Part 1: What Is iMovie
iMovie is a proprietary film making software application sold by Apple Inc. only available for Mac and iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini and iPod Touch). Originally released in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 app incorporated with the initial FireWire-enabled consumer Mac module (iMac DV), the video editing software gets users right into the action, letting users edit photos and video clips, add titles, music and effects, etc. You may also interested: How to compress video with iMovie.
Part 2: Version History about iMovie
1. iMovie for Mac
Version |
Release Date |
Availability |
Supported OS |
Notes |
iMovie |
Oct 5, 1999 |
Come with iMac DV, later issued as a free download. |
Mac OS 8.6 and OS 9 |
|
iMovie 2 |
July 19, 2000 |
Come with FireWire-enabled Macs, also a separate purchase and later bundled as part of Mac OS X. |
Mac OS 9 and OS X |
Added new sound effects (including some from Skywalker Sound), but removed older ones; also removed the Water Ripple effect. |
iMovie 3 |
Jan 7, 2003 |
Come with all new Macs, also a separate purchase (iLife), later as a free download. |
Mac OS X |
Comes as part of the iLife. |
iMovie 4 |
Jan 6, 2004 |
Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife '04) |
Mac OS X |
Comes as part of the iLife '04 package. |
iMovie HD 5 |
Jan 6, 2005 |
Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife '05) |
Mac OS X |
Comes as part of the iLife '05 package |
iMovie HD 6 |
Jan 10, 2006 |
Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife '06) |
Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Comes as part of the iLife '06 package. |
iMovie 08 |
Aug 7, 2007 |
Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife '08) |
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard) |
Comes as part of the iLife '08 package. Redesigned. |
iMovie 09 |
Jan 27, 2009 |
Comes with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife '09) |
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
Comes as part of the iLife '09 package. |
iMovie 11 |
Oct 20, 2010 |
Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife '11) |
Mac OS X Lion (10.7.4 and later) |
Comes as part of the iLife '11 package. Available for purchase in the Mac App Store |
iMovie 10.0 |
Oct 22, 2013 |
Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase from the Mac App Store |
Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9 and later) |
|
2. iMovie for iOS
Version |
Release Date |
Availability |
Supported OS |
Notes |
iMovie for iOS 1.0 |
June 24, 2010 |
App Store |
iOS 4.0 or later |
Initial release for iPhone 4 |
iMovie for iOS 1.1 |
Sep 8, 2010 |
App Store |
iOS 4.1 or later |
Added support for iPod Touch (4th generation) |
iMovie for iOS 1.2 |
March 10, 2011 |
App Store |
iOS 4.3 or later |
Added support for iPad 2 and later iPhone 4S |
iMovie for iOS 1.3 |
March 7, 2012 |
App Store |
iOS 5.1 or later |
Added support for iPad (3rd generation) |
iMovie for iOS 1.4 |
Sep 19, 2012 |
App Store |
iOS 6.0 or later |
Added support for iPhone 5 and iPod Touch (5th generation) |
iMovie for iOS 2.0 |
Oct 22, 2013 |
App Store |
iOS 7.0 or later |
Added support for iPhone 5S/5C, iPad Air and iPad Mini |
Part 3: iMovie Supported Video/Audio Formats
Not all video files can be recognized by iMovie, that's why there are constant video format incompatibility issues with the Mac's built-in app. So if you want a smooth video edition with iMovie, knowing the video and audio formats iMovie supports is deemed as indispensible. Check the following list below and then edit any video file at liberty.
- DV Widescreen
- DV
- HDV
- MPEG-4
Click for more detailed iMovie video/audio formats
Tips: As for MKV, MTS, WMV, AVI, etc, you have to convert them to iMovie compatible formats before importing. Here an all-in-one video converter: MacX Video Converter Pro is highly recommended. It easily converts more than 370 audio/video formats to iMovie with no quality loss.
Part 4: Typical iMovie Problems and Solutions
#1. iMovie Keeps Crashing
Generally, there might be about 3 major reasons causing the "iMovie keeps crashing" issue.
- File codec problem: Convert the source video files to an iMovie compatible format mentioned above. And MacX Video Converter Pro handles the format incompatibility issue easily, enabling you to convert any video to iMovie format like MOV, MP4, etc with fast speed.
- iMovie Cache folder issue: Trash Cache.mov and Cache.plist. Create a new User-Account and log into this. Then iMovie will create all pref. and cache files new and error free.
- iMovie project files get corrupted: Trash corrupted files and add the right ones.
#2. iMovie No Sound Issue
Similar to the issue of "iMove keeps crashing", "iMovie no sound" error is also caused due to different reasons. Make sure the Project files aren't corrupted and the preferences are right. If both are right, there might be the file codec problem. In this case, you need a video converter software to convert video files to MOV, MP4 or M4V beforehand.
#3. iMovie audio is out of sync
For the best audio/video synchronization in iMovie, the 16-bit sound is recommended with iMovie. In case you import sound with 12-bit audio, please change the settings on your camera before importing your footage. Extract the audio from your footage. Go to the "Edit" menu and click "Select All". Right click to open the dropdown menu, and select “detach audio”. After that, you can sync them up manually.
Part 5: Convert Video & DVD to iMovie
As an amazing editing tool for Mac, iMovie gives you the controls you need to smooth out the rough parts. Since it has a large user base among filmmaking lovers, there is still a rising demand to make the most out of it. Below are the best software that will help you improve your digital entertainment greatly.
MacX Video Converter Pro: Best all-in-one YouTube downloader and video converter. Built-in 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs, it helps to convert any video including HD/4K camcorder videos like MTS, M2TS AVCHD, etc to iMovie compatible formats like MOV, MP4, etc with lossless quality. You can also download videos from YouTube. What's more, it is bundled with amazing slideshow maker and video editor, letting you make funny slideshow with background music, cut, crop, trim video, add watermark and subtitle to suit your diversified needs.
MacX DVD Ripper Pro: Ultimate DVD ripper for Mac users to rip both homemade and commercial DVDs to iMovie, iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobiles and tablets, regardless of copy protection measures like CSS, Region Code, Sony ARccOS, Disney X-project protection, etc. The excellent movie editing feature also lets you cut off the video clips, crop frame size, merge movie titles and even attach your preferred language subtitle to movie.
