Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How can I open a .mov file with iMovie?

Hi,


I keep trying to open a .mov file in iMovie and it isn't doing it. Is that not a recognized file extension? Should I convert the video file somehow?


Thanks!

iMovie '11, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Jan 2, 2014 8:21 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jan 2, 2014 11:29 AM

.mov is just a container for a variety of video codecs, some of which are not recognized by iMovie. You will need to convert it first with a third party app such as Media Converter (which is free, see: http://media-converter.sourceforge.net).


Another free app VideoSpec (see: http://videospec.free.fr) is useful for identifying all the details of a video clip


Geoff.

5 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jan 2, 2014 11:29 AM in response to genadinik

.mov is just a container for a variety of video codecs, some of which are not recognized by iMovie. You will need to convert it first with a third party app such as Media Converter (which is free, see: http://media-converter.sourceforge.net).


Another free app VideoSpec (see: http://videospec.free.fr) is useful for identifying all the details of a video clip


Geoff.

Nov 25, 2015 10:16 PM in response to nepali_ninja

According to Apple support website, iMovie does support importing and editing MOV movie files. But it only supports some .mov file which is encoded with DV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, or AIC. However, MOV is a container, not a codec. It can contain any of the above codecs, but it may also contain other codecs that are not editable in iMovie, such as MPEG-1. If the MOV video is encoded with iMovie unsupported codec, we will fail to import this kind of MOV into iMovie for editing. In order to solve "iMovie can't import MOV" issue and to successfully import various MOV files to iMovie, we had better convert MOV to iMovie more compatible file type like Apple InterMediate Codec. There are many apps can do the job.

How can I open a .mov file with iMovie?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.