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imovie '11 importing video

A

axeldtf

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 3, 2007
362
3
I am trying to get better at using imovie 11. I am toying around with small clips about 2 minutes long. The first clip that i imported only took a few minutes.

The second clip that i'm importing is about the same length, however it's taking almost over an hour to import.


I see that the data size is bigger and the frame rate is more.. but I'm wondering why it's taking that long to import. I am hoping to eventually work with movies from my hd camera that are way longer. Am i going to have long import time with them as well?
 
Look at the FORMAT, the second one uses JV/AVC, which is MPEG-4 as H.264, but it seems to be taking more CPU time to decode, as iMovie needs a proper video format and codec, thus iMovie transcodes the video to .mov (format) using the Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC).
 
Is there something I can do to the file to expedite this process? Or will that compromise the video quality?
 
axeldtf said:
Is there something I can do to the file to expedite this process? Or will that compromise the video quality?
Click to expand...

You could try MPEG Streamclip and export as QuickTime (.mov - CMD+E) and use the Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) for video ("Compressor") and Uncompressed for audio ("Sound"). Then import into iMovie and choose the MOVE FILES option.

file.php
 
Thanks for the advice! I wil try that.. Would handbrake be able to do the same thing for me?
 
Ok, thanks again.. I just don't the have the mpeg-2 playback plug-in. I guess i'll have to buy it. Is imovie supporting 60fps? It doesnt seem like it.
 
axeldtf said:
Ok, thanks again.. I just don't the have the mpeg-2 playback plug-in. I guess i'll have to buy it. Is imovie supporting 60fps? It doesnt seem like it.
Click to expand...

Why do you need the MPEG-2 plug in? Is MPEG Streamclip asking for it when opening the JVT/AVC encoded video?
 
axeldtf said:
yea, it's saying i don't have it installed
Click to expand...

Then you might have to go via Handbrake and then MPEG Streamclip with those JVT/AVC clips, unless you want to pay 20 USD for the component.
Btw, is the CPU fully used when iMovie imports the JVT/AVC clip? If so, there is no need for external applications, as they would almost take as long.
As it seems, the JVT/AVC clip is using MPEG-2 as codec, which takes longer for iMovie.
If you want faster imports, you might need to look for another camera which uses MPEG-4 as compression.
 
Yea, anytime i use handbrake to convert, eyetv to export or imovie to import the cpu is mostly maxed out.
 
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