double-click it, and it will open to reveal a TS-Folder containing a number of various files, some called VOB. These are the constituent parts of any video DVD.
When you have downloaded and installed mpegStreamclip, and purchased and installed the Apple mpeg2 plugin, open mpegStreamclip and drag the entire TS Folder into its window. Then using the various menus available to you (just explore them and you will get the hang of it) ask it to convert to DV.
That DV file, which will be many times larger than the original TS Folder, and which can a while to create (be patient - make coffee or prune the roses!) is what you can now import into iMovie for editing etc.
When you have finished doing that, you then have to turn the project back into a DVD.
mpegStreamclip can be downloaded from here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.

Digital Video format for iMovie and iMac in general

I recently purchased a video capture product for my pc to digitize all the analog videos from when my kids were younger. The capture works great but, when I move it to the Mac (10.6.2), I'm told that the files (avi etc) can't be played.
Is the problem more likely to be on the Mac side or the PC side? Any guidance re this process (product and format to use) would be greatly appreciated!
TIA,
David

David,
What exactly are you using for your video capture?
Your answer may be to use a video converter such as this one.
http://www.importavitoimovie.com/avi-to-imovie/
or
http://homepage.mac.com/major4/
Matt

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

Movie format for iMovie

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