Summary: Got some AVI files shot on an Insignia HD camcorder but couldn’t import them into iMovie, FCE or FCP X for further editing? No worry, this post will help you out. It demonstrates how to convert Insignia AVI video to QuickTime MOV so that you can work with them on Mac NLEs easily and directly.
How can I transfer Insignia AVI shootings to Apple iMovie?
”Hi, guys, has anyone ever worked with files from an Insignia camera? I have plenty of .avi video files taken with an Insignia HD camcorder which I want to edit with Apple iMovie. My issue is that iMovie seems not to accept them as import. Do I need to convert these files to mov format or how do I import them into iMovie so I can edit them? Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.”
Insignia camera records video files in AVI format with H.264 codec, which are not compatible with Mac iMovie, Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro (X). If you want to edit Insignia Video natively in iMovie/FCE, or FCP X, you will need to use third party software like Video Converter for Mac to transcode them to a Mac friendly format before editing.
Download a trial version of Video Converter for Mac
User Reviews on Video Converter for Mac
”I have used it a couple of times to convert some AVI video files shot on my Insignia camera to a format that will play on my iPad. It works great and I am very happy. I did use the trial program first to check which works great too. I will mainly use the program to put movies on my iPad through itunes. The user interface is easy to understand and I have tried one other program but didn’t like it as much as this one. Thank you for developing this product.” – Stephen
”I mainly used your software to convert Insignia AVI files and Canon AVCHD MTS files to AIC .mov and ProRes 422 .mov for editing in iMovie and FCP X respectively. I think the UI is fairly easy to use. I’m not doing anything fancy or complicated, so for my purposes it’s been easy to use after a quick read of the tutorial. I have used other conversion programs before and like the fact that your video converter has more options. Previous programs I’ve used are limited in the screen resolution you could convert to, or they couldn’t handle camera footage maintaining original quality.” – Susan
Insignia Video Converter for Mac – how to convert Insignia AVI to MOV for editing in iMovie, FCE, and FCP X without quality loss?
The steps:
Step 1: Open up Video Converter for Mac as a Insignia AVI to MOV Converter for Mac. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load your source media.
Step 2: Select output format for your editing program
To convert Insignia AVI 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.
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 Insignia AVI files to ProRes MOV for FCP X, 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.
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 Insignia AVI 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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