John Carmean

Q: I imported a movie into iMovie.  It will not let me make any changes to it except delete clips.

I imported an imovie DVD which I had made into Imovie.  I needed to make some changes to it such as adding photos and changing dates.  The program would onlt let me delete clips.  When adding photos or transitions it just froze as the tracker bar kept moving over it.  Grrr!

Powerbook G5 2.5GHz, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Jan 18, 2013 9:39 AM

Close

Q: I imported a movie into iMovie.  It will not let me make any changes to it except delete clips.

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Jan 18, 2013 10:46 AM in response to John Carmean
    Level 8 (48,888 points)
    Jan 18, 2013 10:46 AM in response to John Carmean

    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://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A/quicktime-mpeg-2-playback-component-f or-mac-os-x

     

    (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.

     

    And from the TOU of these forums:

     

    Keep within the Law

    1. No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
    2. Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.

     

    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. See this:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3381

     

    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.

  • by AppleMan1958,

    AppleMan1958 AppleMan1958 Jan 18, 2013 6:46 PM in response to John Carmean
    Level 7 (27,439 points)
    Jan 18, 2013 6:46 PM in response to John Carmean

    Which version of iMovie? It must be pretty old if you are still running OSX 10.3 on a Powerbook.

     

    If the data in your footer is stale, let us know what you are running now.