JVC Everio .mod to .mov problem, help please!

[Chris at JVC]

Best with iMovie '08/'09

I dont know much about 5.0.2 but have you try'd just opening it up from iMovie. Surely has an "import from camera" option under the file tab.

To use the USB connection, including this method which seems to "emulate" connecting the camcorder, you need to be running iMovie '08/'09. If you have an older version of iMovie, then you would need to use file conversion software.

Chris

 

[bmcgonag]

To use the USB connection, including this method which seems to "emulate" connecting the camcorder, you need to be running iMovie '08/'09. If you have an older version of iMovie, then you would need to use file conversion software.

Chris

Man you are on top of your game. Thanks for all the help. I'm sure tons of people find this useful, and I know I do...best,

Brian

 

[bmcgonag]

hi,chesneychik

If the files dont use MPEG codec,rename is unuseful.



I suggest u PavTube HD Video Converter for Mac.. I downloaded a demo version and found it was definitly worth buying. One thing I liked about the demo version is that it converted the whole video, not just the first 2 minutes. It allowed me to get a good idea of the file size to quality ratio.

If it's a .mod then it is an mpeg codec.

 

[kennycal]

I have the exact same camera and it was driving me crazy. Try this little trick to import .MOD files. Hopefully you have and external hard drive if you don't you can try this on your internal drive.

1) Go to your HD and make a new folder call it "Mp_Root"
2) Inside that folder make another called 101PNV01.
3) Now take all of you movies with the .MOD file and change it to .MPG
example (MOV01.MOD) change it to (MOV01.MPG) It will ask are you sure you want to change the file....say yes.
4 )Now take that new .MOD movie and drag it to you 101PNV01 folder.
5 )Once you start up iMovie 09 it will automatically see that movie and import it. iMovie will think you have your camera connected.

Hope that helps

Do you know if this works for IDVD?

 

[aussiepaulie]

JVC GZ MS120 - MacBook 10.4.11 - iMovie 3

Hi

Just got a MS120 today and unable to upload video. (iMovie 3) Note Chris at JVC reply re old iMovie, so now wondering what conversion software do I need and where do I get it?

Cheers

 

[Chris at JVC]

Hi

Just got a MS120 today and unable to upload video. (iMovie 3) Note Chris at JVC reply re old iMovie, so now wondering what conversion software do I need and where do I get it?

Cheers

Hi,

I've seen good results with the Pixela Capty software as a file conversion program. You can Google this, and it is still available. It does a decent job with file conversions and can output in multiple formats.

You might want to compare the cost vs. just updating to iMovie '08 or '09. That might be a much better option.

Chris

 

[aussiepaulie]

Hi,

I've seen good results with the Pixela Capty software as a file conversion program. You can Google this, and it is still available. It does a decent job with file conversions and can output in multiple formats.

You might want to compare the cost vs. just updating to iMovie '08 or '09. That might be a much better option.

Chris

Thanks Chris, have gone down the update route but means upgrading from OSX 10.4 to 10.5 or 6 as well. Technology hey! Thanks again for your help.
Pauline

 

[Maple Leaf 28]

I have the exact same camera and it was driving me crazy. Try this little trick to import .MOD files. Hopefully you have and external hard drive if you don't you can try this on your internal drive.

1) Go to your HD and make a new folder call it "Mp_Root"
2) Inside that folder make another called 101PNV01.
3) Now take all of you movies with the .MOD file and change it to .MPG
example (MOV01.MOD) change it to (MOV01.MPG) It will ask are you sure you want to change the file....say yes.
4 )Now take that new .MOD movie and drag it to you 101PNV01 folder.
5 )Once you start up iMovie 09 it will automatically see that movie and import it. iMovie will think you have your camera connected.

Hope that helps

Ronnie, I'm having a problem with Step 3. I found these movies in windows explorer, but the file names do not include the .MOD at the end of them, and thus can't figure out how to change them to .MPG. The computer that I downloaded the movies to is running Vista home, if that helps.

Also, is it possible to transfer movies from my computer back on to the JVC and then go through the steps of downloading that Chris has described?

Thanks for any help I can get.

 

[Chris at JVC]

Ronnie, I'm having a problem with Step 3. I found these movies in windows explorer, but the file names do not include the .MOD at the end of them, and thus can't figure out how to change them to .MPG. The computer that I downloaded the movies to is running Vista home, if that helps.

Also, is it possible to transfer movies from my computer back on to the JVC and then go through the steps of downloading that Chris has described?

Thanks for any help I can get.

Hi,

On the Windows Vista computer, it may be hiding your file extensions. Try going into Windows Explorer and go to Tools>Folder Options>View. Then, make sure "Hide extensions for known file types" is not checked. Once the file extensions are not hidden, you can change them.

To answer your other question, there really is not a good method to get the video out of your computer and back onto the camcorder. Sorry. But, I have tried the same idea as xxRONNIExx, and found that it did work. In my case I put the new folder with the videos on a removable flash drive, and when I plugged it into the Mac, iMovie had no trouble finding and importing the video. Not sure if this works on every Mac, or if the flash drive helped in some way, but it's worth another try.

Chris

 

[Sactowriterhere]

Here is all you should have to do:
1. Connect the GZ-MG630 via USB to your Apple
2. On your GZ-MG630, you will see a USB Menu. Select the first option that says "Playback on PC". That will "Light up" the camcorder so the Mac can see it.
3. Launch iMovie '09
4. Choose to import from camcorder and you should see the GZ-MG630 along with the thumbnails for each scene.

It really is that easy. If that does not work, then either the camcorder or the computer needs to be looked at by a technician.

I hope that gets you started.

