iMovie has witnessed half a history book of Apple. As a free video editing application for new hands, iMovie has earned positive reviews since its release in 1999. Freely accessible on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, it empowers every Apple gadget to modify video colors, clip the video, change the speed…
It looks too good to be true? You can experience all these functions freely on the condition that you can import your file to iMovie successfully. There are some iMovie file types that you should pay heed to. They determine whether or not you can have an enjoyable experience.
iMovie requires particular types of video formats. You probably need a professional iMovie format converter to make your file supported by iMovie. I have sorted out iMovie compatible formats and the most effective format converters for you.
Let’s get started!
What Are the Supported Import iMovie File Types?
Codec is a composite word of “coder” and “decoder.” It is the actual computer program, which encodes or decodes the data.
Container format is a package of data streams, such as video, audio, caption, etc. You can relate these two terms by taking container format as a bundle of video and audio codes.
The supported import iMovie file type normally refers to the container format for convenience. Any container format that consists of video/audio codec mentioned below can import to iMovie.
| iMove Supprted File Type | |
| Video Codec | Apple Animation Codes, Apple Intermediate Codes, Apple ProRes, AVCHD, DV, H.264, HDV, HEVC, iFrame, Motion JPEG, MPEG-4 SP, XAVC-S |
| Audio Codec | AAC, AIFF, BWF, CAF, MP3, MP4, RF64, WAV |
Below is a list of compatible iMovie container formats.
| iMovie Container Format | Info. |
| MP4 | Industry-standard format, which can store video, audio, subtitle, and still image. |
| MOV | Apple-designed format, which is primarily used on QuickTime, and contains video, audio, image, and subtitle. |
| M4V | MP4-like format, which is initially downloaded from iTunes store and constrained with playing on iTunes and QuickTime. |
| AVI | Older format, which contains video and audio streams. |
| 3GP | Small-size format, which caters to 3G mobile devices. |
Note: These statistics are based on Mac. iPhone and iPad may have a narrower scope of supported iMovie file formats.
What Are Incompatible iMovie Formats?
WMV, SWF, FLV, and MKV are incompatible iMovie file types. AVI, though believed to be unsupported by iMovie, can import to it by including the supported codes. If you want to import iMovie unsupported formats, you have to convert them to the compatible ones, or you’ll encounter iMovie import errors. After viewing the chart of iMovie-supported formats in the last section, you may feel overwhelmed.
To solve your incompatibility problems, I select the best video converters for iMovie. With a powerful conversion tool in hand, you can convert files Hassle-Free.
Easiest Solutions to Convert to iMovie File Types
The files converted by professional converters seamlessly fit with iMovie. These video converters will turn your incompatible files to iMovie formats supported by almost any Apple device. Changing container formats will change the codes therein altogether, which is a more direct and easy way.
When you try to play iMovie videos on other devices, another headache arises. You have to export iMovie as MP4, since iMovie’s default MOV format is not accepted by some devices. To get away with all these format nightmares, you need a potent converter to change between iMovie file types and other popular multimedia formats.
Below I will introduce the best iMovie format converters as the easiest solutions for you.
BeeConverter – Easiest Solution to Convert to File Format for iMovie [2023 HOT]
BeeConverter supports MP4, MKV, MOV, M4V, FLV… It covers all iMovie compatible formats and enables you to convert iMovie to MP4, and other widely accepted formats. 60x speed boost to your file conversion can ensure your videos are changed to iMovie file types in a shorter space of time. Even converting the whole folder of your files at the same time is easy for it.
Features:
● Intuitive user interface
● Enhance the video quality up to 4K
● Bonus functions like simple editing and video downloading
How to Convert to iMovie File Types With Ease?
The following easy guide is presented to you, in the hope that you can love this iMovie Video converter for its simplicity.
Video Converter
Convert videos to MP4, MOV, MP3, GIF, and more
- for Windows 10/8/7
- for Mac OS X 14+
- for Android
- Launch BeeConverter and choose Converter tool.
- Click “+ Add File” to import files.
- Select a format that is compatible with iMoive from the drop-down list of video formats.
- Hit “Convert/Convert All” to start.
VideoProc Video Converter – A Fantastic iMovie Format Converter
VideoProc Video Converter has an exhaustive list of format options. Apart from some common video formats, it also supports lesser-known formats, such as HEVC and DV. On top of that, Videoproc can digitize DVDs to iMovie file formats. Exploring its format menu, you will find more surprises. For instance, VideoProc provides a wide range of formats targeted at the specific Apple device or Apple application.
Features:
● 200+ Format options (including preset formats for Apple)
● Hardcore acceleration
WonderShare UniConverter – A Multipurpose Video Conversion Tool
UniConverter combines converter, downloader and compressor into one single tool. It contains 250+ preset video/audio formats, easily satisfying your needs for iMovie formats. Besides, it can effortlessly handle 4K/8K/HDR video conversion. 17 years of services hones its skills to minimize quality loss and process files at a lightening fast speed.
Features:
● Multifunctional converter
● Ultra-fast & loss-free conversion
Conclusion
For all the inconvenience caused by incompatible video formats, iMovie always has a redeeming feature as a free & easy-to-start editing tool for Apple users. Once you have the supported iMovie file types, you can import to iMovie to enjoy its free praise-worthy services.
Sometimes, it’s a thorny issue to get a right import/export iMovie format. An iMovie video converter like BeeConverter will be your best desktop software. It can easily convert to the iMovie file type or export iMovie as any output format.
Don’t hesitate! Give it a shot.
Video Converter
Convert videos to MP4, MOV, MP3, GIF, and more
- for Windows 10/8/7
- for Mac OS X 14+
- for Android
Frequently Aksed Questions
Which is the best file format for iMovie?
In your definition, the importable iMovie file type is the best. Normally, MP4, MOV, M4V, and 3GP can import to iMovie. If you want a high quality video, your iMovie format needs to contain the compatible codec for quality. Or you can download BeeConverter, which can enhance your video up to 4K quality in iMovie supported formats.
Can I convert iMovie to MP4?
Yes. The default output format of iMovie is MOV, which is incompatible with Android devices and some players. You can save iMovie as MP4 via built-in settings. But if you want your iMovie videos to be in other formats, you have to use a desktop program, like BeeConverter. This is a multimedia converter that contains 50+ output formats.
Why is there iMovie import error?
Because iMovie has its own supported video formats. You may have imported the wrong iMovie file type. The supported iMovie formats are MP4, MOV, M4V, and 3GP. Some AVI files that contain the compatible codec can be accepted by iMovie.
How do I convert MOV to MP4?
MOV files can import to iMovie. And this is also an export file format for iMovie. If you want to turn the default iMovie output format to MP4, you can click the “Share” button on iMovie and then select the “Export File.” When you have a bunch of files to convert, I recommend BeeConverter for you to convert MOV files in batch speedily.
What is the best iMovie format converter?
BeeConverter is one of the best iMovie video format converters, which you can rely on to solve all the incompatibility problems surrounding iMovie import/export formats. You can convert unsupported formats, such as MKV, to compatible iMovie file types (MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP). Its conversion speed is super fast and reduces the quality loss to your videos to the least extent.