iPhoto unable to import MOV files

Read discussion strings with similar subject line but did not solve my solve problem so I'm posting for help.

Problem:

iPhoto recogonizes iPhone and my Nikon camera and generates thumbnails properly. I can import image files fine but whenever I try to import movie files, I get "unreadable file" error for unrecognized format. Problem happened after I upgraded to iphoto '11 and upgraded OS to 10.8.2 : ( I upgraded both on same day...

things I tried based on other discussion items

- created new iPhoto library. problem still persists

- quicktime opens movie files and plays without problem. file format is

Nikon: AVC Coding, 1,920 x 1,080 AAC, 2 channels, 48000 Hz

iPhone: H.264, 1,280 x 720 AAC, 44100 Hz, Mono

- Mac won't let me install quicktime 7.6, saying I need to use software update to download proper version : (

Plz help 😢