Convert minidv to imovie

Does someone knows how to convert minidv from canon zr 600 to imovie?

MiniDV was a great format, one I still use often. I also still use iMovie HD6 to process it and, for all the iterations of iMovie that followed it, I still believe it was one of Apple's greatest movie software programmes, next to Final Cut Pro, using a timeline method of editing. That was also in the day which Apple put Superdrives into their computers, so that you could not only make your movie in iMovie, but you could render it to iDVD and then burn the DVD. Now you need to buy an external burner.
Since iMovie HD6 and iDVD 6 were "universal" software, it has continued to work through the many OS releases since it came out with Tiger, I believe it was. So, it may still work with Mavericks too and, if you could locate a copy of iLife 06, probably used, you might enjoy the difference that HD6 has over all iMovie releases since then.
Not saying you can't process your MiniDV with current iMovie versions, but I'm not the one to speak about that.

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How can I convert MiniDV tapes to DVD? I've use a Canon GL 2 and an iMac about 1 year old. I'm trying to use iMovie and I've installed the latest drivers.

How can I convert MiniDV tapes to DVD? I've use a Canon GL 2 and an iMac about 1 year old. I'm trying to use iMovie and I've installed the latest drivers.

MiniDV was a great format, one I still use often. I also still use iMovie HD6 to process it and, for all the iterations of iMovie that followed it, I still believe it was one of Apple's greatest movie software programmes, next to Final Cut Pro, using a timeline method of editing. That was also in the day which Apple put Superdrives into their computers, so that you could not only make your movie in iMovie, but you could render it to iDVD and then burn the DVD. Now you need to buy an external burner.
Since iMovie HD6 and iDVD 6 were "universal" software, it has continued to work through the many OS releases since it came out with Tiger, I believe it was. So, it may still work with Mavericks too and, if you could locate a copy of iLife 06, probably used, you might enjoy the difference that HD6 has over all iMovie releases since then.
Not saying you can't process your MiniDV with current iMovie versions, but I'm not the one to speak about that.

Free converter .mov to iMovie without loss of quality?

Does anyone know a free converter .mov to iMovie without loss of quality?
Many thanks.
British Voice Over
www.crystalclearvoiceovers.co.uk

It is suggested to output MOV with AIC codec to keep the raw video quality at max.
Output like this: Share->Export Using QuickTime..
In pop-up windows, click Options->in Moive Settings pop-up window, click Settings button->In Compression Type box, choose Apple Intermediate Codec
Good luck.

Fasted way to convert videos from iMovie HD for Windows?

Hello,
I want to dub MiniDV films with iMovie HD 6.0.3 (OS X 10.4.11) for editing under Windows, e.g. with Movie Maker and/or VirtualDub.
I opened the iMovie package and converted the (native) DV files with Adobe Media Converter (Windows) into DV AVI (PAL DV) -- now I can open this film with on of the above mentioned programs.
Question: is there a shorter way to prepare the movies from iMovie/Mac for Windows?
Thanks!
Carlos

My plan was to make the dubbing on my second PC -- a Mac...
I don't want to interrupt my work on my PC (und because of the larger storage on my Mac).
But now I did it in my mentioned way: copying the DV files of iMovie to Windows, converting them with Adobe Media Encoder into DV PAL).
Thanks for helping me!

MiniDV camcorder iMovie Apple TV

I am using SD MiniDV camcorder (pal). I import and edit the clips in iMovie and then share the project to iTunes (ATV - large). Then I use ATV to watch it. I am somewhat disappointed about the picture quality in ATV. Some examples:
1) Play the clip straight from camera (plugging it to tv). Picture is good as expected.
2) Convert the (un-edited) dv-file to h.264 ((960 * 540, 4 mbps limit) using mpegstreamclip, then import it to iTunes. Using ATV to play it, picture is not so good as in example 1 but acceptable.
3) The easiest method: Share the project to iTunes (large) in iMovie. Picture is worse than in example 2 and there is quite a big difference comparing ex. 1 and ex. 3. It is difficult to describe it but the contrast looks worse and the picture looks like I am watching it through some misty glasses.
Now, I could convert the dv-files to AIC-format and de-interlace them (using mpegstreamclip) before importing them into iMovie. Perhaps the outcome from iMovie would then be better. But is there another way so I would not have to re-create my projects (editing and all..) in iMovie all over again?

No, that makes it even worse. Actually the medium choice is 640 * 360, since my source is 16:9. And my sorce is 720 * 576 (flagged 16:9).
I would think 1024 * 576 would be ideal in my case. But I really did not see any difference between 960 * 540 and 1024 * 576 (using mpegstreamclip to convert the dv-avi to h.264). They both looked ok although not as good as the original.

