Yeah, actually Apple has announced that iMovie (iMovie 11) does support the AVCHD format used by digital camcorders. However, when you import AVCHD to iMovie for editing, you'll still have lots of problems because of the video codec, resolution, Mac processor, camcorder model, etc. The truth is, AVCHD is really not that a friendly video format for iMovie. To transfer AVCHD video to iMovie for smooth editing, you'll need to first convert AVCHD to iMovie highly compatible video formats like MP4, MOV, M4V, etc.
Fortunately, converting camcorder AVCHD videos to iMovie is not difficult at all with the help of Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac. Simply add the AVCHD files you want to edit in iMovie, select iMovie as the output format to get videos that best fit iMovie and click Convert to start converting your AVCHD movies to iMovie on Mac OS X (Mountain Lion). Just get the program now and follow the steps below to convert camcorder AVCHD videos to iMovie.
Download Mac Video Converter:
How to convert AVCHD files to iMovie (iMovie 11)
1Add videos
After downloading, install and run the converter. Then click File > Add Video Files to browse and import the AVCHD videos. Or simply drag & drop files to the left item bar. Batch conversion is available so you can add multiple files for converting at a time. And you can also click Merge into One File to combine all the added videos into one big file.
2Select iMovie as the output format
The video preset for iMovie is provided. To convert AVCHD movies to iMovie, simply select iMovie from Editing as the output video format. As you see, in addition to iMovie, Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac can also convert AVCHD to Final Cut Pro, iPhone, iPad, iPod, MP4, MOV, M4V, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, VOB, etc.
3Start to convert AVCHD videos to iMovie
When the settings are OK, click the Convert button to start converting all the added camcorder AVCHD video files to iMovie supported videos. When then conversion completes, you will get videos that are highly compatible with iMovie. And you can just run iMovie and click File > Import > Movie to import AVCHD to iMovie for further editing.
Below is the video tutorial on how to convert AVCHD to iMovie:
What format does iMovie support?
iMovie supports a range of video file formats and the list includes: 3GP, MP4, MOV, M4V, DV, AVCHD, and H.264. Generally speaking, most of the movie files playable on QuickTime are supported. However, there is a range of fairly common video files that are not supported by iMovie, especially the ones that are Windows-based. If you need to use those files with the iMovie, they have to be converted first.
iMovie technically supports movies and clips that fall under DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i, HDV 720p, and the MPEG-4 categories. The software can also directly edit and manipulate videos generated from the Apple iSight camera. iSight cameras are the cameras that are built into most Mac or Apple devices.
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Elliot, this was a great tutorial on how to convert AVCHD to iMovie for use Mac users. Thanks. I highly recommend Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac.