imovie 10.1.7 wont import avchd files

Question

Level 1

21 points

imovie 10.1.7 wont import avchd files

After starting iMovie and Importing Media from SD card reader on iMac - 'Select All' - iMovie stalls.

The progress bar shows 'Importing from...reference number .mov' but stops on clip 1.

However the clips are displayed and can be run temporarily.

the clips then go black with ? mark and 'No Camera'. I notice the SD card is formatted as FAT32 is this valid or the cause of the problem?

Up to a month ago I had no such problems for over 5 years withe same Sony camera and running Sierra on my ageing mid 2007 iMac.

I can't find anywhere in the net with a similar problem but perhaps an expert here can advise please.

Failing that I will contact apple as I am within the 90 day telephone support on the new iMac .

iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13), iMac 21.5 4K Retina 512GB SSD

Posted on Oct 19, 2017 8:07 AM

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Answer 1

b.art

Level 1

14 points

Jan 1, 2018 8:49 AM in response to aogail

AVCHD media (including the .MTS files contained in there) use AC3/A52 encoded audio tracks.

Check if you have an older A52Codec.component installed in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components. Remove it as AC3/A52 codecs are build-in to macOS nowadays. After rebooting, AVCHD import should work fine again.

The third party software Perian installs this incompatible version of an AC3 codec in the components folder, so uninstalling this might have the same effect.

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Answer 2

swisslad Author

Level 1

21 points

Oct 20, 2017 12:59 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker

SD card has been reformatted in camera several times. Connecting via USB has same problem = import selection refers to 'No Name' SD card I ve understood it should;d refer to Camera to select the input source?

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Answer 3

swisslad Author

Level 1

21 points

Oct 20, 2017 1:03 AM in response to Rich839

My Sony camera is listed as supported and AVCHD format.

Looking at other discussions there appears an ongoing theme of problems with 10.1.7

I will try Apple support to see if any solutions and report here for others to read.

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Answer 4

Oct 20, 2017 2:55 PM in response to swisslad

When you connect the camera by USB it should show up in the devices section of the import window. Since the camera is supported then perhaps a cable problem? The fact you get a no name for the SD card when you use a card reader would seem to suggest the card is damaged. Can you try another card?

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Answer 5

swisslad Author

Level 1

21 points

Oct 21, 2017 4:14 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker

Thanks for suggestions Jim. Ive tried new card with same result. No Name is shown under 'Cameras' on the Import window.

I can now add that Ive had an intensive phone call of over an hour with Apple support using their interaction with my system and unable to solve the problems including a search on their database to if anything similar has been reported. I have found on the Sony support site what seems to be reference to current problems with their video cameras with High Sierra although not specifically referring to iMovie 10.1.7.

Finally,although my sample clips will not download to iMovie they CAN be read by Handbrake and converted to MP4 and used!

It seems odd to me that I have not found anywhere other people logging the problem I am experiencing .

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Answer 6

aogail

Level 1

4 points

Oct 22, 2017 2:40 PM in response to swisslad

I have the same behavior now that I have updated to High Sierra and iMovie 10.1.7. I'm using a Panasonic HDC-TM700 and an Early 2011 15" MacBook Pro. iMovie worked fine before I updated and now makes no progress when importing video.

I submitted a bug report to Apple through their Provide iMovie Feedback link. Hopefully this is fixed quickly.

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Answer 7

clp698

Level 1

16 points

Oct 22, 2017 4:37 PM in response to swisslad

I am having a similar problem when I import media from my Panasonic HDC-SD90 directly from the SD card. Up until iMovie was updated to 10.1.7 I was able to import AVCHD files. Now when I try to import video, the import progress circle never advances and the file is never imported. When i try to play the files in the preview window, there is no sound. The results are the same on both Macs (MacBook Air & 27" iMac Desktop). When I attach a USB cable to the camera and trying importing the result is the same.

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Answer 8

billtlee

Level 1

9 points

Oct 22, 2017 6:15 PM in response to swisslad

This is exactly what I am experiencing with my Canon vixia hf m30. No sound in preview and won't import either through SD card or direct connection to the camcorder. I am also running high sierra. I am so glad I am not the only one with this issue. Hope apple fixes it soon.

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Answer 9

clp698

Level 1

16 points

Oct 22, 2017 7:10 PM in response to billtlee

Thank you for quick reply. I have been contacted by Apple Support asking me to troubleshoot the problem. I was given instructions to forward a file, which was over a week ago, but have not had any response. Like you, I hope Apple comes up with a fix soon. In view of the problem I use a third party App to import videos then I am able to import those files into iMovie.

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Answer 10

Nov 5, 2017 12:13 PM in response to swisslad

I'm in a similar situation. Prior to High Sierra/iMovie 10.1.7 I was able to use the AVCHD files directly from the Panasonic HC-WX970 our church uses. I'm still able to use these AVCHD files with Macs that haven't updated to High Sierra/iMovie 10.1.7. My work around is to convert them to MP4s and then use iMovie.

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Answer 11

PI ALFA

Level 1

5 points

Nov 10, 2017 3:00 PM in response to swisslad

I've experienced the same problem. Unable to import in iMovie (latest version) from a Canon Legria HF G25 camera on my iMac, I've done this hundreds of times before. Tried to find a work around with importing the MTS-files directly after copying the AVCHD file from my camera, but this wasn't successful (no sound).

The second workaround was successful, connecting the camera to my macbook, create a new imovie library, importing the video into the new library and copy the library to my iMac (because I prefer to edit movies on a big screen).

To me it seems to me a bug somewhere in High Sierra or iMovie. Firmware of the camera didn't change for years.

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Answer 12

swisslad Author

Level 1

21 points

Nov 11, 2017 3:13 AM in response to swisslad

Progress? I sent an iMovie Crash report to Apple with comments and I have been asked by the iMovie Feedback team in Cupertino to give them full details of the problem including a System Diagnosis report and the Case Number from my contact with Support. I don't expect direct contact from them if there is a resolution but hopefully they will contact the iMovie development team.

The iMovie crash occurs, a so called 'deadly embrace', whilst iMovie is locked in attempting to Input AVCHD from SD card and the card cant be properly ejected whilst 'waiting' for iMovie and the card is manually extracted from the reader.

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Answer 13

djwmg

Level 1

12 points

Jan 2, 2018 5:25 AM in response to Rich839

I've just run into this problem. Can import avchd files just fine into a 2013 MacBook Pro but not into a Late 2011 MacBook Pro - symptoms are as per previous posters. It's a bit weird - both laptops are running High Sierra 10.13.2 and iMovie 10.1.8

David

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Answer 14

janlou

Level 1

8 points

Jan 2, 2018 7:39 AM in response to b.art

To my regret my Audio/Plug-Ins/Components did not contain this A52 codec. I ran into this AVCHD trouble after restoration of my soft ware from my time machine backup. Earlier imported AVCHD-files were no longer accepted by iMovie 10.1.8. So my whole iMovie-library is a mess. Work in progress also was not restored! I could import some AVCHD-files after conversion with Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate. But take care, convert to MP4-HD 1080P. After that I had to import the clips one by one or per 5 or 6 at a time. A time consuming business!

Do you have better suggestions?

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Answer 15

Jan 8, 2018 7:17 PM in response to swisslad

my problem is that nearly every time my MacBook Pro tells me it is through with the import of the files from my sd card into iMovie, it tells me I can eject, and when I do, it stalls indefinitely. Little colorful ball that will never go away. I'm stuck having to do a force quit and then I lose all of my progress. So annoying.

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