echo when importing in iMovie

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Level 1

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echo when importing in iMovie

hello, I am preparing many videos for teaching, using OBS for recording my screen together with what sees my webcam. I have a wireless microphone that produces nice raw videos with good sound an non-distorted voice. Then as usually advised I drag the raw .mp4 movie files generated by OBS to Apple Photo, to have it appear in the media import browser of iMovie. When I play back the movie within Apple Photo, the sound is still nice without distortion. However, from the moment I drag the movie from the media browser of iMovie, to the time line of iMovie (10.1.14) for cutting, when I play back my video I hear a weird echo, as if the sound was played twice with a small time shift between both times; if I export my cut video I can still hear this echo.

Can anyone tell me what happens when the movie file goes from my Photo library into iMovie, and why it make this echo appear? how can I solve this problem?

thanks

Sylvestre.

Posted on Aug 30, 2020 1:22 PM

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Answer 1

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Sylvestre Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 30, 2020 11:43 PM in response to Rich839

Hi Rich,

you are either a magician, or an angel: I knew Handbrake, it is a great program, but I did not realise the echo would just be gone by re-encoding the OBS-generated file. After re-encoding, I imported the new file in Photo by drag&drop, then in iMovie using the media browser, and the echo was simply gone!!! While it is still there in the nearby OBS-encoded file.

I do not understand what is going on here - maybe something for the OBS programmers to know? or if it is more related to iMovie? I have no idea. It will require quite some work from me now - in principle I would need to re-encode all raw files, reimport, recut, and re-export all videos (!), but at least for the new videos I know how to do.

Many, many, many thanks - also for the quick response.

Sylvestre.

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Answer 2

Rich839

Level 8

47,730 points

Aug 30, 2020 1:49 PM in response to Sylvestre

Hi, Sylvestre,

I can't explain what is causing the echo.

I think what might cure it is to re-ecode the clips.

Try converting your troublesome clips to H.264, Mp4/AAC with the free

download, Handbrake. Do that even if the codec already is indicated to be

Mp4/AAC. Re-rendering often cures the issue.

You can get Handbrake here:

https://handbrake.fr/

A simple way to do it is to open Handbrake and do a File/Open Source.

Navigate to your video and choose it as the source from the resulting screen.

Then do File/Start Encoding. Wait a couple of minutes for the conversion to

complete. Then save and import the converted clip into iMovie. See if that solves

the echo.

-- Rich

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,730 points

Aug 31, 2020 8:30 AM in response to Sylvestre

Hi, Sylvestre,

You are very welcome. :) Glad that it worked for you.

-- Rich

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echo when importing in iMovie

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