Using Sony MPG files in IMovie

I have some video files made on a Sony camcorder using a hard drive and they are in a .mpg format, and IMovie can't import them.
I have used ISquint to convert them but they don't look that good, lost some quality it seems, is there another FREE converter I can use to do this to get them into IMovie?

Hi rajune - welcome to the forum!
You will need both the free MPEG Streamclip and the $20 Apple MPEG2 Playback Component.
Have a look at these links:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3711424#3711424
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/%7Eshmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convertMPEG

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How to import mpg files into imove

trying to import Sony MPG files into imove anyone got some good software to use?

MPEG Streamclip.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/11428534

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Importing mpg files to iMovie

Got a camcorder but can't download or import the video to iMovie! Is this because it is a mpg file? How do I download from the DVD camcorder (? Easy solution must be available without having to buy expensive "extra" equipment or software. If there is some way you can insert 80mm discs into a Mac - let me know as this would be an easy solution but the file format form the DVD camcorder is set when connected via USB.

At a loss at this stage - any suggestions? It may be something really simple that is not explained well in the manual or there may be a simple work-around?
Only the "Import from Camera" option applies an automatic conversion to HDV, AVCHD, or MPEG-2 to camcorder media. So if the files are stored on your hard drive, you should be able to convert them manually to an iMovie '08 compatible compression format. Applications like MPEG Streamclip (free but requires the $20 QT MPEG-2 Playback component), iSquint (free), FFmpegX (donation-ware), Visual Hub (pay-ware), etc. should work. I personally prefer MPEG Streamclip since it provide the most export options and built-in features, but this is a matter for each user to decide for himself or herself and frequently depends more on the user's choice of work flow than anything else. As a test, I would recommend you run a test file or two through iSquint. The download is free and, which you are limited to MPEG-4 or H.264 output, the "drag 'n drop" batch processor is probably the easiest to use if you have a large number of files requiring conversion. Playing with the video data rate should allow you to prevent the loss of too much quality which you run your tests to decide if you need more/better output options as offered by other applications.

Import a .MPG file into iMovie

I have a lot of .MPG files on a disk that I want to import into iMovie.
These files were recorded on a Sony Handycam.
I cannot import these files into iPhoto or iMovie. I have downloaded VLC so are able to watch these files individually but would like to edit and join these clips to make one movie.
1. How can I convert these files so they are compatible with iMovie / iPhoto.
I have been reading all the Help / Forum discussion and I am now very confused.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Still a bit of a hack at this, so plain english would helpful.
Thank you.
Tez
Message was edited by: Aussietez

have you tried running them thru "Hand Brake" to convert them into mp4 files? Hand Brake is a free down load.
i am a bit of a hack as well so this may or may not work. I am currently trying to find the right software to grab some footage from a commercial DVD for some personal work and cannot get it to work so i feel your pain.

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Message was edited by: iMovieMan

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Hey Henmans,
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Apple ProRes Authorized Products - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/HT200321
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In some instances, unauthorized codec implementations have been used in third-party software and hardware products. Using any unauthorized implementation (such as the FFmpeg and derivative implementations) may lead to decoding errors, performance degradation, incompatibility, and instability. If you're using or considering the purchase of a product that encodes or decodes ProRes but is not on the list below, please contact us at [email protected]
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http://support.apple.com/ht5151
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Sony mpg files

The trial version of Photoshop CC6 does not read mpg files from a Sony Handicam. The Premiere Pro does however. Does the paid up version of Photoshop read these files?

The trial version is not different in terms of features from the paid versions. If your files don't open now, they won't in teh paid version, either. Anyway, your info is far too vague. "Sony Handicam" is not a camera model and neither is "MPG" a specific CoDec. This could be anything from plain H.264 to AVCHD to legacy MPEG-2 formats such as HDV or a custom derivative that Sony cooked up by themselves.
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Using a .rcproject file from iMovie 9.0.9 in iMovie 9.0.4?

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Yes.
First, get an app called MPEG Streamclip, which is free. (google MPEG Streamclip from Squared 5)
Open MPEG Streamclip.
In iMovie, select the clip you need. Then, right-click/Reveal in Finder.
Drag this clip into MPEG Streamclip
In MPEG Streamclip, move the playhead to the frame you want.
In MPEG Streamclip, click FILE/EXPORT FRAME.
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Here is a video I made that steps through this...
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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I'm trying to basically create a movie of my kid's Winter Guard home show, and when I dragged the MPG of her performance into iMovie, I get the video but no audio. I have all three boxes checked on the bottom right corner, what can I do? Thanks for your help.

