How to import and edit M2V files on Mac iMovie, FCE and FCP (X)?


Read this post to find a step-by-step guide talking about how to convert .m2v video files to .mov format for editing on Mac iMovie, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro version 6, 7 and FCP X with lossless quality.

Any other way of converting m2v files to an iMovie friendly format?
“Hi All, I have some .m2v files that I want to edit in iMovie. My issue is that I cannot get iMovie to read these .m2v video clips. I have tried to convert m2v to mov using several converters but the results are not well. The colours seem either too faded or bright. Can anyone kindly suggest a converter that is able to convert m2v to an iMovie friendly format while giving results that will closely match the original .m2v file? Any ideas? Thanks for your help.”

M2V is an MPEG-2 file used in DVD authoring. It is a highly compressed format that uses Long GOP encoding. This makes it unsuitable for editing. If you intend to edit m2v files on Mac iMovie, FCE or FCP (X), you can use Video Converter for Mac to convert them first. This program is capable of converting m2v files to AIC .mov for editing in iMovie/FCE, as well as transcoding m2v video to ProRes .mov for use in FCP 6/7/X maintaining original quality of the .m2v file.

See User Reviews on Video Converter for Mac
”I have your Video converter using for a long time it is doing the job excellent for me. I use it mainly for converting .m2v and .mts files to .mov format for playing and editing on my iMac. Thanks.” – Paul

“I had originally purchased two other converters but neither one would work. Your video converter works and works well for what I need. I use it to convert my M2V and MXF video files to AIC/ProRes .mov so I can edit them on iMovie and FCP X flawlessly. Thanks for such a great product.” – Rod

You can download a free demo to evaluate if is it able to do what you need.
m2v to mov converter

How to convert M2V to MOV for editing on Mac iMovie, FCE & FCP (X)?

The steps:
Step 1: Open up Video Converter for Mac as a M2V to MOV Converter for Mac. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load your source media.
m2v converter for mac

Step 2: Select output format for your editing program
To convert M2V video to AIC MOV for iMovie/FCE, from ‘Profile’ list, choose ‘Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC)(*.mov)’ as output format under ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column.
convert m2v for imovie/fce
Note that the AIC codec is also accepted by Final Cut Pro (HD 4.5 through 5), but rarely used in Final Cut Pro as of Version 6 since it now uses the ProRes codecs instead of the Apple Intermediate Codec.

To transcode M2V files to ProRes MOV for FCP, you need to select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format under ‘Final Cut Pro’ column. The ProRes codec is suitable for editing in FCP X and its former version FCP 6 and FCP 7.
convert m2v for fcp
Important: If you’ve loaded a number of video clips to do batch conversion, please do remember ticking off ‘Apply to All’ option before you start.

Step 3: Custom video and audio settings (optional)
If necessary, you can click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profiles Settings’ panel to modify video and audio settings like video encoder, resolution, video bit rate, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio encoder, sample rate, audio bit rate, and audio channels. 3D settings are also available.

Step 4: Begin M2V to MOV Conversion on Mac
When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start format conversion. Once the conversion process is complete, you can click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated AIC MOV files or ProRes MOV files for editing in iMovie, Final Cut Express or FCP 7/6/X with optimum performance.

Tips:
If you don’t want to wait for the entire conversion process, you can tick off ‘Showdown computer when conversion completed’ and go away to do other things.

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