Black video in iMovie 10.0.8

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Hi all, I am currently using a PowerMac running Yosemite 10.10.3. I imported several video clips into a new event on iMovie 10.0.8. All of them imported normally except for one. The one that did not import correctly has all of the video black but the sound is fine. I am 99% sure that the lens cover was not on. In fact sometimes when I have moved the mouse across it I have even seen a video image for a brief moment. I have rebooted, Updated the iMovie app as well as the OS, copied the event into a new one. Nothing has worked. Please help.
 

chscag

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Welcome to the Mac-Forums.

We need to know which Mac you have Russell as a PowerMac can not run Yosemite. And you imported the video clips from where? One of our members who is familiar with iMovie should be able to respond to your question.
 
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In addition to the information chscag asked, are you importing files or capturing off a camera?

If you are importing, are they all the same type of file like .mov or.mp4 etc.

Usually if you get black video one of two things have happened.

1. The video file that is not working could be a type that iMovie will not work with.

2. The file is corrupt.

In either 1 or 2 the audio will usually play just fine because in a video the audio is sort of separate and a standard compatible format and it is matched with the video which can be in a wide variety of coding formats that may not all be compatible.

More information will help us help you.

Lisa
 
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Thank you for the fast response. My apologies for not being clear. It is an iMac not a powerMac. I am thinking about my Wife's older computer. She is the real Mac user I am still learning. The video files were moved from my video camera SD card, imported directly into iMovie. I tried to see what the specific file type was but I can't find it. All of the video files are exactly the same. i took several all that same day and this one for whatever reason is glitched. I hope this helps. If, in fact, it is just corrupt and can not be recovered so be it, but i thought I would check with the pros before I deleted it. Thanks again.
 
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If you double click on the glitchy video by itself (Not in iMovie) does Quicktime open up and play it or can you open it in Quicktime? If not I would be willing to bet it is corrupt. If the SD card was really full the last file might have not been saved correctly. Hard to tell really.

If Quicktime plays it them the problem is with iMovie. Let us know what you find out.

I also recommend moving all your videos off the SD card and reformatting it. If the SD card is getting some age on it and has been used a good bit, it could be ending it's life span.

Lisa
 
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I am having the same issue on a Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and iMovie 10.1.1.
I have two videos that work in Quicktime but just show black in iMovie.

Here is the ffmpeg output of a problematic file:


Code:
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 1
    compatible_brands: isommp423gp5
    creation_time   : 2016-04-12 12:33:10
  Duration: 00:39:10.63, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 2134 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(eng): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2016-04-08 14:43:58
      handler_name    : Sound Media Handler
    Stream #0:1(und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709/bt709/iec61966-2-1), 1364x768, 2000 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 1k tbn, 60 tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2016-04-08 14:43:58
      handler_name    : Video Media Handler
      encoder         : AVC Coding
    Stream #0:2(und): Data: none (mp4s / 0x7334706D), 0 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2016-04-12 12:33:44
      handler_name    : GPAC MPEG-4 OD Handler
    Stream #0:3(und): Data: none (mp4s / 0x7334706D), 0 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2016-04-12 12:33:44
      handler_name    : GPAC MPEG-4 Scene Description Handler
 
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