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iMovie 3.0.1 Users "Upgrading" to 2.1.2
gsfprez writes "It seems that the general consensus is that iMovie 3.0.1 really sucks bad. Compaints range from randomly splitting cuts when importing, audio/video syncing issues, random crashing, and most common - performance issues so bad that capture and playback at full framrate is unattainable - and that's on DP machines. My experience is all this and worse on my previously very useful iBook 800. One can only wonder how galactically awful iMovie 3.0.0 was. Can anyone give a positive report on iMovie 3.0.1?" It looks nice. I just wish I could use it without it crashing.
Sorry people that are experiencing problems. My first time running iMovie3 was slightly slower then subsequent uses. Havn't experienced any crashes or bugs yet myself. Been havin a blast with it's new iTunes integration.
I played with it a little bit. I wanted to make a slideshow out of some (big) photoshop files, with some pan & zoom, nice transitions, music, etc.
The main problem was that 80% of the PSD files came in wrong.. they were "folded over" as if you shifted the pixels over and they wrapped around. Bizarre.
Also at random times (maybe when an effect was still rendering) it gave me an error message about "unable to convert to JPEG, but was imported anyway" which means it couldn't apply the pan & zoom, but it still showed up in the movie. Bizarre again...
I also couldn't figure out an easy way to turn OFF the pan & zoom and just have a static still image.
Finally, I just exported a plain slideshow from iPhoto and left it at that.
On a related note, I hope Apple takes a look at Photoshop Album for ideas for a future version of iPhoto. Album looks like iPhoto on steroids.
Yeah, so iMovie doesn't recognize my analog-digital firewire bridge with any kind of reliability. It didn't before, and it might not for some time.
In the mean time, Final Cut Express does as much for me as Final Cut Pro, is within my price range, and supports my hardware. iMovie is nice, but it's still a free (as in beer) product coming from a commercial company.
Those buying from Apple because of the good things they've heard about the video editing should really consider shelling out some money for a better video editor. I've been a mac user for 15 or so years, and I know they're often pricey. Paying a little more to get more functionality than iMovie provides should make sense to those who want a decent looking video.
And to those who want a more refined iMovie, go ask for a refund. Really.
Twelve fingers or one, its how you play. ~Gattaca (Vincent)
I downloaded that monstrosity, started using it and immediately hated it.
If I were Ken Burns, I'd want my good name back... Importing an iPhoto seems to take forever, and there seems to be a 33% chance of crashing.
The only good thing, that I can tell, is the easy import of iTunes Library as a soundtrack. It actually works as described.
I'm not that much of a iMovie user (the lack of a digital video recorder is the primary reason). Oh well, 4 (Keynote, iPhoto, Safari, and X11) out of 5 aint bad.
My father is a blogger.
Just created a nice iPorn clip from bits and pieces of Limewire downloads... it works fine. You might want to check on the permissions for that new application. Some apps that i installed as a regular user (even though i typed in the admin password when I was prompted) led to the application crashing and performing really bad.
Can anyone give a positive report on iMovie 3.0.1?
Yes.
First things first: the machine I'm using to run iMovie is a dual-processor 1 GHz with 512 MB of RAM. A faster machine will undoubtedly run it better, while a slower machine will undoubtedly run it less well.
I've used iMovie 3.0.1 to import a fair amount-- about 40 minutes, I think-- of DV footage from files I had on my computer. I don't have a camera myself, so I can't comment on how well or poorly the camera interface works, but I do have lots of DVCPRO footage left over from a previous project. The footage plays back in real time from the timeline with no problems at all.
I have about 5,000 songs in my iTunes library, and the first time I clicked the "audio" button I had to wait about five seconds, maybe ten, for the list of songs to appear. After that, there was no noticeable delay.
The effects and transitions seem to work just fine. I don't think I've tried all of them, but I haven't had one fail or work in an unexpected way yet.
Integration with iPhoto is, in a word, incredible. Just click a picture, set a duration, and poof, there's a clip on the timeline.
Do I have any complaints? Not really. Sure, this is just the free iMovie; it would be nice if it supported multiple video tracks on the timeline or such, but that's what Final Cut Express is for.
So, to summarize, iMovie 3 does not really suck, and no, I have had no problems with it at all.
