Connecting a FireWire iSight camera

I want to use an older iSight camera with my new MacBook Pro. The MBP has USB3 but no FireWire input. Can I get an adapter to facilitate this? I know my MBP has a built in camera but I want to have the camera level with my head when I am delivering a lecture. There are limits to what I can expect my audience to put up with in terms of looking up my nose and counting my double chins? Please be specific about any adapters that may be available. Thank you.

Does your MBP have ThunderBolt?
If so there are adapters from ThunderBolt to FireWire.
Allan

Similar Messages

Firewire isight camera

Hi All
I have two firewire isight camera's. I plug both of them into the firewire port of the dual powermac g5 and the macbook pro.
Both cameras green light come on for about five seconds and then go off.
The cameras are not recognised by both machines in ichat, skype, system profiler.
Is this a common problem, or can they be repaired easily.
Joseph

Welcome to Discussions, Joseph
Do not be concerned that the little green indicator light atop your iSight illuminates for a few seconds and then goes dark when you first connect your iSight or power on your Mac. Do not be concerned if you hear a soft whir as iSight attempt to focus either. Both these occurrences are normal.
iSight can be picky about sharing your Mac's Firewire, so be sure you have *only one external iSight connected* and *NO other Firewire devices connected* when you test. (You can test the second iSight after you finish checking and have disconnected the first.)
Then test using the suggestions and links here:
http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/EZJim/EZJimpage4.html
It may be necessary to reset your Firewire: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317
If none of the applicable troubleshooting suggestions corrects your problem, and if your Mac's System Profiler does not recognize your external iSight (one at a time) as a Firewire device, you will need to decide whether to use a different webcam or to try to get your iSights repaired.
If you want to pursue iSight repair, Apple service is the only option I suggest. There are no user serviceable parts inside iSight. Contact Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for service on your iSight.
If you have no local access to Apple Service, Apple Support's contact info is here:
http://www.apple.com/support/contact/phone_contacts.html
If you want to pursue service via Apple's website, see: http://www.apple.com/support/isight/service/
(Apple no longer offers the "iSight Accessory Kit, Part Number: M9314G/B" that is mentioned in the link immediately above.) If your local Apple service pro needs parts from the discontinued Kit or some part those listed in the iSight Service: Frequently Asked Questions page, the kind people at http://www.synaptech.com may be able to help obtain some iSight parts.
EZ Jim
G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.7) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11) iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9) External iSight

Facetime and external firewire iSight camera

Hi,
I bought Facetime yesterday. When I start it, it says that there is no camera. I turn on my iSight, nothing happens.
I close Facetime, turn on my iSight, then start Facetime: instant crash.
So, basically, Facetime doesn't work for me. Anybody experienced something similar? Any idea?
My external iSight camera is version 1.0.3.
I run OS X 10.6.6 on my Mac Pro 1.1.

Edouard Boily wrote:
Hi,
I bought Facetime yesterday. When I start it, it says that there is no camera. I turn on my iSight, nothing happens.
I close Facetime, turn on my iSight, then start Facetime: instant crash.
Because you "turn on" your iSight, you must be using your external.
Test your external iSight with other apps using the suggestions here:
http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/EZJim/EZJimpage4.html
*If external iSight doesn't work with any app*, try creating a new user account and test there.
*If external iSight doesn't work with anything in any user account*, it may be repairable. If you don't have local access to an Apple Service Technician, other options are shown here:
http://www.apple.com/support/isight/service/
*If your external iSight is not economically repairable*, you may want to consider a new camera. Several alternatives are included in the discussion here:
http://www.mac-compatible-web-cam.com/
*If your iSight works with apps* (QT, iMovie, iChat, Photo Booth, etc.) *other than FaceTime*, you may merely need to restart the Mac, repair permissions, and reinstall FaceTime.
So, basically, Facetime doesn't work for me. Anybody experienced something similar?
Not I.
Any idea? ...
Several. You do not say which display you use. As shown in this image using my Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display:
when your Mac recognizes more than one camera, you can select the one you want by clicking the appropriate item in the FaceTime > Video menu item.
(1) *If either camera works*, your FaceTime software is working.
(2) *If you have only one webcam that can connect to your Mac Pro*, try resetting the FaceTime preferences. If you need help, here is how:
• Restart Mac
• Navigate to the "com.apple.FaceTime.plist" file in your Home ( ) > Library > Preferences folder.
(Be sure you are in the "Home" Folder preferences folder, not your System's.)
• Move the "com.apple.FaceTime.plist" file to Trash
• Connect external iSight, launch FaceTime, and test again.
(3) *If the FaceTime problem persists,* apply the 10.6.6 Combo Update as follows:
• Backup your Mac and turn off Time Machine
• Disconnect peripherals and restart Mac
• Use Disk Utility to repair permissions
• Download and install http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1349
• Repair permissions again immediately following the restart that finishes the update.
• Test FaceTime again
(• Turn Time Machine on again when you are satisfied that the Combo update worked.)
(4) *If FaceTime still does not work on your Mac Pro*, test with your other Mac. Leave external iSight disconnected from your MacBook Pro and test FaceTime using its inbuilt iSight. If FaceTime works on your MBP with its inbuilt iSight, you know that the software you downloaded is good.
(5) *If you’re new FaceTime doesn't work with either of your Macs*, click "Support" in the App Store Quick Links (upper right quadrant) section and ask if you should download another copy to test whether the one you have is bad.
EZ Jim
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.6); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.6)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1

