I would want to import a DVD to imovie to make a film .Is it possible ?
MacBook
Banktank,
You are right. I have had a mac for about 4 years. I have come to the same conclusion, which is - you need to keep adding apps to do simple things. Adding to the frustration is the fact that some of the apps need other apps to work. So, I find myself buying apps only to find out that I need to buy another app, which at the end may or may not work. It is shocking.
You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/
(unless you are running Lion in which case see below))
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.
If you are running Lion:
From the MPEG Streamclip homepage
The installer of the MPEG-2 Playback Component may refuse to install the component in Lion. Apple states the component is unnecessary in Lion, however MPEG Streamclip still needs it.
To install the component in Lion, please download MPEG Streamclip 1.9.3b7 beta above; inside the disk image you will find the Utility MPEG2 Component Lion: use it to install the MPEG-2 Playback Component in Lion. The original installer's disk image (QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg) is required.
The current versions of MPEG Streamclip cannot take advantage of the built-in MPEG-2 functionality of Lion. For MPEG-2 files you still need to install the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, which is not preinstalled in Lion. You don't have to install QuickTime 7.
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.
So, how does this work?
Expensively and over-complicatedly by the looks of it! 😀
Given the replies to this--the same question I had--it seems Apple has, again, made something complicated that should be simple.
Unless someone has a simpler solution that doesn't cost me more money, I stand by my observation:
I can't wait to got back to Windows!!
It can't be too complicated, even for a Windows user, to understand that a DVD is a highly compressed format (not intended for further editing), and has to be decompressed (a kind of 'reverse engineering') to be used in iMovie, which is for editing uncompressed formats.
The normal workflow is to start with a video file from a camera, edit in iMovie, and turn it into a DVD using iDVD.
Klaus--
Thanks for making my point. If it's so obvious a DVD is compresseed (and additional thanks for that blinding glimpse of the obvious), then why doesn't Apple create the app in iMovie to uncompress so editors can just import from a DVD, edit, and reburn?
The question stands: do I have to buy Lion to get this function or is there a way without spending more money?
Oh, sent from my Droid.
One more time: iMovie is for editing uncompressed video streams from a camera.
iDVD is for creating mpeg2 DVDs of iMovie projects.
Apple do not make software to rip DVDs.
So, to cut to the chase, you can't import and edit DVDs in iMovie. Or iDVD for that matter.
Another in the long list of things you can't do with Apple without buy more software.
I so regret buying this iMac.
A Mac is not for everybody.
If the large reduction in quality from DVD to iMovie is acceptable to you, perhaps you would be much happier with a cheaper Windows PC.
When in MPEG Streamcliip, there are various options to "export" and/or "convert" the DVD to.
Which option should I use if I want to convert a DVD to be edited in iMovie?
Thank you
DV if it is 4:3 aspect
DV Widescreen if it is in 16:9 aspect
Expensively and over-complicatedly by the looks of it!
Actually I have a friend with one. Is the easiest thing to use. One simply pops in the DVD, about 5 min. later it's on the system.
A simple menu system allows you to select your movie and it starts instantly. No commercials, no trailers, just the movie.
So, to cut to the chase, you can't import and edit DVDs in iMovie.
Sure you can.
Here is how I do it, with no quality loss that I can see. (And I'm picky.)
Use Cinematize 2, I use it with iMovie 06 (and a few times with iMovie 11) and iDVD 11. It has several modes of converting the data. One mode is called "lossless".
http://www.amazon.com/Miraizon-10121201-Cinematize-2-Mac/dp/B0006AAO96/ref=cm_cr _pr_pb_t
Another in the long list of things you can't do with Apple without buy(ing) more software.
How do you do this with Windows?
Thanks for offering the link to the Cinematize software.
I already downloaded the DVDxDV software and it works, although as noted, it's kinda clunky, or at least was on my iMac. I found the stops and starts hard to do precisely on the first try. You had to be fast on the mouse to hit it right. Not my idea of how professional work is done.
I don't do this with Windows. I bought my Mac because I thought the Mac would be better at the creative work I wanted to do.
Truth is, it isn't. It's just another computer system but the marketing is better. Like Windows, you need to buy software for anything beyond the basic.
How to import a DVD to imovie?
