I have a very old purple iMac, circa 2000, with an old version of iMovie. I copied the files onto a USB and tried to open/import them onto my new Intel Core 2 Duo, 3.06 GHz iMac. However my new iMac with iMovie '09 won't recognise the files when I try to import them. They stay greyed, not allowing me to import them. Any ideas please.
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Importing old iMovie files to iMovie '09
- Thread starter kama69
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The furthest back in project compatibility iMovie' 09 can go to is iMovie HD, also known as iMovie 6. Unless you or a friend have access to a computer with iMovie HD which can likely import your very old projects and then copy the 'updated' projects to the iMac you may be out of luck.
Just to clarify, you have an iMovie project that you made in 2003, and you want to know where the original imported source footage is?
If you still have the iMovie Project file then(this is for iMovie6HD around 2006 ish) then Right/Ctrl click on the file and choose Show Package Contents, if you get that option. If you do then the footage should be in there somewhere.
Hmm.. my words do not mean what I intended them to mean.
What I have:
- An unfinished iMovie project created in 2003, on some version of iMovie that was current back then
- A MacBook that's running iMovie '08
- An iMac that's running iMovie '11
The iMovie project folder consists of:
- A .mov file that doesn't open in QuickTime
- A plain text file with the following at the beginning:
Code:
iMovie Project File
External Version: 3.03
Version: 0.9What I want:
- To be able to open this iMovie project and continue editing it
- I'd settle for being able to start over with the raw footage, too.
Have you tried MPEGStreamclip?
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
Up until iMovie8, iMovie was designed to be used with miniDV tape camcorders. Footage was imported as DV format video files. That should be the format of your Clips. What format are they?
Hmmm, I'll have to try that program.
I have no way of telling what format the clips are. ML reports them as "unix executable file", and they have no extension. They were imported from a CVHS(?) camcorder.
No joy in getting MPEG Streamclip to open the .mov file or the clips, either. Both report "no audio or video tracks found".
Urgh. I'm afraid I might have to re-import, but that would mean (1) buying a TB-FW adapter, and (2) hoping the tapes are still readable. Oh and (3) hoping iMovie still knows how to import from a camcorder.
It's very, very late in the game, but I found a solution to recovering the individual clips. Simply add the file extension "dv" and they should be openable again. For example, rename "Clip 24" to "Clip 24.dv"