Recover videos from iphoto

some time ago i noticed that iphoto had converted all of my videos in the application to jpg format. at that time i did a quick search online and it looked like it was a common problem, there seemed to be some workable solutions, so i put it away to another day. now that i've come back around to try to sort it out, i discover that i can longer find anything online about the problem, and even worse, the videos don't exist anywhere on my hard drive anymore! unfortunately there are no backups for these videos. is it possible to return the files to their original mvi form or has iphoto simply destroyed them forever?
i'm using:
iphoto 8.1.2
mac os 10.6.8
macbook pro
don't think it should matter, but just in case: i have about 12 GB of free space on my hard drive

Hi Larry, thank you for your suggestions. I do genuinely appreciate them and I'm sorry that you feel not enough information was provided. the site didn't suggest that more information was necessary and, without you making yourself clear about what 'background' you expect, i can't imagine what else you feel like you need to know. in any case, if you're interested in knowing more:
1 - i imported the movies long ago and they used to play in iphoto just fine. at some point i noticed that they no longer played. i have never gone into the iphoto library and have never messed with any of those files before. i have done absolutely nothing other than import the files from my camera into iphoto, then look at the photos/videos in iphoto.
i decided to try to see where the original file was, so i chose 'show original file' from the menu. nothing. all of the original files have apparently disappeared. i also checked the 'show file' option, which showed me a file with the video's original name, but which was now followed by .jpg instead of .avi, with the size of the file reflecting the change as well (meaning the size is now small, like a photo). if i click on that file, i get an image that opens like a photo, which is obviously a screen grab from the original video.
considering all of this, the only thing i could imagine was that one of the iphoto updates must have done something strange to the library and converted all my films to pics. in fact, i remember reading something to this effect some time ago when i did an internet search on the problem. other people had the exact same problem. in any case, all upates of iphoto were done via software update. i willingly admit when i've done something that could have interfered with an application's normal functioning, but in this case there is literally nothing i could have done to screw anything up. i've never liked iphoto and really just used it to stash my photos/vids until i could get around to finding a better program. so that's all i've done: import, open, look, quit.
2- no, the videos do not play in iphoto
3 - attempting to export as "kind = original" gives the msg. "unable to create". importing into iMovie is impossible because it doesn't recognize the files as video.

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Recover deleted video from iphoto

hi
i accidentally deleted my recorded videos from iphoto on macbook pro , then i changed the os version from snow leopard to mountain lion , can anyone help me with the procedure of recovering the deleted videos.. they are emotional and personal moments...i captured and i regret not having backed them...and i feel sad to lose them... please help me ..

With all that you've done, there's a very good chance that the files have been overwritten by new files.
However, if you wish to attempt to 'rescue' them, I can recommend (because I've used it on drives that are NOT DAMAGED) Data Rescue 3. $100 to ATTEMPT to recover the files, but if they have so much value to you, it may be worth a try.
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I moved all my photos and videos from iPhoto to external hard drive and now can't play any videos. Please help!!!

I moved all my photos and videos from iPhoto to external hard drive, then totaly formated my macbook and now trying to play videos of external hard drive, but they wont play and they in "quicktime containers" and really small in size (50 - 150 Kb). Please Help!!! My misuse will kill me if find out that we have no more videos from our honeymoon...

