Importing .mkv or .m4v to Imovie

Question

Level 1

1 points

Importing .mkv or .m4v to Imovie

I have some old 8mm tapes I wanted to import. I have a DVD burner, so I burnt the tapes to DVD. Imovie wouldn't import that. So, I downloaded Handbrake and converted the DVDs to .m4v and .mkv. Imovie wouldn't import either of those either.

What formats does imovie import and are there any free converters to convert my unencrypted DVDs, .m4v or .mkv files to it?

IMAC8, 1, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Dec 30, 2009 11:18 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Cokead

Level 1

4 points

Feb 3, 2010 11:17 AM in response to SASAJS99

Believe it or not, all you have to do is change the file tag from "m4v" to "mov" and it will see it and import it.

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Answer 2

xiaowei

Level 1

15 points

Mar 21, 2010 10:45 PM in response to SASAJS99

I think you'd better convert your DVD to other video formats such as MOV which can be supported by iMovie without problem.

You can use other DVD Ripper programs rather than Handbrake to rip the unencrypted DVDs or decrypted DVDs.

However, I am very interesting about burning your old 8mm tapes to DVD. Are you glad to provide me the detailed steps about it?

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Answer 3

Mar 22, 2010 5:52 AM in response to SASAJS99

Check your Handbrake settings. iMovie will not import movies with extra tracks such as a chapter track. Remove this and these files will be editable with no further changes. For best results, choose the AppleTV Preset in Handbrake.

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Answer 4

Mar 24, 2010 1:15 AM in response to SASAJS99

well, two things u can do.
1. check the codec of m4v file to see if there is unsupported codec.
if there is no problem, then
2. u need to convert dvd to mov format the imovie favors with other tools, cause handbrake cant offer such output format.
Good luck!

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Answer 5

Apr 11, 2010 2:50 PM in response to xiaowei

The easiest way to get movies from 8mm or VHS is not on computer, but by buying an inexpensive DVD recorder/player for your home entertainment system. Plug the ouptut jacks of the tape player or camcorder into the input jacks on the DVD recorder, push play on the tape player and record on the DVD recorder and there you go.

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Answer 6

kootom

Level 1

9 points

Apr 17, 2010 6:22 PM in response to Cokead

I didn't believe it but I tried it. Lo and Behold, the lights went on, the earth shook and iMovie imported the file just by my changing the extension from M4V to MOV! Thanks.

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