Importing miniDV files losslessly

Hi,
I have an old Sony TCR-TRV11 Camcorder that uses miniDV cassettes for recording video. I have recently imported all of them thorugh firewire 800 via iMovie '11 as .dv files into the iMovie Events folder. Is there a way to convert those .dv files losslessly into .mov? I have done research and learned that you can use MPEG Streamclip to do the conversion process, but I'm not sure what settings to use because I'm not really a pro at this stuff. Is there data loss when converting using software like MPEG streamclip? Is it better if I get Final Cut Express and import from the camcorder again, this time directly into the .mov container file format? And if I purchase a used copy of Final Cut Express, will it work on my computer? I just want to preserve all my old videos without losing any detail/information.
Thanks!

Hi Ian,
Single-field processing in iMovie 08/09/11 has been the subject of loads of debate, and many people absolutely believe iMovie 09/11 just destroys DV video. That is not actually the case. If you read the posts carefully the comparisons between iMovie 08/09/11 vs. iMovie 06/FCE invariably involve DV video clips that have been inserted into an iMovie project and exported (shared) from iMovie.
Single-field processing in iMovie comes into play when you insert a DV clip into an iMovie project, not when you capture clips from a camcorder. It's the iMovie editor that drops the fields, not iMovie capture. Tom Wolsky proved this rather definitively a couple of years ago with a direct capture comparison in iMovie 06 and iMovie 09/11. Some people still didn't believe him even though the actual video clips were there to view. So the debate rages on. Further, Karsten's iMovie Output Project works because the .dv clip files are complete; if the captured clips were already single field then Karsten's procedure wouldn't work.
iMovie's internal process of capturing DV video is identicall in all versions of iMovie. The captured clips themselves (the .dv files) are simply an exact copy of the recording on the camcorder's miniDV tapes as they play back during capture. DV capture in iMovie is really just a process of copying the recording from the tapes.
cheers,
Martin
ps. I recently had a very nice holiday in Sussex (specifically, Godalming), with a side trip to Northiam to visit Great Dixter. Image: an American driving a diesel, 5-speed manual Volkswagen Jetta on the left (wrong!) side of the road - starting on the A3 & M25, later on rural and village roads that were narrow to begin with and kept getting narrower the further I went. Add cars parked on one side, making the 2-way roads hardly 1-lane wide. Add a GPS that decided I should go "the most direct way" which really meant a 1-hour drive that actually took 4. Let's just say it was a creative route. I was sure glad there was a pub at the end of the trip!

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Minidv import and file format

I imported a minidv tape from camcorder. In the finder I see the files are .mov. Should they be .dv? What's the best way to maintain original quality?
on the clip info it says under codec: DV/DVCPRO-NTSC , Linear PCM..
Note: Earlier today I imported another clip and that one shows also as .mov but under codec info it shows H.264. I guess I changed the settings (mayby transcoded at import).
Anyway, I really only want to do this once and the top priority is retaining best possible quality. I don't care if it takes up a lot of space. Happy to get another drive.
Finally, you guys keep all the events on a separate external drive? That seems reasonable to me. How about the projects? I'm not sure if they take up a lot of disc space as well. I was under the impression projects do not.
Thanks

Great!
Thank you!
I already have some events and projects on the internal HDD. If I want to move it ALL to the external HDD is it still recommended to do that within FCP X (ather than moving the folders through the finder).
Also, if I import a lot of DV tapes (in full) is there any reason to also archive it for future needs. Seems that''s just a duplicate.
Finally, I am more familiar with iMovie 11 which really has all the editing capability I will need for my family videos. However, I'm trying out FCP X because of quality issues with minidv import in iMovie 11. I know this may seem strange to some, but is there a way to import minidv tapes to FCP X (o get the higher quality)and then work with those .mov files in the more familiar iMovie 11 or will I experience the same quality issues?

