Does it still work on your drive if you put other stuff on it? Would be interesting for me to know...

I'm not sure... I won't be able to check until tonight.

There's no real rush as I will be away on holiday for 5 days from tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

It doesn't seem to matter if there are other files in the root along side the MP_Root folder. I've successfully imported all of my old .MOD files into iMovie 08 now using this technique with no problems thus far.

As I work my way back in time through our video archives, I am now faced with the problem of importing .VOB files. Before I got my external hard drive, I would burn the video I got from my JVC camcorder to DVD for storage. Since there was no loss in conversion (.MOD files are MPEG-2 just like .VOB), I figured I would just archive the video as .VOB that way it is playable in a DVD player. Now, I'm regretting that decision as I would like to import that video into iMovie 08 so that my entire library of family video clips is cataloged in one location.

Any one know how to fool iMovie 08 in this regard? The same trick with the MP_Root > 101PVN001 folder structure and .MPG file extension doesn't work with .VOB files (the audio gets dropped). It's probably a difference between muxed and demuxed audio, and what iMovie is expecting.

On the off chance that someone other than myself will also find this information useful, I have found two different ways of importing .VOB files into iMovie '08. The first (and my preference) is to load the the .VOB file into MPEG-Streamclip (load all the files in that particular stream) and fix any timecode breaks. Then select "Convert to MPEG..." and save the file in the 101PVN001 folder (from the method mentioned above). Then change the extension from .MPEG to .MPG and open iMovie '08. iMovie will recognize the "camera", generate a thumbnail for that clip, and import the clip if you so choose.

The second method is to burn your .VOB files to a disc image using Toast (or similar program). Then mount the disc image and launch iMovie '08. iMovie '08 should recognize the disc image as a "camera", etc. I have had mixed success with this method. Some clips within the some of my .VOB files do not appear to import correctly.

RafDam,

I'm not sure if you're still tuning in, but to answer a query of yours in a previous post, the MP_Root > 101PVN001 trick works with HFS+ formatted external drives as well. It only works over USB mind you, and not Firewire, but it works.

imovie hd
 

Do you or anyone else know if I can edit a non HD iMovie on iMovie HD?
Thanks in anticipation.
Benny.

Just drag the movie into the Clip section. It will be converted for editing. Be prepared to wait a bit for the conversion.