angrycdn Author

Level 1

21 points

Can't import AVCHD to iMovie after High Sierra update

Anyone having problems importing movies from Canon Vixia after the high sierra update?

I had four clips just stall since last night.

Posted on Sep 28, 2017 9:00 AM

Top-ranking reply

blueplanetsurf

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Feb 1, 2018 10:19 PM

Thanks for the tip Luis, I uninstalled Perian and now can import the videos directly from the camcorder to iMovie just fine, after a lot of frustrating attempts and going through the file conversions. I should have tired this first, thank you!

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56 replies

Teddy_B

Community Specialist

Oct 1, 2017 9:01 AM in response to angrycdn

Thanks for replying, angrycdn, and that additional info, it really helps! Your next step is to try importing from this SD card using Image Capture and see if you get the same behavior. Then follow the additional steps for iMovie issues from these resources on your situation.

Use Image Capture to transfer images - Apple Support
Get help with iMovie

Have a great day and thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

Nov 2, 2017 8:57 AM in response to Teddy_B

I am having the exact same problem.

And this is from hooking my camera up to my computer - or from the SD card directly.

I spoke to Apple Support last night (11/1/17) - and the thought the update of High Sierra and iMovie update would fix the issue.

It did not.

The issue doesn't seem to be with iMovie - as much as now the OS doesn't seem to want to play the sound on AVCHD files.... which is a huge issue.

I use my Cannon VIXIA HF R20 and iMovie for my business.

This was not happening before I upgraded to High Sierra.

Please let someone know this needs to be fixed ASAP.

steelbar

Level 1

9 points

Dec 5, 2017 9:45 PM in response to angrycdn

According to the apple tech I talked to, Quicktime is what is used to convert the AVCHD for iMovie and it no longer supports that format. His response was to convert it in one of the free programs before putting it into iMovie

AAArg!

Bruce

Karupss

Level 1

4 points

Dec 5, 2017 11:06 PM in response to steelbar

I have now removed Perian and fixed the collateral issue at logi. Have imported the clips agIan and it’s works as before. With regards, suggestion you got from Apple, well, I don’t think it is worth spending time on it.

Dec 2, 2017 11:16 AM in response to Karupss

I've used Free AVCHD to MOV converter. It seems to work ok, but is buggy and crashes a lot. It's available on the App Store.

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,090 points

Jan 11, 2018 4:43 AM in response to swisslad

I agree with Luis, I can import AVCHD into both iMovie 9 and 10 from my Canon camera with no issues. I use my SD camera card to transfer files and not connected directly to camera.

Nicofp

Level 1

4 points

Dec 3, 2017 7:15 AM in response to Karupss

Hello, no, I had no such issue with the user list login window after removing Perian. It only fixed the iMovie AVCHD video import and playback issue, not more.

boum

Level 1

10 points

Jan 25, 2018 12:28 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hello Apple Team

I did as suggested by your specialist!

My iMac is 2 years old when newly bought and

Equipped by Apple.

There is no Perian ....

The problem must be elsewhere linked with iMovie

since the iMovie does not work when imported from memory card

used by Caméscope Sony cx570!

However it works when using same memory card

with a canon photo camera when filming!

The memory card (clips made on Sony) works

at the iMac at the apple shop, however, they cannot find

an explanation!

For this reason I contacted the Apple Team!

So, may be you can have a closer look into this case, which

Problem just occurred now (clips no sound and do not download fully into

iMovie)

Regards

Xxx

Le 25 janv. 2018 à 12:44, hpbau <hpbau@bluewin.ch> a écrit :

Alright I will act as mentioned in yr Mail.

Get rid of those Apps.

But note that the problem started on 6th Jan 2018 only!

As all worked well I was not concerned with other

Apple iMovie users!

So Apple seems having started to make me

Loose my time and dissatisfaction ....

This for your unpleasant remark...

Hp baumgartner

mon iPhone

Le 25 janv. 2018 à 11:06, Apple Support Communities Updates <discussions-updates@apple.com> a écrit :

Apple Support Communities

Luis Sequeira1 has posted in the macOS High Sierra community.

