iMovie-Importing video from Canon XH-A1 to iMovie

Summary: I have a number of video files that were originally shot with a Canon HDV camera - Canon XH-A1, iMovie will not import those files and Adobe Premiere Pro has the same problem with the files. It gives me a File Import Error:

... .mov could not be imported. The source file has an invalid codec. Please check that it is a valid file.

what can I do with these files to get them to work in iMovie?


I have read around and I’m not the only one that is having difficulty with this camera. One suggestion is that if you have a fairly new Mac then you need a 400 to 800 firewire cable. Looks like that Cam has the full size 400 cable not the mini ones on many mini-cams. iMovie supports HDV generally. If iMovie is not seeing the cam then try quitting iMovie and having the camera booted up and in playback mode and try launching iMovie. Still not working try convert Canon XH-A1 HDV to Apple InterMediate Codec- this was my experience in the past.

Download and install the app Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac

It is a top Canon HDV/DV Converter. It can help you convert Canon XH-A1 as well as HV20/HV30/HV40 HDV files to AIC for iMovie/FCE, ProRes 422 for Final Cut Pro, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer on Mac(Mountain Lion, Mavericks included). Besides Canon HDV files, this video app can also transcoding Canon Vixia MTS to iMovie, FCP, Adobe Premiere, etc for editing. This will help you import the file correctly and saving the rendering time.

Step 1: Add Canon HDV videos to the program

Launch this Canon HDV Converter for Mac. Import XH-A1 footage to the converter. You can join several video clips together by checking the “Merge into one file” box.



Step 2: Click Format bar to choose the output format

For importing Canon XH-A1 HDV in iMovie, select iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple InterMediate Codec(*.mov) as output format.



Tip: If need, you can click "settings" to customize the output parameters, adjust the resolution, bitrate for easy editing with iMovie.

Step 3: Start Canon HDV file conversion

Click convert button to start transcoding Canon XH-A1 HDV to iMovie most compatible format for editing. After the short conversion on Mac, you can import the Canon HDV videos to Mac software iMovie with smooth workflow.



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