GoPro Videos Not Importing to iMovie

Try deleting preferences. Open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and select to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects.  Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project. Now see if you can do the import.

-- Rich

iMovie doesn't support 2.7K as an export option. So, possibly that's the problem. Aside from that, make sure that you have sufficient space on your drive to receive the import, and for iMovie to operate efficiently. Make sure that you are recording in a compatible format.

If still no luck, try importing to the Photos app instead of directly into iMovie. Then you can access the videos from within iMovie via the Photos item in the the media sidebar.

You can also try using the Image Capture app on your Mac to import the videos to your desktop and from there drag them into iMovie.

-- Rich

Importing into iMovie with Go Pro can be a little quirky for some systems.

Try importing to your Mac instead of into iMovie, via the Image Capture app in the Applications folder.

Or, you can try importing into the Photos app and from there accessing your videos via the Photos app item in the iMovie media sidebar. That's the recommended way of doing it.

-- Rich

It might not hurt to check if your Go Pro firmware is up to date to keep pace with your Catalina update. Here's a link to the Go Pro support site:

https://community.gopro.com/t5/en/Software-Update-Instructions-for-HERO-Cameras/ta-p/388281#

-- Rich

iMovie doesn't support 50 fps. Try changing the frame rate on a test video and see if it imports. In another test choose a resolution other than 2.7K.

Did Apple Support provide any solution?

-- Rich

You are welcome.

Yeah, 36 hours is a long time unless it was a massive download. Check your available free space because sometimes when space gets low it can slow things down. Check also whether you might have other processes running that might be slowing down your computer..

Good luck to your daughter re her volleyball recruiting.

-- Rich

You might want to consider contacting Apple Support. They have the capability of remotely accessing your computer. If you want to go that route click on the Contact Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum’s screen. The techs there are pretty savvy.

— Rich

Interesting. Thanks for posting back.

You might additionally want to import your videos into a finder folder as a backup. iMovie libraries can sometimes get corrupted so it would be safer to have a backup outside of the iMovie structure. Also, it can be a little awkward to retrieve and organize your videos for other purposes if the only place they exist is in an iMovie library. There are storage limitations for iMovie libraries as well, such as requiring an Apple formatted disk, and not being able to be stored in the Cloud.

-- Rich