Importing MiniDV w/iMovie - Some bad Timecode

I've got about 25 miniDV tapes I want to import in order to archive them for future editing. What is the best way to bring them in? I started the process a while back, and I left iMovie '11 in "automatic" mode. Each clip was imported as an individual DV file. I believe it's using the tape timecode to accomplish this.
However, on some of the tapes I ended up with a bunch of 0.1s clips. Obviously these are pretty much impossible to work with. Maybe my tapes are starting to get old/degrade, hence my desire to get back to work and figure out the best way to bring them in. Should I bring them in on "manual" mode? Will this bring the tape in as a single MiniDV file I can break up later when I edit?
Any advantage to using FCPX to perform this (i.e. 30 day trial)?
thanks

Manual will help get around those 0.1 second clips. That's what I would choose if I was trying to digitize a lot of tape. Also each hour of video will occupy 13.5 GBytes of space. So you will most likely also want to purchase an external hard drive, reformat it as a Macintosh HD and then have iMovie use it as it's Events Folder.

Question about MiniDV Files/iMovie

I have four miniDV tapes full of video from my last camera (switched to SD). I would like to import the video into my Macbook but I just remembered it doesn't have a fire-wire port.
What are my options for getting this data onto the Macbook?
I have previously imported this video to an iMac. I moved the projects over to an external USB drive. When I try to import them, the dates are all messed up. So I do not know how to do this without having a firewire port on the new machine. I borrowed a friends miniDV camera for the night and I'd really like to do this while I have the camera in my possession.

I cannot stress enough that the reason for this whole exercise is to maintain the proper dates in the Event viewer. The more I think about it, the movies I am having a problem with were imported into iMovie HD, not iMovie 8. Could that be part of the issue I am having?
Wouldn't it be simpler to just import the files from your USB drive directly to iMovie '08 events, and then use an application like "A Better Finder Attributes" to change the file creation date (which is now probably the default time/date used by the files as a result of your moving them from one drive to another at the Finder level)? I assume you can scan or sample the original tapes to get/assign the correct date data to match the taped video sequencing to your already imported files in less time than it would take to borrow, set-up, import, transfer, and return the equipment.

Import all files at once?

Can you import multiple files at once so they encode at once, opposed to individually?
Or, can you import one large timeline (all your files combined on one timeline) and then set up the dvd to access your footage as you want. Opposed to bringing in new files for each part of your dvd (film, extras, trailers, etc)?

Jbowden,
I tried to export my project using MPEG-2 DVD and got the following error message:
After Effects: AEGP Plugin Media IO Plugin: Transcoding cannot progress due to one or more video parameters set incorrectly (error code= 0x203c). Please recheck the settings and try again.
MediaI02: exc00b002
(5027::12)
After Effects: AEGP Plugin Media: IOPlugin: unrecognized Exception.
I'm not sure what this means, or how to fix it. I chose lossless:MPEG-2 DVD, and Best Settings on export. Any clue?
Thx!
Kugar

Can't import .mov file into iMovie

I have a video clip in .mov format that won't seem to import so that I can edit it. I'm a guy who's worked with windows for years and I am Mac illiterate. Is there a reason why I can't import the clip, but it still plays in quicktime?
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hi Solace,
welcome to this forum
to give you some background info for better understanding in the future:
the file extension".mov" is a bit irritating, should NOT be translated with "movie"! a .mov is just a socalled container, it can contain (sic) many kind of media: stills, music, VR...- and for sure video.
just to impress you, have a look in this list:
Apple's list of formats supported by QT
iMovie is an edit-app meant to work with firewire-connected miniDV camcorders..... you can import "other" files&formats, but then it gets a bit tricky....
so, my usual guess, you're trying to import some mpegs (contained in a .mov file, you don't read .mpg as suffix.....)
some very good advices here, in plain english:
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6010.shtml
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6018.shtml
have fun with your Mac!

How import flac files into itunes

how do you import flac files into itunes on a mac?
thx

click here for information.
however, you could also convert the FLACs to Apple Lossless files. either of these free apps can do that for you.