I write in my journal
"...the iMovie update just mentioned...it is reportedly going to suck wind." :)
===========
You people stayed for the entire speech, right?
Ok, so here's how it worked out for me. I tried it on my G4...just tried it. It ran, is all I can say. No big tests, so I'm afraid I can't comment otherwise, sorry. But no crashing or lockup, slowdown, etc. Remember, use 16 bit audio (camera setting) and keep lots (+/- 10gb min for me) of free space on the boot drive. Make sure not to use weird image file formats for slide shows and have tons of patience. The good news is that blank DVD's are still going down in price.
According to entries in the Apple support area (and some personal experience): Old (iMovie2) projects are trouble. "Reverse clip" is trouble. 800x600 resolution is simply not possible - real trouble for 800x600 LCD displays.
On the bright side there is probably a non-crashing code path in there somewhere.
I don't know what you guys dl'd ;)
imovie 3 has been way better than imovie2 for me. I've used it to capture a few hours of dv just to see. it actually captured better, and even captured in the background while i was working in photoshop7, Dreamweaver, and graphic converter and downloading in chimera, ichating and running mail.
the bin scrolling and moving of clips was remarkably more responsive too.
I do agree that the ken burns effect needs a little improvement, it seemed to frame blip a little while zooming and panning.
Also it does take curiously longer to open imovie projects.
Hardware (if you care)
Quicksilver G4 DP 800, 1.5Gigs ram, 80 gig ata, 9 gig Ultra2scsi, 320 gig ata raid, geforce3, radaeon 7500.
Camera: Sony VX2000 miniDV
just my 3cents. -Si
also, make sure you have quicktime 6.1
Apple greatly improved their DVcodec (speedwise)
-S
It's a bit slower to load and switch between clips but no crashes or glitches(yet!). There's a lag in importing iTunes libraries that's worth the wait. It's nice to have playlists listed and it seems to load in whatever view was last used in iTunes (i.e. if you had your lib sorted by date added etc.). And you can sort by artist, length, etc.) and new the sound set is really good. A tip for people new to iMovie: the Little Rascals music is very VERY versatile. :)
Text effects are enhanced and the the new FX (of limited application I hope!) are gee whizzie like aged film and electricity but where it really shines now is in audio control with vector like user determined points. Resizing the window is restrained and I'd like to be able to resize each pane individually but at least the desktop is that much closer now.
iPhoto is dog slow. Couple iPhoto with iMovie = double dog slow. Why is this so on Mac of all platforms? Hell, I still use PS 4.0 in classic over iPhoto. Is iP 2 altivec enhanced?
So yes, I've had quite positive experiences with iM 3 even on my humble hyzer G3 600/256 10.2.3
I shot a simple video last halloween with my friend's kids (as you do) which I edited in iMovie 2 on my iBook 800.
The major reason I wanted to upgrade to iMovie3 was the audio volume levels so I upgraded once it came out for download (incidentally didn't Jobs say that it would be available on the 25th Jan?)
I loaded in the old project and hit play - unwatchable jerky playback and choppy audio. I actually had to export the movie just to be able to show it to people at a party the other night.
Very disappointing.
For some reason I've always had trouble with iMovie 2. My Sony TRV-240 would allow maybe 10-15 min of capture, and then there'd be a huge blip where the computer (400 G4, 1.12GB) would just stop recording, and then start again. The transfer between recording intervals also generally lost a few seconds or had the first few seconds of the next interval tacked onto the first one (or vice versa).
As soon as I d/l iMovie 3 I tried to re-import the xmas videos that I had unsuccessful attempts at before.
Ahah! It worked flawlessly! The only problem was that the camera's fully-charged battery died at 40 min (the first time I've gotten far enough for that to be an issue). Plugged it in and got the last 20 minutes, and all are in sync and wonderful.
My only complaint - the widescreen (16:9) mode of the camera is not recognized - the video is still imported as 4:3 and is just squeezed so everyone is tall and narrow. Does anyone know of a way to get iMovie to do 16:9, or must I upgrade to FC{E,P} to get that capability? (It works great with plain-old RCA jacks on my 16:9 TV).
Dan
ls:
(A)bort, (R)etry, (I)gnore?
