I imported a movie clip which shows in timeline but plays with audio only not video

Hi,

When you say that the video "does not show" in the timeline, are you referring to a black clip?

Try deleting preferences and see if that solves it. 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.

If the above does not cure it, try creating a new project and importing your clip into it to see if you get a video display.

If still no luck, perhaps the format is not compatible with iMovie. What is the format of the clip?

Sometimes lowering the resolution of a clip will cure a black display. Try importing it to your desktop, then open it in QuickTimePlayer and export it at a lower resolution. Drag the exported clip into iMovie and see if it plays properly there.

-- Rich

What you are referencing shows the file name and the format a .mov. However, the .mov format is just a bucket that can contain any number of varying codecs, some of which may not be compatible with iMovie. For a more complete description of the format put the clip on your desktop and open it in QuickTimePlayer. While in QuickTimePlayer, do a Window/Show Movie Inspecter. In the box that pops up you will find the format of the clip.

-- Rich

Sometime HEVC format can be a problem, particularly if your iMovie version is an earlier iteration. Also, the audio codec should be AAC, not AAG. Was AAG a typo?

Try converting your troublesome clip 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 now it plays properly.

-- Rich

Great! 😊 Would you post back and tell us what procedure solved it?

-- Rich