Connecting my Firewire DV Camera

I bought my daughter a 13" MB and now she wants to use my Canon DV camera to produce some videos. Since Apple decided to not include Firewire ports on the MB .... do I have a cabling option to get mini FW to USB?
Thank you.

I've been doing some searching and came across this ...
http://www.amazon.com/Firewire-Extension-Cable-Digital-camcorder/dp/B002WPUC5Y/r ef=sr11?ie=UTF8&qid=1295748817&sr=8-1
.... looks like it would work??? - Yes? No?

Firewire iSight and 10.4.9 Issues

Ok,
So we have this Firewire iSight camera. It works fine when plugged into 1 mac. However when we plug it into another mac, there is no power light coming on.
I did plug in an external FW400 drive and it worked great.
I think the issue is that there is iSight driver software on the machine as it never had an iSight before.
I attempted to download some software for it from Apple however it only supports Panther.
Now I know these things shipped with some software. How do I get my hands on some Tiger compatible driver / software for this camera?
To sum:
The target computer has operational firewire ports
The iSight works on other computers
The iSight MUST work on this particular machine as it is for a user.

Welcome to Apple Discussions, Ok.
Now I know these things shipped with some software.
No, they didn't. All the software you need for iSight is built into the OS. You can add applications that can use your iSight to those that Apple bundles with the OS or the Macs it sells (examples, iChat, iMovie, etc.), but all "drivers" are built into OS X.
Restart your Mac with no unnecessary peripherals connected and try the suggestions here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93240
If your iSight still does not work with any app, check for Possible hardware or software conflicts with iSight or iChat.
I cannot tell specifically which Mac and OS are giving you difficulty (10.4.9 in the subject line but 10.5 in your System info), but if you are using 10.4.9 on a PPC Mac, you can try the following before seeing your Apple Service Technician:
• Backup your Home Folder, or at very least, your important files.
• Repair permissions. (Click here if you need help.)
• Then download and apply the Mac OS X 10.4.10 Combo Update (PPC).
• Finish with another Permissions Repair, and then check your iSight again.
Users have reported fixes to a variety of audio, video, connectivity, and software conflicts and unreliability issues after properly applying Combo Updates.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.10) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5) External iSight

Firewire - isight - hdtv Sony

Hi
i have an new mac pro here 2.66 2 GB ram nice..
but i have a problem with firewire
Isight cam is connected perfect - it did run even once for a short while - then Imovie freezed.
Now i do not get any connection to the isight camera or to an external sony hdtv camera. No reaction from the system.
any ideas ? THX

Hello cyberlivia,
And Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Lets begin by resetting the FW circuits: Pull the plug (not just turn off the Mac, but the power cord plugged into the wall), and have all FW deviced disconnected. Let the system sit for 15-30 minutes and then re-boot.
Repair permissions.
Do not connect any other FW devices at the same time. Just the iSight cam. Go to system profiler and let us know if the iSight shows up.
Post back an update and let us know if anything changed.
Respectfully,
Bill Gallagher

Can't capture video using iSight camera in QuickTime 7.4 (92)

