Maybe iMovie '08 isn't such a bad change after all

"I wouldn't mind this if (1) iMovie '06 were available and continued to be updated"
People who like iMovie HD 6, and would like it updated, need to purchase Final Cut Pro, because it offers detailed professional editing - A Great Product!

"15. my iMovie 08 crashes at startup.

probably because of my Canon G7 that makes .avi movies that neither quicktime nor vlc can read.

anyone encountered the same issue?"

The G7 captures motion jpegs.... which aren't all that well supported. I have a similar problem with my Sony cybershot from DSC-P150 that captures muxed mpeg1s. You need to find a program to convert motion jpegs to mpeg2/4 or similar.

This is what I've been saying all along.

Disclaimer: I have never actually said it, but I thought it a few times.

P.S. I too will miss iMovie with all its old features, but iLife is about the masses, and, let's face it, the masses are stupid. They need something simple enough that it just works. I think Apple should continue their work on iMovie 06, give it a different name, and add it as a product between iMovie 08 and FCE.

So really, the big problem here is this:

People were using iMovie for making movies.. and they went and turned into an iMovie light, for doing what 99% of what us do with video - just want to put a bit of it together to share with friends.

I think it still covers the mass's, and the majority that are complaining should probably be using something like FCP or the light version anyways.

My two bits.

i am all for making things easier, but i can't believe i am going to have to use fce for simple things like precise clip and soundtrack editing.

i have 06 for now, but i noticed it doesn't come with newer macs. what happens when i replace my aging g5?

Like others said i wanted to make some videos and iMovie 06 wasnt what i was looking for to do it. iMovie 08 it is what i wanted, simple and fast to make some cool videos.
BUT!
Its a shame that Apple removed features that iMovie 06 had to the new version. For real i cant understand why Apple do that...Give us back the effects and transinsions we had :(
Also a nice idea would be to choose what interface u wanna choose, the old iMovie way or the new, but then who that isnt pro would buy Final Cut?
Anyway, im hopping for an update for iMovie 08, for the effects and the transissions.

I don't mean to be rude, I just can't understand who any consumer would think that less features, for the same price, equals better product. If video effects distracted your audience then don't use them. Better to have and not use, then want and not be there. Thats the problem the other half of iMove owners are having. We are not making videos of our cats for YouTube. We are making vacation videos, short films, ect. And iMove gave us that power.

I just find it waaaaay hypocritical that not even 2 years ago when Jobs was on stage and showing off iMovie HD, no body had anything but good things to say about the new effects, improved timeline, the editing power and ease of use. And now since its gone, Mac owners are going through this two face denial thing. 2 years ago iMove was the biggest excitement of iLife, now its like "Well, I love 08 even when it has nothing that made it so incredible in the past". Is that something to convince us or yourself? If someone truly does prefer iMove08 then more power to them, but all Apple did was gimp 08 in my opinion. They pulled a M$. Removed features that was suppose to be there so you pay more to upgrade. And I for one am not going to act like thats ok if I can embrace it enough.

Apple has made available for free iMovie '06. Quit your whining. You can choose which version to work with.

iMovie 08 is in itself not such a bad product, but I bought iLife for the value of the whole package. Being an ex-pro video editor, iMovie was still enough for simple editing and the workflow was good.

To get the functionality I got with iMovie, in the future I'll have to consider getting an additional Movie application (Final Cut Express 300 bucks, ouch) or hope for a considerable functional upgrade with iMovie 09... That's why I'm completely underwhelmed about this "upgrade"

@15: I had this problem I believe because of a bad codec. I downloaded and installed Perian and the problem went away.

To all these WIndows Movie Maker weenies: Are you kidding me? You'd go to all the trouble to run a Windows app just to get a few more cheesy transitions and effects? The power of iMovie '08 is that it makes all of your movies, pictures, and music incredibly accessible and easy to put together. The user can focus on being creative instead of focusing on the application.

I think iMovie '08 will draw in folks who were too intimidated by video editing software to try it before. Everyone who I show the program to is instantly more interested in editing movies and in the Mac. They say things like, "You know, I do have that wedding video I've been meaning to edit..." And I'm sure good number of these people will turn out to be darned good, and will make stuff with it that'll put all the whiners to shame. I applaud Apple for making this accessible, fun program that's sure to get people interested and excited about video editing. Cheesy effects be damned!

And another thing: Show me proof. Show me a movie made with iMovie '06 that's so totally great and that couldn't be done with iMovie '08. Evidence has been greatly lacking from this debate.