Importing wav. files into itunes on MAC OSX

I have a question, hope someone has the answer.
I am a new mac owner, new ipod owner too.
I currently have 200-300 gigabytes of SHN and FLAC files on my PC (mostly grateful dead soundboard recordings).
I am planning on converting these files to WAV. format with "artist", "album" (show date), and "song" ID tags.
I then plan on copying these WAV. files to my imac or separate external hard drive formatted for MAC OSX.
OK THE QUESTION (finally, no?),
When WAV. files are imported into itunes are they automatically converted to the MP4 AAC format?
I have looked in the itune PREFERENCES menu I go to ADVANCED and see that there is a control for switching file formats for importing CD'S but there is no mention of importing WAV. files.
On another note it is too bad that Apple has not come up with a file conversion utility for itunes, where FLAC, SHN, and WAV. files could be converted to MP4AAC, Apple Losless, etc...
I appreciate any answers to my question, and also comments regarding the general subject of audio file conversion on the MAC OSX.
Thanks

Hi,
Firstly, I must point out that WAV doesn't support tagging, so there is no point in converting your compressed FLAC and SHN files to WAV before making the move over to a Mac.
Rather, it would make more sense to use the free and excellent Max to convert all these files automatically to the format of your choice, such as Apple Lossless. You can even run multiple conversions simultaneously, so you could, say, convert your whole lot of files to Apple Lossless while at the same time convert the same lot to AAC for use on your iPod. The program is highly configurable, allowing you to specify destination directories and whether or not the output files are added directly to your iTunes library. Also, the tagging will be preserved when converting FLAC and SHN files to supported formats.

Cannot import .mov files (from JVC HM100) into After Effects CS6

Hi,
I am trying to import .mov files into After Effects CS6. Unfortunately, when I try to import the .mov files, AE tells me "After Effects error: 210_0001_01.mov cannot be imported -- this '.mov' file is damaged or unsupported." The file works in Premiere CS6. I have the latest Quicktime, and even with Quicktime 7 Pro installed, I got that same result. I would appreciate any advice on this problem.
Thank you.

RobertHorn2012 wrote:
I'm going to set up a new sequence with just the clip I'm using after effects on. I'm going to import that sequence into AE.
Your footage is currently a long-gop codec, which may be giving Mocha fits. So instead of Dynamic Link, you may want to simply export the clip in question from Premiere using a lossless codec. Remember to leave handles on the footage.
To get back to Premiere you would then render in a lossless codec. It's not very handy, but it will get the job done.
Give it a try and see what happens.

Soundtrack Pro import AIFF files Work Around

I saved my AIFF Apple audio files from the earlier version of Soundtrack Pro. I dragged an AIFF into Favorites in the Browser lower right side of UI, worked with it, and "Saved As" send to Desktop and it works.
It won't let you export, but you can bring it into Final Cut from the desktop, by Selecting File & Import.

The goal is to make the files accessible to an Avid Media Composer. Turns out that the only format the MC will import is 44.1K AIFF. It doesn't know what to do with Apple lossless. Maybe it can work with WAVs -- I didn't try that. (And you can't drag and drop to import...)
So what I'm doing is using Libra to point iTunes to a library on a firewire drive, and then importing the CDs as AIFFs. This seems to work.
I will then bring the firewire drive to my place of work and import the files into iTunes on the Mac there.
The only question I have now is whether I needed Libra. What happens when you tell iTunes to change the location of the library? Does it read in an existing library and index it, or do you have to re-import?
Thanks to both of you for your help--
Steve

Can't import any files; mpeg, avi

I'm trying to make a megamix video of various pop vids but it won't let me import any files - it lets me select them such as mpeg, mpeg that can only be played on VLC too, avi but then it says can't import - one message did say /2048.
Can I only use .mov files?
I haven't bought that Quicktime plugin thing either - don't really agree with that to be honest!
Power Mac G5 Mac OS X (10.3.4)

