Sound does not record

If there are any gaps at all between clips, or starts and stops, that likely will be read as a new clip. Or perhaps it is a time code issue. I am not that familiar with this type of problem. There are others on this forum more knowledgeable in this area, and perhaps they will chime in here.

-- Rich

Hi,

There have been reports of problems with no sound when importing from DV tapes with High Sierra.

Take a look at this thread and see if there is anything in it that is of help to you:

Imported DV is missing sound

It may be an issue that Apple will need to address, in which case there probably isn't much you can do. However, I would try using the free download, MPEG Streamclip, to export the clip to MPEG-4 and see if that plays the sound. That worked for me when I had a DV that wouldn't play sound. Or try Handbrake and convert the clips to Mp4/AAC. AAC stands for Advanced Audio Coding, that iMovie likes.

Also, with hundreds of tapes to import, I would suggest not importing them directly into iMovie. iMovie is a video editing app. File management of videos with iMovie is very cumbersome. In addition, iMovie libraries can become corrupt and that can cause problems recovering your videos. Instead, the recommended way is to import your videos into the Photos app, where they can be accessed from within iMovie. Or, as some users on this forum do, use the Image Capture app on your Mac to import the videos into a file or files on your computer, and from there they can easily be dragged into iMovie as needed. File management with either of those methods is much easier and more flexible than trying to work with them from within iMovie. Parenthetically, it is possible that your vids will have sound.

Hope this helps.

-- Rich

Current iMovie supports audio formats Mp4/AAC, .mov, DV, HDV, Mpeg-4, M4v, H.264, HEVC (High Sierra, iMovie 10.1.8). There might be others. A clip in one of the above formats should import into iMovie. There are no format settings for import -- it just automatically imports at the setting of the clip.

iMovie supported audio formats include mp3, WAV, AIFF, AAC, m4A.

iMovie exports everything in Mp4 except when you select to export in Best Quality (pro res), in which case the export will be in .mov format with a high bitrate and file size. iMovie will edit in the new HEVC H.265 format, but will convert to Mp4 on export.

The .mov format in general is a bucket that can contain varying types of formats, so it is not a guarantee of quality. Mp4 probably is the most universal format being used now, and is compatible with a wide range of devices. Not all Mp4 formats work with iMovie. It needs to be Mp4/AAC. AAC stands for Advanced Audio Coding.

As I mentioned in my previous response, the recommended way to import videos/photos to your Mac is by importing them into the Photos app. After you plug in your camera to your Mac, open the Photos app, and click on your camera item under Devices in the Photos sidebar. The vids should import in. You can manage and organize them in Albums within the Photos app, or you can drag the vids to your desktop, or do a File/Export Video and select your video quality in the share box that appears. The Photos app files also will be accessible from within iMovie if you choose to edit them there.

Importing to your Mac (not directly to iMovie) via the Image Capture app should work, too.

-- Rich

You are welcome.

-- Rich