Apple iMovie '08 - Manual (Page 12)

12 Chapter 2 Learn iMovie
If you’re importing high definition (HD) video, the 1080i HD Import Setting dialog
opens. If you’re not importing 1080i format video, just click OK. If you are importing
1080i format, or if you will do so in the future, select the size in which you want iMovie
to import your video. The Large size video is recommended for most ordinary uses
(including viewing on Apple TV) because it saves hard disk space and may play back
more smoothly on some computers. However, if your camcorder records in true 1920
by 1080 HD video, and if you will use this video for broadcasting or exporting to
Final Cut Pro, select the Full size, which better preserves the original quality of the
video but uses more disk space. (For more detailed information about this, search for
1080i in iMovie Help.)
Note: If you’re using a DVD camcorder, plugging it into your Mac may cause DVD Player
to open. If that happens, simply close DVD Player.
2 Click Import All to import all the clips.
3 From the Save To pop-up menu, choose a disk where you want to store the imported
video.
You can choose any supported hard disk that’s connected to your computer with a
FireWire cable. It takes about 13 GB to store an hour of standard definition (DV) video
and 40 GB to store an hour of high definition (HD) video, so make sure you have
enough space on the disk you choose. The amount of free space on each available disk
is shown in parentheses next to the disk’s name in the pop-up menu.
4 Choose how you want to organize the imported video in your Event Library:
 To add the imported video to an already existing Event, select “Add to existing
Event,” and then choose its name from the pop-up menu.
 To create a new Event, type a name for it in the “Create new Event” field (for example,
“Birthday Party”). If you want to create a new Event for each day on which the video
was recorded, select “Split days into new Events.”
5 If you’re importing 1080i-format video, make a size selection from the pop-up menu.
Large size video is of high enough quality to view on a high definition television
(HDTV) and for most other uses. However, if you’ll be exporting your movie to
Final Cut Pro, or if you have some other reason to maintain the original, full size of
your video, choose “Full - 1920 x 1080” from the “Import 1080i video as” pop-up menu.
6 Click OK.
It can take from several minutes to more than an hour for iMovie to import the video
and generate thumbnail images of each clip, depending on how many minutes of
video you have. The progress bars in the Import window indicate which clip is currently
being imported and how quickly the import is proceeding.