Import sony minidv to imovie?

I am trying to connect my Sony DCR-HC40 miniDV to my Macbook, but I am getting nothing (through firewire). I'm looking for a way to troubleshoot the problem.
As with a previous post, my camera is registering "DV in" but I cannot find anything on the computer. Is there a way to test the connection on the MacBook???
I checked the firewire port through System Profiler and I'm getting "Maximum speed: up to 400mb/sec"
This seems to be standard info since it comes up even when the firewire isn't connected. Does anyone know what will come up if it is reading the connection????
I'm lost and growing increasingly frustrated!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

You should check the firewire (iLink) cable. Try reversing it! Stanger things have cured some problems!
Also try this:
Open the Audio MIDI Setup (Utilities folder) and set the default audio output to 44100hZ. Then make sure that the audio output of the camera is set to 16 bits and not 12 bits. Try the camera again.
If no luck try these:
iMovie: Cannot See or Control Camera
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000
A Sony fix is suggested here:
http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/usage/5020.shtml

Convert AVCHD to iMovie, 10 times larger

hi, my iMac was bought 1 year ago. Recently I got a Sony HD camcorder came with a 16GB memory stick pro. I plug the camcorder to iMac and converted the video clips to iMovie with no issue. However, when i opened the Finder and surprisingly found that the clips which exists as quick time movie files are more than 123GB! Have i done anything wrong?

but from 16GB to 123GB is a bit too much, isn't it? Also when i read from iMovie's help menu, it says that it needs 40GB to record 1 hr HD movie.
Not really. Depending on the numbers used, an HD file typically contains 6.5 to 9 times as much information as an SD version of the same video. As Appleman stated, AVCHD is highly compressed, typically having a data rate in the 100-120 Mbps range but wrapped in an MPEG container so as to reduced the required bandwidth to a measure comparable to that of SD files much less highly compressed.
If there anyway that i can reduced the size? ie, only copy the files from camcorder directly instead of importing them from iMovie Would that help?
Sure, you could copy the files to your hard drive or even use "Archive" option to move the files to you hard drive. This would take up much less space on your hard drive. But in the latter case the files could not be edited until you imported them into iMovie '09 which would, of course, turn them into AIC/AIFF files the same as if you had directly imported them into the application. In the former case, the files would not editable in iMovie '09 unless or until you manually convert them to an "edit" compatible compression format. But in this case you have the option of choosing what compression format and settings to use. You could, for instance, turn them into Motion JPEG or Photo-JPEG files for editing which would produce files smaller than AIC files. (SD files would be roughly half the size of AIC versions but I have never run any tests on HD files to see what king of ratio or quality you might end up with.) On the other hand, if you use a codec like H.264/AAC which allows you to set the target data rate limit, setting it low will make very small files of poor quality, moderate files of fair quality, or larger files of reasonable quality -- but the choice is entirely yours. Basically, the lower the data rate, the smaller the file and the poorer the quality. If you are importing at "full" resolution, then switching to 960x540 would also greatly reduce your editing files. Once again, the choice is yours. You must determine if file dimensions/resolution, file quality, or file storage space is most important to your work flow.

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.

Convert movies in iMove

Hi Everybody.
I have edited a video in iMovie with some clips. Now that I have this project done, I'd like to convert the file in .avi or .mpg or whatever. It seems that I'm not finding a good way to convert the file. I mean, the quality of the video converted is very low and the amount of Mb is pretty high. For a 3 min video, I have a file converted of 100 Mb, which is too high if you consider the poor quality of the video. I've tried to play with some settings but without great results.
Does anybody have any suggestion for me? Thanks!
Matteo

Matt, I've recordered some little movies with a sony digital camera (15/20 sec each) in max resolution. They are 250 mb all of them. I've used iMovie in order to put them together and the project file is 770 mb. I'm trying to convert the project in .avi or .mpg file. When I choose, for exemple, .avi file, I can adjust some options such as the bit rate, video size, quality, ect. I put the max level option to have a big file (around 200 mb) and I'm expectibg a good quality. Unfortunately the quality is vary bad (you don't see videos of that bad quality over the Internet). This happens with .mpg file too.
Under your experience, what is, for you, the best choice to convert a video file? Do you have any tips about this?
Thanks
Matteo

16:9 with miniDV and iMovie - have I got this right?