OK, I see that there are plenty of "bugs" with Quicktime Version 7.4 (92), but I don't see the problem I am having, posted anywhere. Here goes...
I cannot capture video using my [Firewire] iSight camera on my CoreDuo MacMini. I definitely used to be able to do this. When I go to File>New Movie Recording, I get a back/blank Movie Recording window and that's it. I click on the Red/Record button and nothing happens. The timer doesn't even advance. Just sits there. When I try to stop the recording, I get the following message:
*"Recording failed because no data was received.*
*Make sure that the media input source is turned on and playing."*
I can still capture audio, although had some problems and had to "downgrade" to version 7.3.x and subsequently reinstalled 7.4. Now the audio works but still no video.
A few things:
1. YES, the iSight camera works - I can use it in iMovie, iChat, Photobooth, etc. - for both video and audio.
2. As I mentioned, I tried "downgrading" (using "Pacifist") but still no video.
3. I re-installed Version 7.4 and the audio problems cleared up, but again, still unable to capture video.
3. All software updates installed.
Any ideas???
Thanks!

"As I mentioned, I tried "downgrading" (using "Pacifist") but still no video."
See QuickTimeKirk’s posting in the following thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1357579&tstart=0
Try the following:
Trash com.apple.LaunchServices.plist
It's located in your account:
HD/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices.plist
Delete the file, restart (a new .plist will be created) and quicktime hopefully will work again w/o doing an Archive & Install.
+If you want to do an A&I:+
Do an archive and install of your OS from the OS disc. Stop at the QT upgrade you need.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270 Scroll down to "Archive and Install”
IMPORTANT: Maker sure you select "preserve user preferences and data" when you performed the A&I?
Good luck!

Built in iSight camera no longer showing up or recognized by iMac

Hello there - I have a white 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with a built in iSight camera, and the camera is no longer showing up, or is not recognized by the computer any longer. Very strange! The little green LED by the camera is not lit any longer, and the camera is not recognized any longer by Photo Booth, iChat AV, or any of the other apps that would use the camera. This is a real pain, because I am leaving for France in a couple days and am taking my MacBook Pro with me, and am hoping that I can use iChat AV to talk to my kids at home on the iMac. I do have an extra iSight camera that I have hooked up to the iMac and can use in a pinch, but I really want to use the built in camera on the iMac. Any hints / ideas / suggestions on what to do for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No, unfortunately that did not help. I did the following...
1. See if the issue is application-specific. - Nope. Camera is not recognized in any of the apps that it should be recognized in, I tested iChat AV, PhotoBooth, ImageCapture, and iMovie.
2. See if the issue is user-specific. - There's only one user account on this Mac, so I couldn't do that.
3. Find out if the computer recognizes the iSight. I went into System Profiler and checked the USB profiler, and the camera does not show up.
4. Reset SMC or PMU. These just looked like different ways of restarting, which I did multiple times.
I have also run my Software Updates (on OS 10.5, which I did with a clean install from an OS 10.5 DVD by the way) and still no camera. This problem started happening with the original OS 10.4 (which it came with) and I was hoping a clean install of the OS would help, but no.
I'm wondering if resetting the PRAM might help, but I can't remember those keys you hold down while restarting (was it Apple-Option-P-R ?) or if that is just reaching waaaaay back to the pre OSX days.
Here's the kicker though - if I plug in a FireWire iSight camera, all is well. I'm really hoping that the camera isn't jsut dead, but it's starting to look that way. Would Disk First Aid or maybe DiskWarrior help?