Can't import AVCHD to iMovie after High Sierra update

5. Now what is wrong with imovie/High Sierra and with the Apple Team ?

You should ask what is wrong with your system.

iMovie, FCP X, etc work fine with AVCHD, and the "no audio in AVCHD" problem has been clarified time and again - you almost certainly have Perian and/or the A52, probably from a long time ago.

Unistall those things, restart your mac and use AVCHD as you did before.

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boum

Level 1

10 points

Feb 2, 2018 1:16 PM in response to jsmy1

Did the same; in Finder and under Apple sign

Clips are now received incl sound in iMovie !

Hope it won‘t change ...

Thanks

mon iPhone

Le 30 janv. 2018 à 06:34, Apple Support Communities Updates <discussions-updates@apple.com> a écrit :

Apple Support Communities

jsmy1 has posted in the macOS High Sierra community.

Can't import AVCHD to iMovie after High Sierra update

This was the fix for me. I removed the Perian, but that didn't do it, this file was still located in the audio/plug-ins/components folder and once removed and rebooting, it worked. Spent 3 hours looking for this fix. THANK YOU!

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Dec 6, 2017 7:53 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

With some of the users it came down to Perian.

I do not have Perian installed, and while iMovie can import the clips, it gets the time stamps completely wrong. Quicktime can extract the clips, but it loses the sound. So far, only one of the free converters/extractors is working for me. This is totally unacceptable.

swisslad

Level 1

21 points

Jan 11, 2018 6:00 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hi Luis

Your reply prompted me to look further at my system(not least avoid a clean instal!) Although Perian has long gone I found two Perian plist items still left in users/library/preferences/... and not found in system searches.These were therefore adding the redundant A52codec etc

As you pointed out we would be waiting a long time for Apple to resolve this issue on a user installed 3rd party addition.

Many thanks for all your helpful posts on this subject.

angrycdn Author

Level 1

21 points

Sep 29, 2017 1:29 PM in response to CarlAVII

Thanks, Allen.

I only mentioned the Canon camera because I thought it would be important.

Actually, I inserted the SD card directly into the computer slot and normally it would import fine pre high sierra but since the upgrade it will not. It just hangs. I have to cancel the import and then iMovie crashes.

Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

angrycdn Author

Level 1

21 points

Sep 30, 2017 8:49 PM in response to Teddy_B

Thank you guys, I think I am really close now...

1. So I tried importing directly from the SD card using Image Capture but it did not see the SD card as a device. (X)

2. Then I use Image Capture with the Canon Vixia and was able to import MTS files (from the AVCHD package file) but when I opened them in iMovie there was no audio. (X)

3. With the Canon still hooked up I tried to import the files directly and it did not see the files, even when I unchecked the hide files after importing box. (X)

4. I used Free AVCHD to MOV app and I was able to import those mov files but when I went to create a single mov file from these, it gave me an error wouldn't continue. (X)

5. Finally I used the MTS files from step 2 and transcoded these to MP4 files and will try to import these to iMovie and see if I can make one file.

Crossing fingers...

angrycdn Author

Level 1

21 points

Oct 1, 2017 9:01 AM in response to angrycdn

Okay, so the combination or part 2 and 5 solved my problem!

Thank you guys.

I would not have though to use Image Capture, as I have never used that application before.

I hope Apple will fix iMovie, though.

I don't really want to use my iPad as a video camera.

Dec 1, 2017 9:31 PM in response to angrycdn

I am having a similar problem importing movies in AVCHD containers created by my Sony RX100 camera into iMovie. I never had a single problem importing these files into iMovie before. I simply drag-and-dropped the AVCHD container from the SD card into a folder using the finder, then imported the desired clips from AVCHD container in iMovie.

Now, when I attempt to import them into iMovie, the date and time stamp on the clips is the same as the time of import, rather than the time of creation. This messes up my workflow considerably. It happened with the latest iMovie 10.1.8. I was hopeful that upgrading to High Sierra might fix the problem, but no, it didn't.

Also, I'm able to browse into the containers through the Finder to reveal the contents, but I am unable to view the individual clips. I just get a spinning wheel, and I'm unable to extract them.

Thanks to others in this forum, I found Free AVCHD to MOV works to extract the individual clips, but it is buggy and crashes often.

Seriously, Apple, get on this.

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Can't import AVCHD to iMovie after High Sierra update