Imovie ignores some avi files, why?

[jufjo]

Hello all,

I was just trying out Imovie for the first time but it is giving me some trouble.
For some reason it won't import the avi files I want it to but it has no problems with some of the other avi files on my computer.
It doesn't tell me what the problem is, Imovie just doesn't see my files.
Any idea what's wrong?

 

[Tomorrow]

I was just trying out Imovie for the first time but it is giving me some trouble.
For some reason it won't import the avi files I want it to but it has no problems with some of the other avi files on my computer.
It doesn't tell me what the problem is, Imovie just doesn't see my files.
Any idea what's wrong?

It's probably the codec used to encode the AVI. Can you check which codec is used for each of those AVI files and compare which ones work and which ones don't?

 

[jufjo]

It's probably the codec used to encode the AVI. Can you check which codec is used for each of those AVI files and compare which ones work and which ones don't?

Im a bit of a newbie... how can I find out what codec the file has?

 

[Carrot007]

Im a bit of a newbie... how can I find out what codec the file has?

Meybe this...

http://sourceforge.net/projects/aviinfo/

Cannot be sure, I check codecs using my windows box!

 

[Tomorrow]

Meybe this...

http://sourceforge.net/projects/aviinfo/

Cannot be sure, I check codecs using my windows box!

+1 - I've had a much easier time doing this under Windows.

Haven't used this tool, but it looks like a good download.

 

[jufjo]

How does it work?
It just unstalled a bunch of folders on my computer.

 

[hazmatzak]

how can I find out what codec the file has?

Open the file with QuickTime Player. First, it might complain about not having the right component, and suggesting that you visit a website to download stuff. That basically tells you that it's missing the codec. Cancel that dialog.

To find the codec for an AVI, open the Inspector with Command-I. The second item is "Format". There should be (usually) four (usually) capital letters, the size of the video in pixels, and probably the word "Millions" (the number of colors). (There's also something about the sound format, with stuff like "Stereo" and "kHz".) Those four letters are the FourCC -- Four-Character Code -- that identifies the codec.

The site fourcc.org has a list of them, but if you simply mention it, there's a good chance someone here will know what it is.

 

[jufjo]

Cheers!
The video that Imovie wont accept has this code;

divx 5.0, 480 x 352, millions
MPEG layer 3, stereo, 44,199 khz

The file is called video.avi

 

[Tomorrow]

Cheers!
The video that Imovie wont accept has this code;

divx 5.0, 480 x 352, millions
MPEG layer 3, stereo, 44,199 khz

The file is called video.avi

The video codec is divx, the audio codec is MP3. Just make sure you download and install both codecs, and hopefully you'll be fine.

 

[jufjo]

The video codec is divx, the audio codec is MP3. Just make sure you download and install both codecs, and hopefully you'll be fine.

I think I already have those, this is a brandnnew mac that has also been updated with lots of new, expensive software.
How do I check?

 

[Tomorrow]

I know how to install them, not sure how to check to see if they're already installed. I know you can go to www.divx.com to get that codec, and go to lame.sourceforge.net for that one.