Mid 2009 13" MBP iSight camera bad picture quality in photo booth

My daughter's stock mid 2009 13" MBP 2.26 ghz intel core two duo has a problem with the isight camera. The isight camera is built in to the screen. The isight camera works some of the time flawlessly and other times it comes out real grainy and with small colored pixels all over the screen like colored static (about 20% to 30% of the photo booth screen is affected but the rest of the screen outside of the photo booth app is unaffected). She only uses it in photo booth but we've tried the iChat app and the same thing happens there too, once she couldn't get the MBP to connect to the isight camera (it just showed a black photo booth screen), so she closed the lid of her MBP and reopened it and it worked. All of the software and firmware is up to date and we've tried resetting the PRAM and the SMC, it didn't do anything to fix the problem. It seems like there's a wire loose in the computer from the screen to the computer base, only because I can move the screen back and forth and the picture quality changes, the amount of static on the picture will move, go away or get worse. I had the screen changed in early 2010 (January or February) (the MBP was about 5 or 6 months old then) at the apple store under warranty due to dirt under the screen's glass (manufacturing defect). The photo booth picture static problem comes and goes, but here lately it comes more than it goes. The screen in general is in good shape and doesn't have any detectable problems with it, it has a good picture and no dead pixels, the problem seems to be only isolated to the isight camera. Can some one help with this problem? How long of a warranty is given on the warranty repairs (like the screen change they did in early 2010)? If apple does a repair on it and finds a wire that has rubbed the insulation off of it on a hinge causing a short and the isight problem, as a result of a sloppy repair from the first warranty repair, will they cover it under warranty again even if it's been over a year since they changed the screen? Also how honest will apple be if they do find out it is a problem caused from the first screen replacement, will they own up to their mistake? If I don't agree with apple's repair decision, can I get a second opinion from an outside source, third party, and if it's diagnosis different than apple's and can be proven, can I still get apple to do and pay for the repairs and labor if it turns out to be their fault from the first warranty screen replacement?
The reason why I'm asking is, I took my wife's white macbook in about a year ago for the famous cracked top cover replacement (under warranty) and when I got the computer back, the isight camera didn't work, so I gave it back, they took it apart a look at it and said there was nothing wrong with it and gave it back, then the screen wouldn't come on so after 4 hours at the Apple store they decided to send it to Austin, TX. for repairs (I'm in Ft. Worth TX.). Apple in Austin said it needed a new main board. They said the old one had water damage to it. We never had water anywhere near the computer, not even in the same room. It was working fine when we took it in, we took it in just to get the plastic top case, that cracks all of the time, replaced under warranty. And then they wanted us to pay for an $800 main board because some how while they were doing the top cover replacement it got water damaged. I argued with them and they finally gave me a one-time offer of them paying for half of the repair and labor or if I disagreed or left the store I would have to pay the whole amount if I chose to have the repairs done. So I ended up having to pay $467 for a year old macbook main board that was water damaged in their possession during their repairs. I like Apple and their products but I am worried about giving my daughter's MBP over to them for repairs because of this incident, it's an honesty issue with how honest they will be with what they find because they won't give back the old parts for analysis by a third party to verify their diagnosis.
Thanks for any info and advice anyone can give.

Hi,
As a personal note I find long posts like this hard to read if they are not broken up in to paragraphs.
As I say it is a personal thing.
I can give you some information about the camera and laptops over the past few years.
Basically in early Laptops of the MacBook Pro and MacBook range the cable did tend to fray at the point where it passed through the hinge. It did take a well used laptop that had the lid open and closed frequently to cause this. (your 2009 model might just be in that group - I have no firm dates or models I am afraid)
Later models have this rerouted so that this does not happen.
However the cable has then tended to get pulled from the camera end and become loose.
This On Line Self fix site has pages about some models (The one I have linked to may not be yours)
I have linked in to later pictures in the sequence but there are navigation points to work back to the start.
Note:- they use pretty specifc specialest tools as well in these pics.
Doing this would certail Void any Warranty you have left.
From Posts mainly in the iChat and the iSight areas I have gathered that it seems common for Apple to replace the Screen as a whole rather than fiddle with getting solely at the camera.
Apple has this article on Trouble Shooting an iSight
Basically it says try several apps then try logging in on another Mac User account to see if it is App based or User based or in fact System wide.
If System wide then resetting the SMC/PMU is the only suggested fix. (Which I did read you had done)
In addition to that I would add that testing should be done in different lighting conditions.
Lighting in the evening or dark that is good enough to read buy is not always good enough for the camera or is not illuminating the right areas.
Some people have reported that Starting the computer in Safe Mode (then Rebooting afterwards) seems to help. (it clears out some caches and starts up with reduced extensions)
As to actual Repairs and any Warranty that may still be in place I cannot say.
I can say that when people post about problems with repairs a certain stores someone else will tend to post that their experience was different.
You seem to report two different experiences with the two computers yourself.
10:24 PM Thursday; July 14, 2011
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.7),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Is there a way to record video from the iSight camera

Running Mavericks on an early 2008 iMac. iMovie 08 says 'NO CAMERA CONNECTED." Recording from QuickTime Player no longer has a perference panel, and the videos recoded are jerky and sound is bad. I can't find any soluion on youTube - they all say just pick th iSight camera in iMove - which I can't. I thought maybe iMove10 bu the app store said my cideo board does no support it. Seems like there should be but I cannot find it. I don't want to have to buy Camtasia which is the only one that seems to work with the iSight input.

