Importing+Video

//iMovie '09 is more finicky than ever about what it can import - However, it does a good job with the types it likes.//
It likes .DV (Digital Video Stream) or .MOV (QuickTime movie, WITH correct codec) formats, .DV being the most compatible. I mentioned that it is a great capture tool for certain HD footage, but if it's coming from other hard drive camera sources, things can be tricky. Here are some common situations and possible solutions:

**CANON VIXIA - part 1**

 * Vixia SD card suddenly not recognized by iMovie Capure:** "No Camera Connected" message. This has happened twice to me already. Reformatting the SD card after every capture is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and has fixed the problem; however, it doesn't help you capture the footage on the unrecognized card. Luckily, the card is still recognized by the computer and shows up as another hard drive in the Finder, and you can copy the footage from the > > > > STREAM" folder (or just copy the whole STREAM folder) to your computer, then use a converter to get it into a usable format. I have used Roxio Toast Titanium 9 & 10 to convert Vixia .MTS (Mpeg Transport Stream) files and MPEG-2 files into DV. Unfortunately there is a loss of quality in this conversion. If anyone has better conversion options please let me know. Details to follow...

SONY VEGAS MOVIE STUDIO - SD DV export
You can export your Vegas projects as QuickTime movies that are editable in iMovie '09. Here is a Jing movie about how I did it from standard DV source footage. [|Watch Jing Movie]

JVC EVERIO importing - those dang .MOD files NOTE: only tested with imports the FCP!
Idea #1. One of the best converters I've found is [|MPEG Streamclip] from Squared5 Software. It is FREE, works on Mac and Windows, and gets those pesky MOD files into many editable formats. Another good mac program is Toast. I am using Toast Titanium 10, and it has a very decent converter for JVC .mod files. I have had the good results using the MPEG4 and H.264 codecs, not great results using the DVNTSC, and best results so far with Apple Intermediate Codec, which also produces a larger file than the MPEG4 or H.264, but half of the DVNTSC.

BTW: you DO NOT need the .MOI files - they are not the video or the audio files.

Idea #2. This helpful process was copied from a [|CNET.com review] - one of the best places on the net. The program referenced, DropDV, costs $40.