No video when importing mp4s to iMovie '11

I'm trying to make my friend's acting reel, which means I'm getting a lot of videos in different formats. Mainly, they are mp4s, and upon import I have the audio, but just a black screen. Any suggestions other than converting to .mov? I'm using iMovie '11. If not, any good freeware for converting? I've been trying to use VLC but that's been giving me good audio and really pixelated, weird video (I'll add a screenshot when I'm able).
Thank you in advance!!!

The best tool I've seen recommended by longtime contributors to the iMovie Discussion Group is called MPEG Streamclip. It can convert to .mov but more specifically it can save it into the Apple Intermediate Codec which iMovie uses internally to do all it's editing within the program. Once converted to AIC .mov it will import right into iMovie without any further transcoding and conversion (one step in effect).

Similar Messages

Loss of quality when importing Mp4 files

When I import Mp4s into iMovie HD 6.0.3, the video quality suffers. And if there's any movement (panning/tilting) in the video, edges also look wavy once imported.
These Mp4 files are not from a camera. Rather, the original video was on VHS. I dubbed it to DVD, then ripped the DVDs, creating the Mp4 files (which look fine in Quicktime 7.4).
I'm hoping someone here can tell me if I can adjust settings somewhere so that the mp4 files will appear just in iMovie HD 6.0.3.

These Mp4 files are not from a camera. Rather, the original video was on VHS. I dubbed it to DVD, then ripped the DVDs, creating the Mp4 files (which look fine in Quicktime 7.4).
Lets see: VHS > mpg-2 > mpg4 - that is a LOT of conversion steps if you expect to maintain quality.
I tell people to think of each conversion step as a 'hammer' that 'beats' on your data because every conversion step costs you quality. I doubt there is anything magic you can do to your mpg-4 files.
The BEST thing for you to do would be to transfer your VHS images directly into iMovie. Many miniDV camcorders have a pass-through feature that makes this easy. My second choice would be to use something like DVDxDV or MPEG Streamclip to convert the video on the DVDs to DV video for use in iMovie.

Trying to import MP4 to iMovie

Alright, so I downloaded a video file from the internet, and the format is apparently MP4. But when I import it to iMovie, it doesn't show up in the event viewer. The event will be created for it, but there's nothing in it. I checked the folder in my iMovie folders, and the file was indeed copied. It just doesn't show up.
I googled this, and someone suggested re-encoding the file as an MP4 in Handbrake, because for some people, that made the file show up in iMovie, which I tried, but apparently Handbrake 0.9.3 doesn't like Leopard 10.5.7 because it keeps crashing just after I start the first encoding process.
Investigation on this revealed that Handbrake doesn't even recommend preparing movies for iMovie using Handbrake, because there's a lot of generational loss along the way. Fine. They recommended converting the file to DV with MPEG Streamclip, another program.
MPEG Streamclip didn't work. All I got was an error that said "Cannot prepare movie". Googling this didn't find me a solution to fix MPEG Streamclip, but DID reveal to me that QuickTime can export MP4's as DV files. So okay. Let's try that.
After exporting my MP4 to DV, and reopening it to check, all I get is a white screen. All the audio is intact. No video. I tried many options and settings and I keep getting the same output. All audio is fine. No video.
Can ANYONE help me get my MP4 file into iMovie?

I also experience this problem. My mp4 clips has been taken with a Samsung NV24HD camera and are HD (720p). I haven't tried to convert these clips but I think it should not be necessary since I can play them in quick time. However I have perian installed, perhaps that's why they play in quick time? The next question is then: Is there a similar plugin to iMovie?

Green distorted video when imported

Several times I've run into a problem with importing .mp4 filetypes. It doesn't happen with every mp4.
They play fine in Movie Maker and VLC. When I import them, they are usually green with pink and very distorted. I've tried Rendering them and it results in the same distortion. I've tried saving them in Movie Maker first and that usually results in the audio disappearing but the video will be clear, plus it makes me feel very foolish for spending the money on Premiere if I have to filter it through another program first.
I'm using Premiere Elements 11 on a relatively powerful PC. i7, 32gb ram, win8.
After doing a lot of research I'm really not sure what I should try next. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

celeookie
I need to think about this some more. But, what you could try is renaming just the file extension of the file...
mp4 to .mov
mp4 to .avi
mp4 to .mpg
mp4 to .m2t
mp4 to .m2ts
It looks like you have AVCHD video compression and AAC audio compression with the .mp4 wrapper. Those should be compatible, unless there is some sort of special codec involved.behind the AVCHD tag?
Conversion to another format may be the answer, but let us see. Movie Maker was going to be my first choice, but then I saw that you tried that and found it helped the video but not the audio.
When you are getting this pink green representation in Premiere Elements, did you say the sound was unaffected or not?
More tomorrow.
ATR

No video upon importing movies into iMovie?