Hello Sugeet Posey
Check out the article below to troubleshoot issues with connecting to your iSight camera.
How to Troubleshoot iSight
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2090
Regards,
-Norm G.

Soundbooth CS4 not picking up my isight camera

Hi there,
I am using a Mac pro with a firewire isight camera, however, I can't seem to get the mic to wok within Soundbooth - Can anyone shed any light please?

Hi Wayne,
Can you share with us what you've tried and what the issue is? Does the iSight microphone not show up as a valid input device in Soundbooth?
Try the following steps and see if it resolves the problem:
1. Open Applications > Utilities > Audio and MIDI Setup. Try configuring the Default Input to your iSight microphone. If it doesn't show up as an option here, then there may be some installation or driver issues. If you do see it, set it as the default.
2. Launch Soundbooth and click the red Record button. In the dialog that pops up, you should see the iSight listed in the "Port" dropdown. If not, you may need to select your default configuration in the "Device" dropdown.
3. If this still fails, we can create a new device profile and try to force things. In the Record dialog, click Settings... This will launch Audio and MIDI Setup again. Once it opens, in the menu bar click Audio > Open Aggregate Device Editor. Click the + button to create a new entry, and name it something like "My iSight configuration." In the "Structure" box, place a check next to your Built-in Output (or Line Output if you use that) and one next to your iSight microphone input. Click Done and close out of the Audio Setup application.
4. Restart Soundbooth and bring up the Record dialog again. Click in the "Device" dropdown and select your new "My iSight Configuration" option. This should make the iSight the only available input port. Try recording.
Good luck!
Durin

Timefox for iSight camera

time fox i seemed to have lost the software and app for my isight camera
<Subject Edited by Host>

DBall12 wrote: time fox i seemed to have lost the software and app for my isight camera ...
If this is the TimeFox you are posting about, I don't understand why you think there might be any connection to an iSight camera. Please explain further.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.9

How can I use the built-in Isight camera with an external camera (usb/firewire) at the same time?

How can I use the built-in Isight camera and an external video camera at the same time?
I'm wanting to stream over Oovoo/Skype/etc. using 2 cameras.
Thanks

Simple question with a not so simple answer.
(a) If you mean that you want to run multiple apps simultaneously using a different camera with each app, you may encounter computing power limitations. Digital video is processor intensive. The only way to know if your Mac can do this it to try it. If the video does not work together but each app works when it it the only app running, you are likely overloading your Mac's ability to process and/or move all the required data in your data bus. You can get a better indication of whether this is the case by watching your Activity Monitor utility while running the apps you want to use.
(b) If you mean that you want to have more than one compatible camera connected to your Mac simultaneously for ease of changing between video sources, some, but not necessarily all, apps you are using to operate your camera(s) allow you to select between your cameras.
How you select among connected cameras depends on which application you are using. Here is how camera selection works in a few examples:
(1) For iChat, you can choose which iSight you use in the "Camera:" choices bar in iChat > Preferences... > Audio/Video that appears when more than one compatible camera is connected. Although your camera choices will be different, the choices bar will look something similar to the Preferences settings shown here:
If you cannot see the "Camera" choices bar, your Mac is recognizing only one (or none) of your cameras. In that case, consider the suggestions fromhttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090 for iSight problems or refer to your other camera's documentation for help.
This particular choices bar solution applies ONLY to iChat. Most other applications also have settings that allow you to choose which camera to use. However, they do not all work the same way.
(2) For instance, iMovie HD's camera choice is NOT set via Preferences. When you have more than one compatible camera connected, iMovie6 HD uses a drop-down menu choice something like this (depending on which version of iMovie you use):
Note: Because I had no built-in iSight connected when I made this example, and because my external iSight was not connected, the drop-down menu showed only "Time Lapse." Because your Mac has a built-in iSight, your built-in iSight would show in the drop-down menu even when no other camera is connected. Connecting an additional Mac compatible webcam should allow you to choose either camera.
Other iMovie versions work slightly differently.
iMovie 9 (from iLife '11) uses a different camera choice button shown in this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mov39f84285.html
iMovie 8 (from iLife '09) is slightly different as explained in this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/8.0/en/10172.html
In general, you can use your Mac's help for the application in use to find out how to select among more than one connected camera.
(3) Photo Booth in Snow Leopard 10.6.x and later uses the Photo Booth > Camera menu command to select which camera to use.
Note for readers with older Mac OS X: The previous version of Photo Booth that came with Tiger (10.4.x) is such a simple, basic app that it offers no menu selectable choice. Unless your built-in iSight is already occupied as the camera being used by some open application before you launch Photo Booth, Photo Booth will use ONLY your built-in iSight.
However, you can use the trick from ¶ 4 of http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302781 to let Photo Booth use an external camera.
(If you have an external Firewire camera connected, it may be used in preference to any USB webcam. If that is a problem for you, merely disconnect the problem Firewire device.)
(4) For FaceTime, launch the app and click the Video menu item.
If your Mac recognizes more than one connected compatible camera, a "Camera" section listing the cameras from which you can choose will appear there. Clicking on the desired camera name will let you select the one you want as shown in this image from my Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display:
If your Mac recognizes only one compatible camera, the "Camera" section will not appear in the Video menu, but FaceTime will automatically use the connected camera that is recognized by OS X.
(5) I do not use Skype oir Oovoo. For those or other apps, see Help for each app for info on how to select your desired camera.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim

