How to Convert Windows Movie Maker to IMovie

By David Koenig

Windows Live Movie Maker saves movies in the Windows Media Video format, known by the file extension .wmv. As an Apple program, iMovie does not accept file formats unique to Windows, so you must convert video files to an iMovie-friendly format to be able to view and edit them. Several free programs enable you to convert video clips from WMV to MPEG-4, all of which have paid upgrade options to remove limitations.

Step 1

Go to Iorgsoft.com and click "Video Tools" in the Windows drop-down menu, then click "Free Trial" next to AVCHD Video Converter to download. Once installed and opened, click "Add File" to select a WMV file from your computer to convert. The profile is set to MPEG-4 by default, which is for iMovie. Click the large green "Convert" button to complete. You can click "Order Later" if prompted to upgrade.

Step 2

Go to NCHsoftware.com/prism and click "Get It Now," then follow the instructions to install. Open the Prism program and click "Add File" to select a WMV file to convert, then select ".mp4" from the Output Format menu. Click "Encoder Options" and select "MPEG4" from the Compressor drop-down menu. Click "Video Options" and "Effects" for more customization options, then click "Convert" to begin the process.

Step 3

Go to Yasasoft.com/videoconverter and click "Free Trial" to download and install. Open the program and click "File," then "Add Video File" to select a WMV file for conversion. Click the "Video" tab at the bottom of the window, and select "MPEG-4 Video Format" in the Output Profiles drop-down menu. With YASA, you can set other specifications, such as bit rate and frame rate. Click "Action," then "Start Encoding" to convert. You can convert a video clip up to five minutes long with the trial version and upgrade for more options.

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