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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42996
How can I edit MPEG or convert DVD or MPEG to DV
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/%7Eshmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convertMPEG
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http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6010.shtml
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http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
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As that camera offers several possible formats, all will depend on which one was chosen. If HDV (one possibility), then PrE should be able to edit that. For the rest, PrPro will handle the footage fine.
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If you shot in any format, but HDV, I would definitely look to another NLE, like the Vegas Pro, or PrPro, that Steve mentioned.
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Thanks!

OK, again, I'm not using the avi file, but the mpg that was created by Burn from the avi file, so I wonder if the original is so "muxed up" as it might seem. No mpg inside of an avi, if I understand you both correctly. The original AVI is thus far MIA though I do think I burned it to a data disc.
Having the original AVI would let see what compression codecs were used to create it, how compressed the video was, see the encoded dimensions/display dimensions if PAR encoded, and give us some idea as to how much visual quality may have been lost in transcoding the AVI to MPG, as well as, save you one level re-compression if you were then able to start your work flow with the original source file. Too bad you can't find it.
"Muxed" in the case of your MPEG2/MP3 MPG file refers to the fact that the audio and video content is broken into blocks of video data which are interspersed with blocks of audio data in a single data stream to provide synchronizarion. QT files, on the other hand, contain up to 99 tracks of audio, video, and/or other forms of data the playback of which are all sybchronized to an external clocking system and is the main reason your MPG file is not natively QT compatible,
To play MPEG-2 content, whether in an elementary or a multiplexed stream, in a QT based application, you must first purchase and install the Apple QT MPEG-2 Playback component ($20). Even then, for any of the unsupported audio compression formats you would need a secondary application like MPEG Streamclip (free) to bridge the spatial to temporal synchronization problem to make it compatible Apple QT-based applications like QT, iMovie, GarageBand, iDVD, etc. So, if you plan to use the MPG file as your source file, you will either have to purchase the MPEG-2 component or use a third-party application work flow.
All that said, I think I'm understanding how to go about this now. Oddly, I do have Perian installed (I think because I once had a similar problem and had hoped it would help) and it's up to date. It does not seem to fix my problems though.
This is why you need to pay attention to the actual codecs used in the AVI file and ensure that you have removed any third-party components which may conflict with the Perian component package as detailed on the support page of the Perian web site.
I'm using this file to try to learn a little about iDVD and iMovie (after all these years of using Macs!), so I had hoped to take these first steps without buying a commercial product. I don't mind spinning my wheels trying different workflows so long as I'm learning and have options. Garageband is an interesting idea as I had no idea it would handle video files. Perhaps Audacity would also do the trick? I don't have any need of creating markers at any particular points in the file, just something to ease the process of moving from one place to another in the video. Markers at an even time interval would be fine, and I'd love to create a menu that allows navigation, though even that isn't crucial.
To learn more about iDVD, use help file, view the tutorials, and visit the iDVD forum. However, before you can do anything in iDVD, you will have to convert your MPEG2/MP3 MPG file to a QT compatible compression format. On my system, I would simply open the MPG file in MPEG Streamclip (which already has the Apple QT MPEG-2 Playback component installed) and convert the MPEG-2 video to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) and the MP3 audio to Uncompressed audio. The resulting MOV file will then import to any Apple QT-based edit/conversion application on your computer (assuming the source file and your software is in proper working order).
I may end up trying Toast as I've considered it in the past and my needs aren't very sophisticated. But being largely without work and mostly self-employed these last two years has made me a bit of a miser...
Toast should save you the cost of the MPEG-2 Playabck component but does cost much more than the $20 component. I am still using Titanium Toast 10 Pro but it may be aout time to upgrade to 11. It is a really good general purpose conversion/authoring appliction for all forms of target optical media.

Importing .mov and/or mpeg files in imovie '09

Hi I am having a problem importing some existing .mpg files into iMovie '09.
I have quicktime professional and the mpeg2 pack so converted them to .mov and they still wouldn't import.
Help!

andyguilder wrote:
.. and they still wouldn't import.
• get free tool Mpeg Streamclip
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• 'Import File' into iM, add to project

Using Sony MPG files in IMovie

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