Just not "insanely."
my cheap little camera streamed just fine into iMovie, played fine, edited fine (I made a special effort to use most of the new features including the iTunes crap, even though I really don't care).. Donno what all the fuss is about.. I kind of don't like how it's not full screen anymore.. although I have 2 monitors running at 1280x1024 each so I guess that's why. I just don't see what everyone's talking about.. maybe I should try it on my roommate's 1st gen iMac.. too bad it doesn't have firewire........
Latewire
I just put iMovie 3 through its paces just to see if your statments were true.
The machine I used is a PowerMac G3/333 (an old Beiege tower).
I imported ~30 minutes of video from my JVC DVM-70 via my OrangeMicro FW/USB card, no problems. Clips were only split where I had paused the recording.
The preview window was choppy during import, but that's happened on every video app I've used.
Playback of clips from the timeline was fine. Clicking on certain interface buttons led to a lot of disk churning and some delays and lessened responsiveness. Inserting a transition or an effect took sime time. The app is certainly useable, and reasonably fast on my system.
In the hour+ that I used iMovie 3 for my tests, there was not one error, and no crashes, quits, hangs or anything unexpected.
I can only imagine that with even a mere 400MHz G4, things would zip along much faster. A newer machine with duals, and around 1GHz should certainly run this app like a champ.
Perhaps you don't have QuickTime 6.1 installed as the installer for iM3 strongly suggests?
Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
The overwhelming majority of user comments here indicate exactly the opposite of the story -- that iMovie 3 works exactly as advertised (though it might not be totally bug-free).
I edited a one-hour VCD project the day iMovie3 came out. No problems whatsoever.
Those of you who are having problems might try repairing permissions and defragging the drive.
At what point does Slashdot rescind a story that is so obviously mistaken?
I have also received e-mails for 3rd party plug-in manufactures that state: So some folks have "fixed" there system by removing all third party plug-ins.
Some people say that shrinking the window to the smallest it can be "helps" with performance.
Some people have reported that running your Unix cleanups and prebinding "fixes" everything up: I am personally not having any issues other than the following:
With all that being said Apple should have released this as a beta or done a a better job in QA. I have told them so too! I urge everyone to keep on Apple's backs and report all errors to them. They must have expected this in some way because "Report feedback to Apple" is a menu option!
Dan Slagle Keeper of the "Unofficial" iMovie FAQ
So far I've noticed iMovie is faster than before, transitions seem quicker(full screen seemed to have issues with audio, and multitasking in general, hence why it was probably made as a full screen app.)
The previews for effects are a bit misleading to when I apply them (thinking Rain effect here). Generally all over it's faster for me, it (or previous versions) are yet to crash, or act in an unusual manner.
I find it easier to edit clips than in previous versions. I'm pleased with how quickly the transitions are applied to the DV res footage I import. My athlon 1.4ghz couldn't do it anywhere near as fast.
I also use final cut pro, which I believe is infinitely better than iMovie, but with a respectable extra level of difficulty.
but iMovie 3 is completely unusable.
For instance, in the clip shelf, to select 3 clips, I hold down shift and click clips 1, 2, and 3. On iMovie 2, they would highlight as I clicked them. In iMovie 3 it takes about 5 seconds after I click them for them to highlight. Seriously now, what can it possibly be doing during that 5 second period when the computer's not doing anything else, but trying to highlight 3 icons? There are some seriously bloated architectural models/algorithms being used here. Yes, I know my computer is three years old, but iMovie 2 is proof that it's plenty of computer for the task.
Also, I find iMovie 3 to slow down my workflow.
In iMovie 2, to edit out a part of a clip, I bring the controller to the first frame, hold down the shift key and select the stuff to edit out, then hit delete. Very Mac-like. This functionality appears to be gone in iMovie 3. Instead, one must drag the start and end controller independently, then use Edit..Clear. The end controller must be dragged first, so you wind up having to scroll past your first edit point, go to the end of the edit, drop your marker, go back to the first edit point (wait, I was already there) and drop the second edit point. This is completely backwards.
Also, of note for Toast VCD users, the option to export to a Toast VCD can now be found after selecting "Export to Quicktime" and "Expert Settings". Previously it was available on the first screen. Yeah, I know, VCD's cut into DVD-drive sales...
I'll be re-installing iMovie 2 since it satisfies all my requirements. I was hoping for something great and snazzy in iMovie 3. No complaints, for the price, but if I had spent $50 (iLife) on it, I'd be far less pleased. Of course, I suspect that 10.3 won't run iMovie 2, then they'll be wanting me to buy a new computer.
