Following the advice in this thread, I found that selecting the h.264 compression type in the Snapz Pro video settings, produces a .mov file that iMovie '08 can edit and export.

I'm producing a file in 4:3 format (480 x 360), since that seems to be the size of videos on YouTube, and I want to put the finished video on YouTube. All my Snapz Pro .mov files are 4:3.

There are a lot of export settings available in iMovie's Share->Export Using Quicktime dialog box, but I haven't yet found the right ones for this.

For example, I tried setting the export size to 480 x 360. The exported movie was the right dimensions, but blurry.

Then I tried just doing an export using Share->Export Movie (Medium size), but the top and bottom of the frame were cut off.

What are the best export settings for using iMovie to export a movie made from Snapz Pro video capture files, for distribution on YouTube?

Thanks very much in advance to all for any info.

Hello,
I would try to use as little compression as possible since YouTube is going to convert/compress it. Not too sure what I'd recommend out of iMovie. As it stands you're compressing the same file 3 times (Snapz, iMovie and upload to YouTube). If you have the disk space, you may want to try using None as compressor in Snapz, and let iMovie do the first compression. Hope this helps

An interesting thought! I'll try it.

(Moments later..)

Good grief! IM crops the video on import to 1.76:1 !

How's anybody supposed to make a standard 480 x 360 YouTube video?

Am I missing something?

No idea. I would suggest the iMovie forums over on Apple's discussion boards. I gave up (for now) on iMovie '08 shortly after launching

I have been posting there as well (link). So far no one there seems to have an answer.

someone said:

"IM crops the video on import to 1.76:1"

Probably because it thinks the file is for "smallest" web size. (Like eMail)

I had the same problem

So far, there have been no recommendations from YouTube on how to get the best quality.

I have uploaded DV from iMovie, and still get the pixelated, poor quality.
However, I have found that using iMovie's "Share" to "CD" quality to be the best for YouTube. (Best of evils -- still ain't pretty)

Too bad YouTube isn't sharing the secret.

However, some people have discovered it -- because there are some pretty high quality videos in there. I suppose the "raw" capture directly from the DV camera probably produces the best quality.