iLife '09 (iMovie) and Canon FS100 SD Media Camcorder

[txnoob]

Hello, I think this is my second post. I have an eMac (1.25Ghz, 1GB Ram, Radeon 9200 w/32MB Vram) currently and trying to edit video on the aging G4 is tedious at best. So I'm contemplating a Mac Mini as I'm truly an amateur and would just like to edit the occasional family video and enjoy a much speedier experience on a platform I already enjoy using.

My first question relates to the Camcorder. The files that are created each time I push the record button to start recording and push it again to stop, are .MOD files accompanied by a .moi. I have not been able to import these files into iMovie 6 without first converting them using a converter called ffMpegX. The conversion takes quite a while even for smaller files 30MB or so. Then, it takes another eternity to import them into iMovie and I notice significant degradation in the quality of the video when converted to .MOV files. I also notice they increase significantly in size. Here in lies the question, will the new iMovie be able to import these files in their native format without having to convert?

Second question is if the conversion is still necessary, will the conversion be faster in the Mac Mini and will the import into iMovie be any speedier. I have been importing them from a USB 2.0 Seagate FreeAgentGo external HDD.

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[awmazz]

This link shows the FS100 is compatible with iMovie 09:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290#4

Also, the Mac Mini will be a must as Canon uses the AVCHD format for which iMovie 09 requires an intel core duo minimum. I believe iMovie 09 will not even install on a G4.

Edit: Just checked the specs and the FS100 is standard definition, not high definition (AVCHD) so it all should be fine except that iMovie won't install on anything less than a G5. I think there's a thread here about a hack available to install iMovie 09 on a G4.