On the plus side, I can export directly to MPEG4 now, without having to save to DV first.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
tested on bth systems to see if older systems had problems. I have had zero issues importing or exporting from a Canon GL1 or via a Sony Media Converter. The B&W G3 is obviously slower, but no flakiness whatsoever.
The KBE filter on photos is REALLY slow but you can hit the escape key which cancels rendering.
I would say people need to check permissions, look at any third-party plugins, and slashdot editors need to check their stories out completely.
the story says the "consensus" on the accelerate your mac bulliten board is that imovie sucks. Not true. read the article.
I think the people having problems are ones using obsolete imovie2 plug ins or camera drivers.
I would say that rest of the people are posting some non-problem but simple issues thay are discovering unexpectedly
like
- "imovie3" cares about file permissions more than "imovie2",
or
- it complained it could not locate my mp3s on my fire wire disk that was turned off. Or
- it was slow the first time I ran it.
Or
i accidentally dragged the sound track and my audio became out of synch (well duh!).
Whoop tee doo. this also sounds like the false alarms sounded when safari came out.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I experienced a lot of trouble with iMovie - in fact as it appeared after software update had done its tricks, it was indeed unuseable.
I then deleted the entire iMove app from the Mac, and downloaded the entire install from Apple's web. today I captured six hours from a DV camera directly to a FireWire harddisk on a 700MHz iBook with no appreciable problems.
in particular, updating from 3.0.0 (which has circulated on the net) to 3.0.1 (which is a very small download) is not a good idea.
-- Rolf Lindgren, cand.psychol
Haven't played much with 3.01 yet, but I will make this suggestion: for those seeking a better variant of the 'Ken Burns' effect, I highly suggest taking a look at Photo to Movie. I have been using it for a while to achieve basically the same effect and it works wonderfully...
the odd thing I have noticed is that quicktime format when compressed to the same level is superior to Mpeg-4. I find this odd. is not quicktime now mpeg-4 under the hood?
;-)
Hoo boy. This is going to get a little complicated.
See, there are two issues here: file format, and codec. A file format defines how bytes are arranged on disk to make up a movie file, or whatever. A very simply file format might consist of a 32-bit integer that's the length of the file data, then a whole lot of 32-bit integers that comprise the encoded video data.
A codec is basically an algorithm that takes uncompressed video (and audio) frames and encodes them for storage on disk. Most codecs include a compression algorithm, although it's not technically necessary-- "codec" used to mean "compressor/decompressor," but it's really come to mean "encoder/decdoer," which isn't the same thing.
So in order to have a media file on disk, you have to have two things: a file format, defining how the bytes are laid out, and a codec, defining how one turns uncompressed data into the bytes on disk and back again.
The MPEG forum adopted the QuickTime file format as the standard file format for MPEG-4. Read that sentence carefully: it's not that QuickTime is now MPEG-4; it's just the opposite. From the point of view of the file format, MPEG-4 is QuickTime.
The codec, on the other hand, is an entirely different question. The MPEG-4 standard defines a codec, and you can use that codec to generate MPEG-4 data files. But the MPEG-4 codec is not the only one. There are lots of them. There's Cinepak, H.263, Motion JPEG, and so on. What is widely considered to be the best codec out there for low-bit-rate applications is the Sorensen 3 video codec. But a QuickTime file can be encoded with any codec, including the MPEG-4 codec, and still be called a QuickTime file.
If you took high-resolution data, like DV data, and encoded it into a Sorensen 3 QuickTime file, then compared it to a similarly encoded MPEG-4 file, you would find that the Sorensen 3 file is superior. Both are QuickTime files. Technically, both are in the MPEG-4 file format, although you can't call a file MPEG-4 compliant if it doesn't use the MPEG-4 codec, but since the MPEG-4 format is the QuickTime format, you'd be technically right.
Clear as mud?
What the heck is this lite weight 156K movie or why is the 4.4MB one so bloated.
If you look closely at the small QuickTime file inside your project directory, you'll see that it's in DVCPRO format. This movie is actually a representation of your project timeline. It's small because it consists largely of pointers to the movie files in your Media folder. The 4.4 MB movie is the rendered, self-contained file that you created when you exported your project.
I write in my journal