Importing VHS into Imovie - file size question

Hi,
The novice is back so bear with me please.
I'm using the Canopus ADVC-55 to import a 2 hour VHS into imovie so that I can convert it to DVD in iDVD. However, the file size is so massive that its eating up my hard drive. If I get an external hard drive, can I move the imovie project I'm working on to the external drive and will I still be able to use the imovie application even if the actual application is on the main hard drive? I just figure because of file limitations when working with digital files on my hard drive, it might be more practical to get a 200gig external but I want to make sure that I can still use the imovie application from it.
Thanks.

Leslie,
If you do get an external drive, make sure it's formatted Mac OS Extended or it may not work properly with iMovie.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93296
Matt

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Importing VHS into iMovie

I just bought and hooked up a Canopus ADVC-110 between a TV/VCR combo and my computer. Several questions:
1. When I first hooked up the canopus, the iMovie project I had been working on began displaying this message when I would open the project: " The camera you have connected is a different video standard from your project. You can edit but you will not be able to capture any new clips or export to camera". It didn't seem to affect importing digital video clips or still photos, so I just continued without worry.
2. Now that I am TRYING to import VHS tape, when I am in my current project, nothing happens with I click the camera button and turn on my TV/VCR combo. I didn't know WHAT was wrong....until....
3. I opened a new blank project. Suddenly, I could import video just fine. So I thought I'd try editing the clip in the blank project and then just copying it into my current project. When I tried that I got the following message: The DV file Clip is the wrong video standard and cannot be imported into this project. What is going on!?!?
4. Lastly, I just noticed that at the top of my iMovie project it says the title and then says (PAL). Is that normal? Is that going to burn to a DVD okay? I thought North America had to be NTSC instead of PAL.
thanks for any suggestions/advice!

1. When I first hooked up the canopus, the iMovie project I had been working on began displaying this message when I would open the project: " The camera you have connected is a different video standard from your project. You can edit but you will not be able to capture any new clips or export to camera". It didn't seem to affect importing digital video clips or still photos, so I just continued without worry.
I think there are small switches (DIP-switches) on the Canopus. Make sure the switches are set to NTSC.

Importing VHS into iMovie - Communication Error

Hi
I have just got a new iMac with iLife 08.
I am trying to import VHS tapes through a Canon camcorder into iMovie. I have done this many times before using Final Cut Pro on my old computer. My old FCP isn't compatible with OSX 10.5 so I have to use iMovie for the first time.
My problem is when I connect everything up, I get a 'communication error'. I can play the VHS and see it playing on the camcorder but it won't play on the import window in iMovie. i have tried importing it anyway and it does capture a couple of seconds and then stops.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks.

I have the same problem, used the info from the above link....
Live import workaround #2: Put a tape in the camcorder and put it into CAMERA mode. Launch iMovie HD 6.0.2 -- its import mode should show the live feed from the camcorder. Remove the tape -- iMovie HD should continue to show and import live feed from the camcorder. The drawback with this approach is that it produces wear and tear to the camcorder. If you keep the tape in the camcorder, it may also go into standby mode if the tape is paused.....
But then switch from camera to play (VCR) on my canon MV500i
imac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I have my home movies on DVD from Windows. I am trying to import them into iMovie but it won't recognize the files. The movies will play on my Mac but I can't seem to import them.

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My first iMovie project was a video of my nieces and nephews compiled from old VHS and Hi8 tape imported to my Sony DV camcorder, edited on my iMac using iMovie 4, then burned to a disk using iDVD (it was about a 40 minute movie). I showed it to my siblings an parents over the holidays and it was a big hit (except for an audio syncronization issue). After showing the video, my sister gave me an old VHS tape from 1990-91 that I had been searching for. I still had the original iMovie project on my hard drive, so I went back into the original project and added about 8 mintues of video imported from that old VHS tape. I also added some additional music tracks from iTunes and, at the end of the movie, as my last music track was playing out after the credits, I added 17 still photos of family from iPhoto. I then tried to drag the updated iMovie project to iDVD, but got an error message saying "operation unsupportable by iDVD" or words to that effect. On a hunch, I checked the file size of the updated iMovie project under the "get information" tab and it said the file was 10.2 GB!! I had not checked the file size of "version 1" of the project before I burned it, but when I checked the file size of the DVD to which it was burned, it said it was 2.7 GB, well within the 4.7 GB limit of a DVD-R. How in the heck can the iMovie file size balloon from 2.7 GB to 10.2 GB just by adding 8 additional minutes of video, an iTunes song or two and 17 still photos? Anyone have an idea of what happened?!?! Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this rather perplexing problem. (Sorry for the lengthy post)

Lennart-
Thank you for tackling my question. You've educated me on the compression factor, which is very helpful, but that still begs the question of why I can't seem to burn my edited iMovie (48 minutes vs. the "old" 40 minutes). In other words, if iDVD was able to burn my 40 minute project (at 8.7 GB)and compress it to 2.7 GB on the DVD, shouldn't I also be able to burn a 48 minute project (10.2 GB uncompressed)? It would appear that if a 40 minute, 8.7 GB project compress to 2.7 GB on the DVD, then a 48 minute 10.2 GB iMovie file should compress to roughly 3.2 GB (if my math is correct). Isn't that within "acceptable limits?" Am I missing something here? Once again, thanks for your help (and patience).

Huge iMovie file size.

I made 3 movies in Quicktime from Keynote presentations, sizes 4, 24 and 48 MB, but when I import them into iMovie, the project file grows up to 7+ GB. Could somebody tell me why this happens, and is there a way to make it smaller or am I doing something wrong. That takes up almost all my free hard drive space, and taht is only 1 of three project I want to create.
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Hi David
Karsten is 100% on this I just want to speculate around how I would do.
Easiest way:
is to get an external hard disk BUT THIS SHOULD be:
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- has to be Mac OS Extended or Mac OS Extended (journaled) - DOS/UNIX/Mac OS Exchange will not work
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I had this problem last year (August-Sept 2007), and I'm having it again now (August 2008). When I import jpeg photos from iPhoto to iMovie, they turn black and are not accessible in iMovie. In addition, this time when I imported several photos, the replay of the iMovie became jerky. When I threw out the photos, the movie became smoother, the way it was originally. There seems to be some sort of bug that has not been fixed in over a year.

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My friend filmed a video on his cell phone and emailed it to me. I'd like to import it into iMovie for editing but it will not drag in or allow me to chose iMovie from "open with...".
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You will need to convert it to something that iMovie can edit.
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Hello, there!
I just captured a few videos with my screen capture app on my windows laptop. After I transferred them onto my iMac and converted them into .mp4 files i wanted to import them into iMovie but when i selected them only video 4 and 6 out of 6 videos imported into iMovie. i don't know whats the problem when i try again to import the other videos he is loading for like 1 second and nothing happens. i have already tried to restart iMovie and have also restarted my mac.
Also, this is not the first time something like this happens. but last time the problem just disappeared after a few retries...
please help! i want to upload them to youtube as soon as possible!

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I trying to convert my VHS to imovie, and in the imovie window, it plays(and imports) fine, even plays sound- but when I go to re-play what I just imported, there is NO sound? What gives? I can't figure it out!

Can you provide a few more details as to what you are doing, seeing and hearing???
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Importing VHS into Imovie - file size question

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