... but don't really understand your answer...
that's easy, with my english..
Hi friojas,
welcome to this forum
as I wrote: iM is meant to work with miniDV camcoders.. you try something different: import NOT from camera. AND with a different "standard", as "opening a Photoshop-file with Word"...- that needs some process called conversion... into "dv", which is iM's and your camcorders standard...-
try one of the tools I listed above to convert your avi... avi is just a socalled container (as in the Mac world .mov), it can contain many media... stills, music, videos, in many different "standards", so nobody can tell you from remote, how to convert your specific .avi... mostly, these "from friends/iNet"- avis are mpeg1 or mpeg2 coded... mp1 can be converted for free with Steamclip; mpeg2 needs special treatment, use tryout of DVDxDV...
it also can contain divx or some compression-flavors, never seen before...
Streamclips' programmer has a website, maybe you get additional infos for a solution there:
http://www.squared5.com/

ITunes will not import wav files

iTunes will not allow importation of Apple Lossless or WAV files. It will allow AIFF files to import but won't play them.
Any ideas will be helpful.
Thank you: Patrick

Are you positive they didn't import, or is it just that there aren't where you expect to find them? The thing about wav files is they don't accept tags, so if you import them they will just get added under the filename.
I would just copy across the whole media folder with libraries and all, then start iTunes with the option key held down and point it at the media folder. This will just use the library in its new location and you don't have to import, etc.

Why doesn't iMovie HD import MPEG2 files?

Dear Discussion Group,
Can you please tell me why iMovie HD imports MPEG4 files, but not MPEG2 files?
It would appear that the DV8 camcorders have been withdrawn from the marketplace, with the exception of miniDV, and there are only a few models of them available.
In their place are miniDVD and Hard Drive Digital camcorders, the vast majority og which record in the MPEG2 format, not MPEG4!
The industry leader, Sony, doesn't make a single digital camcorder that upports MPEG4.
So, why does Apple support this newer technology in iMovie HD? Will there be support in future releases of iMovie?
Owen Cobb

Only the iMovie product manager at Apple can really answer that question. Maybe the next upgrade will add this feature. On the PC, the consumer video editing app Adobe Premiere Elements 1.0 didn't support MPEG-2 editing either, but added it in version 2.0, and improved it with 3.0.
QuickTimeKirk said:
iMovie is a DV editing app. Not an MPEG-2 convert to DV Stream and then edit app.
That only applies to iMovie, not iMovie HD. When you capture from a HD miniDV camcorders with iMovie HD, it does exactly that: convert the MPEG-2 stream and then edit it. HD miniDV camcorders record in MPEG-2 to fit 1 hour of HD video onto the same 1 hour miniDV tapes that are used for SD camcorders. The limitation is that iMovie HD supports this only for HD camcorders with Firewire connections.
Clemmons Kid said:
The industry leader, Sony, doesn't make a single digital camcorder that upports MPEG4.
I just checked on the Sony website, and found 6 HD camcorders that record in AVCHD (which is MPEG-4), to either hard disk, DVD, or flash memory.

Imported Dng files are double size of raw

Is this correct? If not, how to import a smaller lossless file?

You probably have embedding of original raw turned on. You don't need to do that in general. Go into your preferences and the FIle Handling tab and turn off "embed original raw file". In general dngs are smaller than raw files.

Error while importing PAR file from local system.

Hi Experts,
While importing PAR file into my NWDS, I am encountered by some strange error.
Please refer below screenshot for your reference.
After clicking on "OK" button of the above error popup, another popup emerge with different error, please find below the screenshot for this error.
Please let me know the reason and resolution of this error. It will be very helpful for me.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks and Regards,
sarvesh Agarwal

Hi ,
Are u trying to import with .bak extension ? If so please rename the file and remove .bak extension and try.
x.par is enough to import not x.par.bak.
Thanks,

Importing miniDV files losslessly

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