Is there a comprehensive list of compatible cameras to connect via firewire?

is there a comprehensive and up-to-date list of compatible cameras to connect via firewire that will work with FMLE?
I saw this -http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/flashmediaencoder/FME_DeviceMatrix.pdf
but it's out of date and limited in scope... any more information?
thanks
Josh

I'm in the process of trying to get this information for a client. Even with a paid AppleCare agreement, the only answer I'm getting is "look in the forums" and "look on the developer site" (although I have to give credit to the Tier-1 rep who's trying to help me.) The impression I'm getting is that they consider an exact list of header names to be proprietary information for some reason, and are going to great pains to try not to give out the information, but also to not create ill will amongst their customers by explicitly saying "that's proprietary".

Second iMac as external monitor; Connection via firewire without a deck/cam

Second iMac as an external monitor; Connection by firewire without a deck/camera possible?
I spend a lot of hours to find an answer to the following question, unfortunately without any success:
I’m working with a new iMac (Intel, OS 10.4.11) and Final Cut. Additionally I have an old iMac (G3, OS 10.3.9).
I would like to use the FireWire port to transport a dv video stream from the new iMac/Final Cut to the old one so that the old one can be used as a monitor. So all I want is a software for the old iMac that shows an incoming FireWire dv-stream as a live picture.
I tried vlc, videoviewer, iMovie, Vidi and btv. The problem is always the same: Final Cut (on the new iMac) does not find any FireWire/dv-device nor do all these software on the old iMac find a connection to Final Cut. I think the problem is that both sides are seeking for a device-setup at the FireWire-port on the other side. And none of them sends a signal like „yes I’m here and waiting for a dv-stream“.
Another attempt was ScreenRecycler with VNC-client on the old iMac. Unfortunately on my old iMac Os 10.3.9 is the last possible OS and no vnc client on that system is fast enough to show a video in real time.
I also tried virtualDV from Apples FireWire SDK 20. It works so far, that it claims to be a dv-device (on the old iMac) and so Final Cut at the new iMac says: „okay I’ll deliver you that stream“. The problem now is that virtualDV only can record that stream, not show it in real time.
Is there any solution like virtualDV that shows a live preview and turns the iMac in a FireWire dv-device?
Is there any solution that Final Cut simulates to be a FireWire dv-device itself and that another computer finds that device and understand the dv-stream?
Thank you very much for your help.
Message was edited by: baeumer

Don't think this is possible.
You're better off using a DAC (for example the one made by Canopus) and put your DV in and get a compatible signal out the other end for connection to your monitor.
I don't understand why you would want to go through a computer first, it would be a waste of time and add a huge delay to the signal.
Finally, I wouldn't use a computer monitor as an external display, it would be useless in my experience. Why not just preview on the one you've got by going full screen in FCP? Also using a computer monitor as a preview/output monitor is not a good idea since it's so different from a normal TV and won't show the correct colour space or issues such as flickering and interlace problems, underscan etc etc.
Seems like you're using a sledgehammer to crack a very small nut and that would be to use a DV camera via firewire and then connect up a monitor from that. (again using a convertor box if you have a connection problem.)

Connecting a FireWire iSight camera

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