Unable to Import .Mov Files into Photos

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Level 1

41 points

Unable to Import .Mov Files into Photos

Hello,

I'm pretty stumped and frustrated on this one. I'm consolidating a bunch of back-up photo and video files. I have a have a ton of *.mov video files I would like to put into the Photos app. The files are currently on my local hard drive. I attempted dragging and dropping from the finder as well as using the import function in photos. Many of these files originated from a really old iPhone. The files were saved to an external drive and I've put the files back on my local hard drive. Just can't get them into the photos app.

When I attempt to play it in the finder, Quicktime launches without issue. I can import all unrelated *.mp4 files but none of my *.Mov files which I have hundreds of. Tried importing all at once as well as one by one. I instantly always get the "Cannot Import Item. This item cannot be added to your Photo library because it may be an unrecognizable file format or the file may not contain valid data.

Any advice would be appreciated. Seems a bit bizarre.

Posted on Oct 24, 2018 8:15 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

200,531 points

Oct 25, 2018 7:32 AM in response to Geor-hey!

Since Preview can open the files, convert them to a format that Photos can process.

Open one of the videos in QuickTime Player. Frequently you will see a progress bar for a short moment. That indicates, that QuickTime Player is converting the file to a newer format.
Then try to save the video, that QuickTime Player opened with "File > Save" and select a new name.
Now try, of Photos can import the converted version.

If QuickTime Player does not automatically convert the videos, use the "File > Export" menu to force a conversion.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

200,531 points

Oct 25, 2018 12:19 PM in response to Geor-hey!

. Even if you duplicate or resave, nothing changes. Still get the same error upon importing into the Photos app.

When saving did not suffice, I used "File > Export as" in Quicktime to render a new file for the oldest QuickTime movies, where the codec is no longer supported in Photos.

The "File > Export as" command will save an .mp4 file instead of a QuickTime movie.

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Answer 3

Geor-hey! Author

Level 1

41 points

Oct 25, 2018 8:56 AM in response to léonie

Unfortunately that didn't work. Already tried that. Upon launching Quicktime, these don't appear to need converting. They just play like normal. Even if you duplicate or resave, nothing changes. Still get the same error upon importing into the Photos app.

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Answer 4

Geor-hey! Author

Level 1

41 points

Oct 25, 2018 12:23 PM in response to léonie

Thanks for that, however I tried the export option on previous occasion. It only gives an option to export in another resolution. No option to export to different format. If I do export into another video resolution, it still maintains it's *.mov format.

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

200,531 points

Oct 25, 2018 1:10 PM in response to Geor-hey!

As far a s I can tell from my own experiments, the "Export as ... " create a .MOV file, if Photos is converting the video right on import. Then I an seeing for a short time this panel:

And the video will play in Photos. The codec used will be H.264 and compatible with Photos.

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Unable to Import .Mov Files into Photos

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