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  • Fix Final Cut Pro X Won’t Import MOV Files?

Fix Final Cut Pro X Won’t Import MOV Files?

November 21, 2017 / Dave Taylor / d) None of the Above, Mac & MacOS Help / 16 Comments

I’m baffled. I have a bunch of MOV files from my iPhone and I can’t import them into Final Cut Pro X on my Mac system. What’s the fix?

I’ve encountered this particular Final Cut Pro X glitch too and from researching it believe that there’s some issue with the compression codec used with this particular video footage on the iPhone. I mean, you’d think Apple would make sure that its pro level video editing tool would be able to work natively with video recorded on its own devices, and that if you were going to have any import problems, it would be from weird cameras, surveillance devices, downloaded footage from the Web, etc. Nope, not this time.

Fortunately, the tool to fix the problem is already on your Mac, though it’s a bit tedious to work with, especially if you have a bunch of videos to correct: QuickTime Player.

Yes, QuickTime Player can play all of the .MOV files from iPhones and iPads without an issue, and if you then export it with a different name, the resultant file has the same suffix (.MOV) but is in a format that works with Final Cut Pro X (1080p, H.264 or H.265, up to 1920 x 1080 resolution). I really don’t understand why, but… it works.

Let’s step through the process so you can see what I mean. Here’s our starting point, a few minutes of video shot with the new iPhone X:

video mov from iphone

Double click to open it up in QuickTime Player and it looks just fine:

mov video footage quicktime player

But jump into Final Cut Pro X to import this particular video snippet and it’s greyed out and unavailable to choose:

iphone mov video footage unable to import final cut pro x mac

See it, the fourth entry down? What’s frustrating is that there’s no information on why it’s not a file format that the video editor Final Cut Pro X can import, it’s just dead. Yeesh. Now what?

The solution, as I said earlier, is to go back to QuickTime Player and choose File > Export and the biggest video format it allows (depending on original footage):

quicktime player file > export as > 1080p

Here I’m using File > Export As > 1080p. The process is simple, just make sure you give the new file a different name (if you overwrite the original, somehow the format doesn’t seem to end up compatible with FCPX from my tests. It’s also just a good habit to never destroy original footage anyway):

quicktime player mac export mov iphone ipad video footage new name

A progress bar lets you see how things proceed. In my experience on a modern MacBook Pro it’s just a matter of seconds:

quicktime player export progress

And the resultant file? Well, you can see in Final Cut Pro X that it’s now ready to import:

mov file ready to import, fcpx final cut pro x

It’s hard to get details on what’s going on, but certainly if QuickTime Player can read video footage it seems reasonable to expect that would also be something that the Apple program Final Cut Pro X would also be able to import it, but at least the fix is pretty straightforward and doesn’t involve non-Apple software downloads.

Got an explanation to share about what changes when an incompatible MOV file from an iPhone is exported in MOV format in QTP and then is FCPX compatible? Leave it in the comments! Thanks.

About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

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Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
final cut pro x, fix import, import fcpx, import problems, iphone video, mov files, mov format, mov video, quicktime player, video formats

16 comments on “Fix Final Cut Pro X Won’t Import MOV Files?”

  1. Alex says:
    January 16, 2022 at 4:46 am

    Oh my… It’s really worked! Thank you for the tips.

    Reply
  2. Rhonda says:
    September 1, 2021 at 10:03 am

    I can’t thank you enough for this tip! I have ben frustrated and wore out trying to figure out what the problem was! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Emma says:
    June 7, 2021 at 11:25 pm

    Thank you SO much!! This is the only thing I got to work. A little extra time but so worth it to be able to edit… you are a life saver!!!

    Reply
  4. Terri says:
    March 12, 2020 at 4:44 pm

    Hi Dave! I am having trouble importing into FCP files that were shot on a sony camera. The file is an MOV. When I followed your instructions, I was able to open with quicktime, change the name of the file as instructed and saved as your instructions. I upload into FCP program, but the files don’t have sound. The sound was there in quicktime and the original files.

    I am so frustrated and freaking out!

    Help!

    Reply
    • Dave Taylor says:
      March 13, 2020 at 9:13 am

      That’s a curious one. Is this discussion of any value? https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/344/55027

      Reply
  5. Michael says:
    February 11, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    MAN!! YOU ARE THE BEST! Thank you for sharing this. I was looking at this solution throughout the entire internet and there was no solution from anybody. Anyway, thanks again! Greetings from Peru 😉

    Reply
  6. Robin Liao says:
    July 8, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  7. matteo says:
    November 15, 2018 at 2:08 pm

    incredible, the footage record from an apple device doesn’t work on apple software?! crazy things

    Reply
  8. PhyShy says:
    September 16, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    Well, just ran across this today because i was having the same issue and needed a fix. Downloading quicktime was an issue for some reason.
    So, I tried iMovie.
    It opened up the file fine. Also, when i went to save it or export it . . . . under File, there’s a “Send Movie to Final Cut Pro” option in the drop down list.
    Still working on the project but looks like iMovie is a good work around too!

    Reply
    • isherwooddavidi says:
      September 28, 2018 at 9:27 pm

      I usually use iDealshare VideoGo to convert MOV to Apple ProRes for Final Cut Pro.

      Reply
  9. Maks says:
    June 2, 2018 at 8:24 am

    THANK YOU DAVE !!!

    Reply
  10. Patrick Larsen says:
    April 5, 2018 at 12:20 am

    What if I can’t even open the file in QuickTime, what do you reccommend doing?

    Reply
    • Dave Taylor says:
      April 5, 2018 at 11:07 am

      Could the file be corrupted or in a different format even though it says .MOV? VLC is a champ at opening weird video file formats if you want to give that a try, Patrick. Start at videolan.org

      Reply
      • Daniel Lee says:
        August 29, 2018 at 12:37 am

        Hey Dave, I’m currently facing the same problem. iPhoneX shoots a H.265 file, which is not compatible on both Premiere Pro and Final Cut. I can’t open it on Quicktime either, it says file format not compatible, which is weird because one would expect synergy between apple products. I tried using VLC, and the video files play there, but how do I convert them into a format that’s editble on Final Cut?

        Reply
  11. Sam Shobo says:
    February 26, 2018 at 6:41 pm

    Thank you so much Dave!

    Reply
  12. Troy Fardell says:
    November 27, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    Thank you Dave.
    I almost download some “Free” software to do this.
    Works a treat.

    Reply

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