Importing MOD files... why can't iMovie do it?

I am in exactly the same predicament! I can import MOD files to iMovie 09 without any problem from my Panasonic SDR-H250 ... but I cannot import the (two years worth) of MOD files I have saved on my external hard drive.

I thought about trying to move the files from the hard drive back to my Panasonic (and then importing them), but its USB is read only, so that's not an option. Have also tried converting with MPEG Streamclip (including the AU$29 codec download from Apple) but the quality is just awful - completely useless.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to overcome this? I am a new Mac user (less than 48 hours so far) and I am trying hard not to let this hugely disappointing problem make me regret the decision to switch!

Some digital Camcorder models (I.E JVC Everio) save their videos in the .MOD video format. These files are often accompanied with small .MOI files which contain the videos' time-stamp information.

Video is recorded in the MOD format can be changed manually to M2V for Mac recognizable. The .MOD format is simply a MPEG2 formatted video file, and if you simply wish to view the files on your computer, it is reportedly safe to rename the extension from .mod to .mpg or .avi

To convert MOD file to MOV, just download and run this MOD to MOV Converter for Mac for free! It converts MOD to MOV (iMovie, Adobe Premiere Pro and other video editing software, etc) on Mac OS X.

How to convert MOD to MOV on MAC OS.

As you've discovered, iMovie can import your MPEG-2 format only from the connected camera.
Easiest workaround is to "mimic" the camera and its file folder structure and move the files to a "Disk Image" (Disk Utility can create them).
Mount your camera and quit iMovie if it opens. Use the Finder to look at the folder names found on your Desktop for the camera. Note the folder names and directory structure.
Make a blank Disk Image and create the same folder name and directory structure that leads to your .MOD and .MOI files. Copy (drag) your other .MOD files to the appropriate folder location. Name the Disk Image and save it to the same location as your source .MOD files.
Open iMovie and then open this new .dmg file. iMovie should now recognize it as if it were the camera.
Once you've moved all of the .MOD files and tested the Disk Images you can safely delete the original .MOD files to free up space.

Useful info about how to import JVC Everio MOD files to iMovie

You’d better have an external hard drive, if not you can do this on the internal drive of your Mac.

1) Create a new folder called "Mp_Root" in your external hard drive or the internal drive.
2) Create another folder named 101PNV01 inside the former one.
3) Rename the extensions of all your .mod files to .mpg, and put the new .mpg files to the 101PNV01 folder.
4) Restart iMovie, iMovie will believe you have your camcorder connected, so it will automatically notice these files and import them.

The above method is available when you just have a few .mod files, but if you have too many video clips like me, it is really troublesome to rename numerous files one by one. Then use third party software like ffmpegX, MPEG Streamclip, and Pavtube Video converter for Mac to convert .mod files to iMovie directly workable formats is much easier.

I had the the same issue. I found that changing the .mod file extension to .mpg, I lost the audio associated with the clip. Here is my method which worked for me:

Using Visual Hub I converted all my .mod files to a DV file - this worked and audio was in tact.

(Visual Hub Settings: DV>NTSC>Ready for FCP (since I was using FCP for my workflow)

I'm using a JVC Everio (GZ-MS120AU) with iMovie 08 and the Quicktime MPEG-2 Playback Component and importing .MOD files is very nearly as easy as importing DV streams. iMovie 08 detects the camera and imports the video (and audio) without issues as long as the camera is connected and the disk mounts BEFORE I open iMovie.

I was super hopeful about this method but this did not work for me. Any other tips?

Unfortunately with this method, audio doesn't come over... or, did I do something wrong?

Thank you so much - QuickTimeKirk, it is working!