Up until I upgraded to both Catalina and 2020.4, I never had an issue linking .mov files to MC whether it was from my Canon or my iPhone.  When I did have an issue importing an iPhone .mov file, I would use a free converter application called WonTube Free Video Converter and I would be able to import or link an iPhone file to MC.

Now that I have upgraded to Catalina, WonTube is not compatible with it.  I have no converter to convert my iPhone .mov files.  Do any of you have any ideas how I can import my iPhone .mov files to MC sans a video converter or do any of you have any video converter recommendations?

Andrew:

do any of you have any video converter recommendations?

Shutter Encoder

Thanks, I'll try it.

Either set your iPhone settings to H264 (the default is HEVC), or transcode it. The best tools are Compressor and Handbrake.

Thanks.  I tried to download Shutter Encoder but my Norton antivirus software warned me that Shutter Encoder is an "attack" site.  I entered that site with a different browser and there is a five dollar charge for downloading the software.

In any case, I adjusted my iPhone's video settings.

Andrew:

there is a five dollar charge for downloading the software.

That is merely a suggested charge as a donation to those who created the software. There is a slider scale on the site that allows you to select any amount, including 0, as a donation. The charge is thus not compulsory.

GT:

Andrew:

there is a five dollar charge for downloading the software.

That is merely a suggested charge as a donation to those who created the software. There is a slider scale on the site that allows you to select any amount, including 0, as a donation. The charge is thus not compulsory.

Ok thanks.  It was in French so I couldn't understand it, lol.

mrtymcln:

Either set your iPhone settings to H264 (the default is HEVC), or transcode it. The best tools are Compressor and Handbrake.

I tried Handbrake, it didn't work.  Am I supposed to convert the .mov files in Handbrake in a certain specific way?  I'm not using Compressor because there is a $40 charge and I don't want to throw my money away with no ensurance it will work.

After opening the browser when I tried to link my .mov file, I saw under the catagory Plug-in "Can't link file," as opposed to "UME" or "not processed."

I tried to open Shutter Encoder, but I got a warning from Catalina saying it might contain malware.  I deleted it off my computer.

If I don't get an answer here I may have to call tech support for the fourth time.  Since installing 2020, I've already had to call tech support three times already on three different issues.  Not a happy camper here.  Had I known I would be going through these headaches, I would have stuck with Mojave and 2019.

Well, I just got off the phone with tech support and got my answer, although it wasn't the answer I was hoping for.  Here's what was E-mailed to me.

"I was able to check the iPhone clips and it looks like a Catalina file format limitation and is currently not supported by Media Composer in this OS.

"If you check the last item of the list from the link, linking, importing, and export of H.264 with Variable Frame Rate(VFR) in .mov or mp4 wrapper is not supported. The clips you provided are H.264 with VFR in .mov and .mp4 wrapper as you can see in the screenshot that I attached. You will need to revert back to Mac OS X 10.14.6 to use the iPhone clips."

So I guess if I want to import/link iPhone .mov files, I will either have to use Apple's free iMovie or if I want to go for broke, purchase and install FCP.  I am familiar with FCP, that was my first non-linear editing application before I switched to Avid MC.  At least I can still use my Canon camera .mov files with MC.  I did adjust the video settings in my iPhone, though I don't know if that's going to make a difference.

I attach two screenshots. 

In the first one, the last line applies to me. 

In the second one, the highlighted line shows the iPhone .mov file in question is of a variable frame rate, something MC does not support in Catalina.  This is all part of Apple's decision to no longer support QuickTime.

Hopefully this will be helpful to someone who experiences similar issues.  So if you haven't installed Catalina yet, take my advice, don't!  Stick with Mojave.

Well, something weird happened.

I decided to put all my clips, shot with both Canon and my iPhone on to Apple's free editing application iMovie.  After I exported it to QuickTime, I had this thought, "what if ... "  Just for kicks, I tried to see if I could link my exported iMovie .mov file to MC, whicn included the iPhone video.  I was able to do so!  I still could not link individual iPhone videos exported from iMovie, but was able to link my three minute video exported from iMovie in which the iPhone video took up a third (a minute) of the clip.

So I guess my video converter was under my nose all this time, the iMovie application.

It won't help this time, but I'd recommend the Filmic Pro App for your iphone.
You get control over the camera: frame rate, resolution etc & the videos are AMA compliant.

Andrew -- For what it's worth, I've used Compressor on original iPhone footage, and converted it to ProRes and MXF files both with Avid v2020 and Catalina. Was able to link no problem after that. I'm not sure what iMovie is doing to them - if it's just a rewrap no problem, but make sure it isn't toasting quality somehow.

Compressor has been totally worth the $40 for me. However, recently I've had issues with it not seeing some DNxHR footage from completed 4K projects from Avid -- Compressor just tanks. So I've moved to Adobe Media Encoder for the moment.

I'm using FilmicPro on an iPhone 11...it used to link (Mohave + MC 2020) but now it doesn't (I've changed nothing). Even when it did the link would break all the time and I'd have to xcode/ingest to HQ. I'm currently looking for alternatives. The files are over an hour long (40-90GB) and all this transcoding is not ideal.

I'm shooting 1920x1200 (30fps) xcoding to DNxHQ (might be overkill, SQ should be okay). Final output is h.264 for YouTube

Try this: Open all the iphone videos in Quicktime (OSX default version) Export as 1080p (without HEVC) then link to those. That seems to "restripe" the file header so MC doesn't take issue.

See if you can import them into the free version of Resolve and convert them there.

Otherwise you may want to learn ffmpeg.

Robert