How to ingest Canon G30 MTS clips into iMovie?


If you are looking for a way to import Canon G30 MTS clips into iMovie without a complete AVCHD folder structure, you may have interest in this post. It displays a workaround to trasncode Canon G30 MTS files to AIC .mov for use in iMovie easily and directly.
import Canon G30 MTS clips into iMovie
Issues loading Canon G30 MTS clips into iMovie?
“Hi, there, is there a way to import Canon G30 MTS video files to iMovie without maintaining the AVCHD folder structure? I’ve tried that, but iMovie would not accept the MTS files separately. My client moved out the individual files from the folder structure (he deleted the folder structure) which ended up with un-usable files. Does anyone know any tricks for loading separate MTS files to iMovie? Please advice!!! Thanks.”

If you have a copy of the entire contents of your card with all the folder structure (even empty folders), you can import it whether the SD card is in the camera, or if you plug the SD card into a reader. If you just have raw .mts files out of context, iMovie cannot do anything with them. You will need a third party converter to transcode them prior to import into iMovie. The AVCHD Converter will do the trick.
trasncode Canon G30 MTS files to AIC .mov for use in iMovie

[Guide] How to convert Canon G30 MTS video clips for iMovie editing with Apple InterMediate codec?

Follow these steps:
Step 1: Open up AVCHD Converter for Mac as a Canon G30 MTS Converter for iMovie. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load your source media.
loading Canon G30 MTS clips into iMovie

Step 2: Select AIC .mov as output format for iMovie
To convert Canon G30 MTS files for iMovie, from ‘Profile’ list, choose ‘Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC)(*.mov)’ as output format under ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column.
convert Canon G30 MTS video clips for iMovie editing
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 Canon G30 AVCHD MTS clips 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 for editing in iMovie 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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