Creative Vado HD Video Format Help
David Fay appreciates my hardware recommendations:
Thanks a lot for all your vids posted on YouTube. It was very helpful in my decision to buy the Vado HD. I had originally purchased the Kodak zi6, but thought it was a bit bigger than I wanted to carry in my pocket every day. So, I got the vado HD and LOVED it.
The AVI format does not work in iMovie ‘09. I read a bunch of blog entries with this issue, and downloaded “ffmpegx” which seems to take a while, be a huge extra step, and I do not know if it is possible to batch process. I have a MacBook Pro, and love the ease of dumping vids in iPhoto, then making movies in iMovie ‘09.
Is there an easier workflow to convert files into a better format?
Yeah, Creative screwed the pooch on Mac support – but there’s a perfect way to fix their shortcomings (until they wake up and realize that not everybody in the world uses, or WANTS to use, Windows).
My suggestion for both Windows and Mac OS X users is to download MPEG Streamclip (freeware). It’s got a batch processing feature for you. Simply adjust your output accordingly (I’d recommend experimenting and finding your own favorite MP4 setting). I believe the Windows version is on par with the OS X version, so you should be good in that respect. I also use this utility to watermark URLs in the lower right-corner of videos that weren’t produced live.
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17 Comments
Sven Vollstag
February 16th, 2009
at 8:47pm
…i think imovie not understanding xvid h.264…
…is imovies shortcoming, not creatives…
Covino
February 17th, 2009
at 10:38pm
Oh thanks! This is exactly what I have been needing for some time now.
Peter Bang
February 19th, 2009
at 9:28am
Yes, thanks Chris. After seeing your reviews I ended up getting the Vado and I love it.
I had the same problem David Fay had on my mac and though mpegsteamclip is good but a better solution that I found was downloading “Perian” on my mac. http://perian.org
It solves the avi problem on a mac. I’ve only tested with Final Cut Pro so far but I’m pretty sure it’ll make it work on imovie.
Scott Hanselman
February 19th, 2009
at 12:12pm
Easier to just install the http://www.perian.org/ QuickTime codec, then Vado videos work in iMovie and act like any other video on a Mac.
Brandon L.
March 16th, 2009
at 9:55am
Scott: That’s not true. Perian allows iMovie HD to read Vado files, but not iMovie ‘09. For some reason, it’s a lot pickier.
Some guys on the Apple discussion boards found that you can rewrap the video in an .MOV file (without touching the video, but re-encoding the audio along the way) with FFMPEG. Problem with that approach is, it has to be done from the command line. FFMPEGX (the GUI app) can’t seem to do it.
Christoph
April 13th, 2009
at 12:28am
Hello Chris,
first: very nice site :) !!!
Can you say me your favourite settings in MPEGStremClip for importing the vado files into mp4-files?
Greetings from Germany
Christoph
jerry
April 15th, 2009
at 8:23am
Hey chris, any idea what is the best conversion settings for a Vado HD video using MPEG streamclip? I wanna convert my videos for mac iMovie w/o much loss in quality. possible?
Glenn Batuyong
April 23rd, 2009
at 9:17pm
Correct me if I’m wrong but couldn’t you also batch these all with the new version of Handbrake and output Apple Intermediate Codec files which will import fine into iMovie ‘09?
ben jacks
April 30th, 2009
at 3:48pm
i downloaded ffmpegx and the exports of quicktimes from my VADO .avi’s are all black – any thoughts?
nicheplayer
May 1st, 2009
at 6:24pm
I just ordered a Vado HD and am eager to see if Glenn’s suggestion pans out. Surely someone else has tried this by now?
Scary
June 6th, 2009
at 1:03am
Hi there,
I’m having the same problem – trying to use iMovie 09 to edit video created using the Vado HD.
I’ve tried Handbreak but it’s slow to use simply because all the shots in Vado are separate files and therefore you have to add them one at a time. Also, Handbreak does create files that can be used in iMovie but iMovie runs like a dog.
I’ve also tried Streamclip. Through trial and error I managed to get something imported into iMovie and it seems to run better. But the files are massive and there is no sound.
I really can’t understand why Macs are supposed to be the chosen computers for all things media yet it doesn’t support a simple video file.
Am I really going to have to install Windows XP on my brand new Macbook?
Sian murray
August 6th, 2009
at 6:50pm
Hi.
I just transferred all my videos off my Vado onto my Macbook. I copied them all to my mac, and then dragged and dropped the originals remaining on my Vado into the waste basket as I wanted to clear room to record new videos. The problem is, now I can’t record anything, it’s telling me the memory is full, but also telling me there’s no files present when I try to play anything. I’m on holiday and really need to record stuff, going home soon. Please help!!! How do you reset?
Vadim Zima
August 7th, 2009
at 1:11pm
This time I was mad at Chris. Why, oh WHY didn’t he make it bold and in capital letters that this nifty camera is NOT compatible with iMovie???? All suggested solutions seem to me like extracting teeth through one asshole. Disgusted! Feel like he was paid to push this product…
Vaughn
August 10th, 2009
at 9:25am
Ok so I used the MPEGstreamclip and it converts my video files from my VadoHD into .MOV without losing quality.. BUT when i put it into iMovie’09 it plays but with no audio… then i use the ffmpegX app and it “supposedly” encodes the audio to the movie but when i try adding it to iMovie it doesnt allow me, can anyone please help me?!?!?! thank you!
Neil
September 3rd, 2009
at 1:17pm
Love the quality when played on big HD screen. However, need help when transfering to iMovie ‘06hd. What is the procedure? Without complications.
davidd aka puuikibeach
September 7th, 2009
at 3:29pm
I also encountered the “no audio” problem when converting Vado HD .avi clips to .mp4 using Streamclip. The workaround I came up with:
Open the .avi clips from the Vado in Quicktime Pro.
“Save As” from Quicktime Pro to .MOV.
Using Streamclip, convert .MOV to .MP4.
The resulting MP4 will have audio, and will import properly into iMovie 09.
Pat Sweet
September 15th, 2009
at 5:20am
Creative just released OSX software that imports movies directly from VADO HD to imovie. You can get it on support.creative.com under the VADO 2nd generation support. It works with the original VADO HD just fine as well.