Hi everyone,
Firstup I have a Sony DCR-TRV33E miniDV camera which I can set to 4:3 (default) or 16:9
From your experience will the camera simply put black lines on top and bottom of the picture? i.e. letterboxed 4:3 video?
Will iMovie assume the input is 16:9 so it will stretch out the letterboxed 4:3 from the camera creating an ultra widescreen and somewhat skewed video?
I know I should just try it out but i'm moving jobs, 2nd baby is due in 2 weeks, etc. etc. simply rather try and learn a bit before I stuff around with it as time is short!
Thanks for all tips!
Cheers
Jason

Gruezi Jason,
From your experience will the camera simply put black lines on top and bottom of the picture? i.e. letterboxed 4:3 video?
There are two ways digital camcorders create 16:9 video:
• simply by cropping (letterboxing) the footage.This goes for most camcorders
• some camcorders have "oversized" CCDs and are thus able to stretch out the footage.
In any case, both methods will result in loss of resolution (especially the first one) as not all the lines are used to display the video. See also Dan Slagle's Unofficial Movie FAQ:
http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6004.shtml
Will iMovie assume the input is 16:9 so it will stretch out the letterboxed 4:3 from the camera creating an ultra widescreen and somewhat skewed video?
When shooting 16:9, the footage will be flagged as widescreen and can thus be recognized by iMovie as such. You'll need to create DV-PAL Widescreen projects to capture your video with the proper aspect ratio.
hope this helps
mish

Empty DVD folder - how to convert format for iMovie?

A few years ago I had transferred home videos from 8 mm tapes to DVD, because I was afraid the tapes would disintegrate if I waited any longer.
Now that I finally have time to edit these DVDs I discover that I cannot import them on iMovie, because the folders do not contain any files at all. The folder is empty. The name and extension of the folders is: VRD_MC3. I can watch these DVDs on TV as well as on my Mac OS X with DVD Player.
I searched through all the posts and I saw that someone had a similar problem and the answer by ApplMan seemed to indicate that one would need to have access to the files (.VOB) and drag them into MPEG Streamclip – which I cannot do.
Someone had suggested QuickTime 7: I bought it and tried it, but to no avail. I’m about to try Handbrake but have little hope it will work.
Is there a solution for my situation? Or should I go back to the store and try to have those same 8mm tapes (20 yrs old by now) converted to MP4? – And pay more $$!!

If you have a true video DVD, you should see a folder called VIDEO_TS with the video files (.VOB)) and an empty AUDIO_TS folder.
MPEG Streamclip (with the $20 Apple Quicktime MPG_2 component), Roxio's Toast Titanium , DVDxDV and several other programs will convert the mpg-2 content on your DVD to something editable (I recommend DV Video).
DVDxDV is a commercial program that is quite easy to use and offers a watermarked trial mode to insure it does what you want before you buy it.

How to convert beta into imovie

Hey everyone, I'm new to macs and imovie.... Im trying to find out how to convert my old home videos into dvds but the problem is I don't know what adapters to use and how to do it. The home videos are in beta and I don't know how to get them onto my mac... any help would be appreciated. thanks

We'll see how new you are. If this makes sense to you, you're doing okay!
If you have a digital camcorder, the first thing to try is a passthorugh.
Connect your Beta machine to the video inputs on your camcorder. Connect your firewire OUT of your camcorder and IN to your mac.
Fire up iMovie and see if it detects your camera. Try playing your Beta tape and see if it appears in iMovie's monitor on your computer.
Now, some cameras can't do this, but give it a try. Also, search the threads here. You may find a link which will help.

Trouble importing analog video thru converter box into Imovie

I have a very old Sony Video 8 Handycam and and a Pyro A/V converter box. I movie sees the Camcorder/Box but when I press the import button the screen says "Importing" and nothing else happens. I have everything hooked up the way it should be. Can you help?

I movie sees the Camcorder/Box but when I press the import button the screen says "Importing" and nothing else happens.
Your capture work flow is not clear here. Are you trying to import in the Auto or Manual mode? Since no "communication" is possible here, you must capture your content in the application's manual mode. Without communication, there is no device control and you must also manually start and stop the camcorder manually. Simply begin playback on the camcorder and when you see the video begin to play on the iMovie '08 capture screen, then press the button to begin importing your video.

Converting files for iMovie again

I need to convert my files into the format that iMovie uses and I forgot how again. I have Graphic Converter on my computer I just can't remember what to do.

MPG and I'd like to use iMovie to edit them
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convertMPEG
BTW, converting MPEG to DV/MOV is the mother of all FAQs here Sadly the FAQ section of the forum decribes just the problem, not any solutions. And searching the forums doesn't always work either.
ObSig: I don't benefit from the link.

Convert minidv to imovie

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