I have had my MacBook less than a month and am still getting familiar with it. I took several video clips of my son on his skateboard this weekend with a Casio digital camera. It has an SD card. I imported the video using a USB adapter with the SD card. When I try to play back, I can hear the audio, but am seeing a blank white screen.
Any pointers?

I imported the video using a USB adapter with the SD card. When I try to play back, I can hear the audio, but am seeing a blank white screen.
A white screen usually means no video codec is available for playback. Most Casio cameras use an AVI file container with M-JPEG video and either DVI ADPCM or Unsigned Integer audio. If you imported these into iPhoto, then I would expect both the m-JPEG/DVI ADPCM and M-JPEG/Unsigned Integer content to play back in the QT Player but only the M-JPEG/Unsigned Integer files to import into iMovie '08. The only question in my mind is whether you are saying your imported via USB directly to iPhoto or that an SD Card reader allowed you to import directly to iMovie '08. If the former, do you have Perian installed? If the latter, you need to check the imported file to see if iMovie attempted to perform some sort of a conversion during the camcorder import process in which case the regular QT components may or may not have been accessed.

How to import MP4 into iMovie 09

How to import MP4 into iMovie09

You will need to convert it to something that iMovie can edit.
1) The first step is to see if QuickTime can play it. See if you can open it in QuickTime Player.
If you can, Proceed to Step 3
2) If QuickTime cannot play it, I would try to download a set of open source codecs called Perian. They will handle many odd codecs like this. Go to Perian.ORG and download them. Then go back to step 1.
Note: If Perian does not work for you, come back for some more ideas.
3) Once QuickTime can play it, you need to convert it to something iMovie can edit. If you have QuickTime Pro, use that. If you would prefer a free alternative, download MPEG STREAMCLIP from Squared 5. Drag the 3G2 clip into MPEG Streamclip and then FILE/Export to QuickTIme...
Choose Apple Intermediate Codec (for highest quality) or choose h.264 (for smallest file size) and save it in a place you can find it.
4) Now open iMovie, and use FILE/IMPORT...MOVIES to import the converted file into iMovie for editing.

How can I import mp4 to iMovie 09?

What I'm doing is going to File -> Import -> Movies and clicking on the .mp4 file on my desktop. In iMovie, the loading bar opens for a brief second saying "desktop" with a blank bar, and then it goes away leaving iMovie sitting there as if nothing happened. I've tried free converters but haven't had much luck unfortunately
Also, will I be able to import this to FCP X? I'm very close to buying it, and if I can import mp4 I probably will. I'm not very good at editing, but I feel that I could learn FCP X easier than FCP 7.

I sometimes work in FCE, so the layout is almost identical the old FCP, it is nothing like iMovie learning curve was steep the first week or so. Toughest ones to memorize were the ripple roll, slip, slide tools for me.
The new iMovie got so powerful with filters and CoreVideo, that it kinda beats the purpose of FCE usage for me. But the Live Type app is a joy to play with - the font made out of smoke, fire or popping daisies is exquisite.
The most discouraging thing in FCE or FCP is the amount of time you will spend editing - if you want to do it right and play with it, you will spend days because they have so many powerful options to try and tweak. That was the biggest shocker for me. I find myself resorting to simplicity and speed of iMovie editing. Shoot the vid, run it through iMovie, let it do its thing, share to Apple TV and be done with it. It's simple, yet much faster to work with, if you don't care about making perfect movies. Kids and work leave me no choice, but to edit at night. FCE has become more of a chore than fun for me. If there is anything people underestimate while purchasing this is how dedicated they are to this hobby. Or not.
If you do editing for gigs, then it's a no brainer. iMovie is a toy compared to FCP.
FCPX yes or no? It's your choice, really.

Any way to stop autoplay of videos when importing?

I am importing a large number of videos into iTunes, and find it incredibly annoying that it tries playing each of them as I import them, and then I need to rest the ones that start playing to new. Is there some hidden preference that allows me to stop autoplaying videos on import?

This script can be used to turn that off: http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/download.php?sc=changehiddenprefs

How to ignore videos when importing

I want to import only photos, not videos. How do I set up Lightroom 4 to ignore (not show) videos in the import screen?

just installed v3.6 again for a different test a minute ago.. videos are there in the import dialog by default.
im not 100% sure if LR 4 supports more video formats....im not really using LR for video so i don´t care much.
but that´s maybe why you don´t see the videos in LR 3.6. just a guess....
i have issues importing some video and always get a error message during import.
i store my travel videos in the same folder as the images and that´s why i would like to exclude videos from importing.