I moved all my photos and videos from iPhoto to external hard drive, then totaly formated my macbook and now trying to play videos of external hard drive, but they wont play and they in "quicktime containers" and really small in size (50 - 150 Kb). Please Help!!! My misuse will kill me if find out that we have no more videos from our honeymoon...
You may need to prepare yourself for a "World of Hurt" from your wife...
Since the average 0.9 megapixel JPEG photo file of normal graphic complexity stored at a high quality compression setting is 125-135 KBs in size, I would have to assume any QT video files you created of more than a fraction of a second in duration were most likely saved as "reference" files to only be 50-150 KBs. Basically, a reference file is q QT (MOV) file that tells a video player how to play data that is still stored in its original source file container(s). For instance, you could trim and merge a number of files together and save the result as a "reference" file that takes up very little room on your hard drive. Or, you could post fles to a server and create a "reference" file that is small enough to be sent as an email attachment that plays the uploaded data on someone else's computer as long as they are connected to the Internet. Unfortunately, for these reference files to work, all of the resources referenced within the file must continue to exist in their proper locations in order to be found and played by the reference. Since you did not indicate what "but they won't play" really means here or how you actually "moved" your iPhoto library files to the external drive, I can only make some "educated guesses" at this point. (BTW: for future reference, iPhoto has a built-in function that allows you to copy your library to one or more back-up locations and then connect to them by default when iPhoto opens or switch source libraries at will within the opened application.)
If you created reference files and saved them to an external drive, you should be getting an error message telling you the app needs to know where the source files are located so the reference file can re-connect to the resource data. If the original files were also saved, then simple navigate to the source files in oder to tell the app where they are now located. If the source files were deleted as part of the reformatting process, then you are up the proverbial creek whithout a paddle with little or no hope of doing anything about this issue. (I.e., reformatting and then re-installing a system drive usually means you would have little hope of recovering the specific "lost" data you want as there is always a good chance that some of the data segments were overwritten during the process.)

Deleted videos from iphoto but they are still showing up in the finder?

I deleted all of my videos from iPhoto and moved them to an external hard drive because I wanted to free up some space on my MacBook Air. The files are no longer visible in the iPhoto application, but for some reason, when I look at the storage space on my computer, it is still showing that I have 8GB of movies on my computer. If I search in the Finder, it is showing that a lot of these videos that I deleted from iPhoto are still in a "Masters" folder in iPhoto. I am confused, though, because if I open iPhoto, the videos are not in there. I want these video files to be deleted for good - can I just go in to the "Masters" folder in the Finder and delete them there? I've read not to delete anything from iPhoto in the Finder, though. So, getting very frustrated because I'm not sure why these files aren't fully deleted off my computer. Any suggestions?

Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

When I first turned on iMovie all videos from iPhoto automatically were found. Now I have more videos on iphoto, how do I get iMovie to find the new ones?

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Hi I've done a lot of searches on how to do this but no answers found.
Imovie is beginning to become really slow because of the large number of video's. It takes 3 minutes to startup. Editing is sometimes slow lot's of spinning beach balls e.t.c.
I would like to only import the video I want to edit and hopefully get a quicker Imovie in the process.
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My mac has 4 gb ram and I use the internal disk.
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regards

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Hi. My camera is a Canon 600D. And yes my videos are stored in the Aperture library and they are not referenced. Even then I tried to select all the videos in Aperture and clicked 'consolidate masters' and there was a messge that said all 'none of the files are referenced',... so they didn't need consolidating.
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I have asked a moderator to provide assistance, they will post an invite on this thread.
Once you get a reply, if you click on their name, you will see a screen like this. Click on the link as shown below.
Please do not send them a personal message, as they may not be on duty for a long time, and your message will not be tracked properly.
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

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Cannot export video from iphoto to other location

Hello ,
i could not move video from iphoto to external hard disk or desktop. I'm using Mac Pro with RD. The steps I did as below:
1. Select the video
2. File, export , select origin, ok
3. error message appear stated that video could not be prepared .
Any way to do it ?

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/ Volumes/Sagate/Iphoto_Library_2014.photolibrary/Previews/2014....... "
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Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
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Regards
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How to import videos from iphoto

it did it the first time i loaded imovie 08, but i cant find an option to do it again.
and thre is no info in any apply help file or the support pages, only how to import photos from iphoto.
stupid! or is it me being stupid

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For the life of me, I can't figure out a way to export videos which I imported into iPhoto from my camera. I can export it to my desktop but can't export them in a format that I can then import into Vimeo or other video sharing site.
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Any help would be appreciated.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
To export a video from iPhoto:
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can't export them in a format that I can then import into Vimeo or other video sharing site.
Why? What formats do they require? Do the videos require shifting to a new format?
What the heck does a guy gotta do to share his simple .avi videos with others on the Internet?
Who can tell, when you don’t explain where the procedure breaks down for you.
I tried exporting it from Quicktime too, but sadly, exporting my own video from Quicktime requires that I have a Pro account. Sad but true.
Why is that sad? When you export from Quicktime you are shifting formats or otherwise editing the video.
Regards
TD

Recover videos from iphoto

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