Chris

Chris, I wish it was that easy. I follow the steps, but when I try to import it iMovie only gives me the iSight option. Strangely, I know it is recognizing the camera because I had some stills on it and iPhoto found those just fine.

I am using the Everio GZ-MG130U and iMovie HD. I know a lot of people have trouble getting iMovie to find the video clips and instead it just reverts to the iSight camera because I've seen it on other threads. Help!

 

[Stonemull]

Chris, I wish it was that easy. I follow the steps, but when I try to import it iMovie only gives me the iSight option. Strangely, I know it is recognizing the camera because I had some stills on it and iPhoto found those just fine.

I am using the Everio GZ-MG130U and iMovie HD. I know a lot of people have trouble getting iMovie to find the video clips and instead it just reverts to the iSight camera because I've seen it on other threads. Help!

I had exactly the same issue with iMovie 11 and GZ-MG630 but it eventually recognised in the import screen, took maybe 20 seconds to appear.

 

[bmcgonag]

I've recently purchased an HD version of the JVC Everio, and s stated in the previous post, it does take about 20 or so seconds to come up once you open iMoivie and select import. Often the iSight is selected by default, keep waiting and see if a drop down menu with iSight selected will allow you to select the Everiio.

It may just have to be selected by the user. I think mine switches to the Everio automatically on the HD camera, but I have to select it from the drop down on my SD.

 

[lgtw]

I have the same camera. I've had the same problems, and have fixed the same problems. Though I'm getting a new camera that records .mpeg-4 soon, I thought I'd tell you this.

What you do is, you buy the MPEG-2 component for QuickTime from Apple for $20 and download MPEG Streamclip for free, what the component does, is it allows you to import the file to MPEG Streamclip to export into a file for every editing program to accept, like Final Cut, After Effects, or iMovie.

It's well worth the $20 if you're an avid filmmaker like me. I highly recommend it.

If you aren't up to spending $20 just on that, you could focus on getting a new camera that records in more common, native formats, such as .mp4, .mpeg4, .avi and so on.

*Trust me, the quality looks a lot better, too, than importing from iMovie's default importer.
Hope this helped!

 

[dringkor]

I've had good luck with my DVD camcorder, which records MPEG-2, using ffmpegx to convert to DV for importing into iMovie HD. ffmpegx (ffmpegx.com) is free, is fast, and can convert to and from almost anything.

But I just replaced my DVD camcorder with a Sanyo flash memory one that records MP4 (MPEG-4) and it's great for iMovie! Same thing with our Kodak PlaySport flip-type camcorder that records MOV (also MPEG-4). Not only can you simply drag and drop these files directly into iMovie, but check this out:

If you have the new Apple TV, you can immediately watch your HD footage on your big screen TV by dragging and dropping the MP4 or MOV files into iTunes and selecting the Apple TV as your viewing device. Be sure you uncheck the "copy files when importing" box in iTunes so you don't have to copy the files when you want to watch them this way. Watching HD video from your MPEG-4 camcorder on your TV wirelessly using Apple TV is some instant gratification!

 

[Chris at JVC]

Chris, I wish it was that easy. I follow the steps, but when I try to import it iMovie only gives me the iSight option. Strangely, I know it is recognizing the camera because I had some stills on it and iPhoto found those just fine.

I am using the Everio GZ-MG130U and iMovie HD. I know a lot of people have trouble getting iMovie to find the video clips and instead it just reverts to the iSight camera because I've seen it on other threads. Help!

Hi Sactowriterhere,

Actually, it is that easy. If you are using iMovie HD, that is the problem. iMovie HD was also known as iMovie 6, and it did not work well with most USB based camcorders. It was from the time when Apple focused on camcorders that connected via i.Link/Firewire.

All you need to do is switch to iMovie 8/9/11, and you will see that it does work, exactly as I describe.

If for some reason I am misunderstanding you, and you are using iMovie 8/9/11, then I apologize, and I would encourage you to bring your camcorder to a local Apple retailer, and test it on one of their computers. That is generally the easiest way to troubleshoot if their is an issue with the camcorder, the USB cable or your specific PC.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris

 

[tkheaven]

frustrations

Hello all.. I also have this issue. I've browsed through your feedback and tried xxRONNIExx's method by saving all the .mod vids from my Evario (HD) on a data DVD (via my Win7 laptop) and tried importing them that way (after renaming, etc). Even then, although the file icon changed to a quicktime file, they were all still greyed out. I tried every method available in iMovie'09 and none can successfully import them. I don't have funds to keep purchasing software. (fyi: I have MacBook 2GHZ Intel Core Duo on OSx 10.6.5)

Is the USB connect method a sure way that this will work? Also, has anyone tried to import with the introduction of iLife'11?

 

[bmcgonag]

If you connect via USB with iMoive 09 you should have no issue importing directly to iMovie. Now, you'll want to wait a bit to let the drive mount. You should see it in Finder, or Disk Utility at the very least.

Once it mounts you can set iMovie to import from camera.

Transcoding is really only needed for iMovie 6 (iMovie HD) as stated in the post above, and you can use MPEGStreamClip and the $20 (US) apple Mpeg2Quicktime codec to transcode the .mod to .dv or .mp4 for use in iMovie.

 

[tkheaven]

Thank you guys!! I finally got it working using Ronnie's method. What went wrong? Well first off, creating those "Mp_Root" & "101PNV01" folders in your HD doesn't work - everything is greyed out when you try to import. You need to create them and rename the .MOD file extentions from a flash drive or other external drive. Once that's done, simply plug into the USB port. Open iMovie and click on the camera option or File -> Import from Camera. It'll recognize is as well as plugging in the camera (for those who can't be lugging around the camcorder).

 

[drutz]

Ronnie, I tried your solution but it did not work. I have the imovie '08. Do you have advice on how to do same on the older version?