Can't import MP4s into iMove '08

I recorded some videos on my Nokia N95 and wanted to put them into iMovie and export them onto YouTube after some editing, but iMovie won't import my MP4s! Are there any free and painless ways to convert MP4s into more compatible formats for use with iMovie '08?
Any help greatly appreciated!

Oh sorry!! It turns out that when you import movies into iPhoto '08, when you export them they come out as images, instead of movies; how strange!! :S You can view movies in iPhoto but you can't get them out of there, thanks for your help anyways , you can drag and drop movies from iPhoto into iMovie so I'm all sorted now.

Importing mp4 into iMovie for editing

I am using iMovie 08 and I want to import my mp4 movies from iTunes into iMovie to edit. Can this be done?

Hi
iMovie and iDVD has a very limited amout of Video-Codecs they can use
They don't report when they fail. Even if import to Event's is no guarantee
,mov - is no Video-CODEC - it is a container (sort of folder)
QuickTime-player can open so many more. Open Your .mov here.
Then open Inspector [ cmd + I ] and read
- Video formatted (CODEC) as : nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
- Frames per Second : YY.yy fps
What does they say ?
Yours Bengt W

Name of track changes to modified date when importing mp4

I have two .mp4 files: (both names listed below are the filenames)
Valentines Day Torin.mp4 with a modified filed date of 02/15/2010
Phoebe Confirmation Entrance.mp4 with a modified date of 03/18/2010
When I import the Valentines Day Torin file, the filename stays the same. The "Name" field is also the filename. This is what I want.
When I import the Phoebe Confirmation Entrance, the filename stays the same. The "Name" field is changed to "Mar 18, 2010 3:52pm".
Anyone know why?
Also, does anyone know how to get iTunes to stop changing the modified date on files when you change any info in the "Get Info" area.
I find it quite hard to import a lot of home videos into Itunes. File name length limitations, changing of modified dates, just can't figure this out..
I have all my videos in order according to the modified date since titles can't be more than 36 characters, but can't figure out an easy way to sort chronologically.
Thanks,
Derek

Check the file withEXIF Viewer or Reveal to see what the EXIF Capture Date is. iPhoto uses that for photos from digital cameras.
OT

File error when importing .mp4 files

Hi there,
I have a problem concerning importing files.
I had some .mkv files, which I converted to .mp4 files with just 1 audio track and no subtitles using Handbrake.
Problem is, I can't import these files into Final Cut Pro 7.
It gives the following error:
"File error: 1 file(s) recognized, 0 access denied, 1 unknown."
I have no problem importing .avi files, or .mp4 files that haven't been converted.
Does anyone know what I should do? I don't know any other program to convert .mkv files, so basically, I'm bound to using Handbrake.
Thanks in advance!!

I didn't know Handbrake was such a bad tool.
I never did much video-editing before, so I usually used iMovie, and the Handbrake-converted files worked fine with that.
And I did what you said, I converted the video to .mov with MPEG Streamclip, using the mentioned presets, but now I have another problem.
A 22 minute file, which was 360MB before converting, turned into a 6.2GB file after converting.
Since I use videoclips from a TV Serie, which has over 60 episodes, this is going to cost a lot of space. Is there any way to reduce the filesize without destroying the video quality, or is there any, ANY, way to make FCP accept .mp4 files?
I don't care if it slows down my Mac or anything, it's just that I know it's possible, with the 700MB file from one of my posts above.

Error When Importing Mp4 file

I get this error message that pop up when I try to import:
"File Error: Unknown File"
What is the requirement for .mp4 or .mov files in order to have it imported to FCP? Also I have another large file that can be imported, but when I play it in the edit area, it lags and the video doesn't play smoothly....would I need to compress or would I need to convert to a certain frame per sec or something?

Try opening up the video in QuickTime and export using the same codec, but make sure to select what the frame rate is (such as 29.97) and see if you can import it then.
Dave

No audio when importing mp4 files into iTunes.

Since recently, whenever I import an MP4 of M4V file into iTunes, it either deletes the audio, or the video becomes shocky.
When I play the same files in VLC they do work. That is great and all, but since I use Apple TV I need them to work in iTunes.
I've tried to delete and re-import the files. I've also tried to download different versions of the same files, which also didn't work.
To me it seems like the problem lies within iTunes.. but I'm not really a computer wiz.
Anyone else have this problem and know how to fix this?
Thanks in advance.

Does your friend have EXACTLY the same computer software and hardware?
More information needed for someone to help... please click below and provide the requested information
-Premiere Pro Video Editing Information FAQ http://forums.adobe.com/message/4200840

No video when importing mp4s to iMovie '11

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