HDV to Mpeg-2?

I am working with HDV 23.98 progressive footage in Final Cut Pro. Its final output will be an SD DVD.
I exported my sequence to compressor for a Mpeg-2 Widescreen SD (60 minutes) output. Next, I am imported to DVD Studio Pro for the build.
I simulated the DVD player from the Video_TS folder after the build, and I guess it looked pretty good.
Is this a wise choice to output an HDV sequence to compressor for a Mpeg-2 SD encoding? Would the quality be better if I made a QT movie of the sequence, THEN exported to compressor for an Mpeg-2 encode?
It certainly saves time to just output the sequence rather than building a movie, first. I just wondered if skipping a step would degrade the quality.

Thanks for the link. Two quick questions, though.
1)Does the "doubling of lines" still exist in FCS 2, with the update to the software? I know when this method was created, the Final Cut Pro and Compressor were earlier version.
2)IS the method for progressive footage? During the tutorial, it says that "a channel blur is applied, because it leaves interlacing intact." My footage is not interlaced, so I was wondering if this only applied to interlaced footage?

Similar Messages

Compressor: HDV to MPEG 2 / 2006 vs. 2012??

A client has come back for a new master of her film, shot in HDV in 2006 - mastered to HDV, then to MPEG2 via Compressor.
I'm wondering if anything has happened to Compressor since 2006 ... or to the MPEG2 codec ... maybe this is impossible, but has there been any improvement in the codec since then? Might I be able to get a better new MPEG2 by redoing the HDV to MPEG2?
All ears,
Ben

Russ,
Very helpful, thank you.
I'll experiment with the VBR vs. CBR. I'm actually okay with the HDV to MPEG-2 Compressor conversion, it's quite decent. It's the ugly artefacting menus that Studio Pro produces. I am going to see if I can find a trial version of Premier with Encore ... just to compare. It could be that the 'science' of the click throughs to the scenes just automatically produce artefacting. But then again ... most of the DVD's I've rented for years, don't have the problem, nice clean menus.
I can see things to do in future. I'm actually cutting a feature doc right now, shot over five years ... the first three with HDV, then with XDCam. Once I get a rough cut (keeping the two formats apart) I'm going to convert everything to ProRes. I've been doing this for a couple of years to go through Color, which I've fallen in love with.
What, pray tell, is an AVCHD disk? Which will play in most Blu Ray players? THAT I'd be very curious about.
I've put your notes in my 'special notebook' as I'm sure I'll find myself here again in the not so distant future. I've got drives full of old HDV projects that clients often want remastered. And I will report back to this discussion if I figure out how to produce the nice clean menus I see in rented DVD's ... using DVD SP, or whatever.
Very much appreciated Russ, thank you kindly...
Ben

Missing HDV and MPEG-2 CODECS in new CS6 Creative Cloud install

I've been searching all through the forums trying to find a solution and I can't find anything that actually works for me.
I just purchased a new MacBook Pro and joined the creative cloud and downloaded Premiere Pro CS6 as well as all the other programs available. I went to import some HDV footage that I had captured into FCP7. The footage doesn't show up correctly just looking at it in Finder, it registers only as an audio file. So I went to import it to PP CS6 and it said the codec was not available. The HDV preset was showing as an option when I started PP but the files don't work correctly.
I have looked through a bunch of solutions and none match what I need. I tried the deactivate/reboot/reactivate and it didn't work. I checked the addexporter.txt file that some said would help get the codecs working in AME and it has everything looking correct:
# MediaCore Plugins
ExporterAIFF
ExporterAVI
ExporterBMP
ExporterCIT
CITExporter
ExporterDPX
ExporterGIF
ExporterGIFStill
ExporterJPEG
ExporterCoreAudio
ExporterNULL
ExporterP2
ExporterPNG
ExporterQuickTimeHost
ExporterTarga
ExporterTIFF
ExporterUncompressed
ExporterWave
ExporterWindowsMedia
ExporterXDCAMHD
# MediaCore Plugin Formats. Syntax: ExporterName.ZeroBasedIndexToBlacklist
ExporterMPEG4.1
ExporterMPEG4.2
ExporterMPEG4.3
# AME Plugins
AudioWriter
WinMediaWriter
# AME Plugin Formats
MPEG4
H.264 Blu-ray
I really don't want to completely uninstall and reinstall all the software because it took forever to download all the software.
One forum commenter said there was an easy fix to his problem on a help page, but I can't find it.

I have a similar situation, except my HDV clips show up correctly in Finder and play fine (video & audio) in QuickTime, but Premiere Pro refuses to import it. I wonder where PP is getting its codecs - QuickTime obviously has the codecs to play the HDV clips?
Premiere Pro CS6 with 6.0.1 update installed
Mac OSX v10.7.4
New Mac tower desktop with virtually nothing else installed. I did install QuickTime 7.6.6, based on a suggestion I found on this forum, in addition to the QuickTime 10.1 that came with Lion.
Source footage: HDV clips captured in FCP6/7, mix of 1080p30 and 720p30
Scenario: When trying to import or open the clips, pop-up window with error message "Codec missing or unavailable."
Where could I find the codecs that PP can use to open HDV clips? Any help will be appreciated!

Problems with sound sync for HDV import (MPEG file)

I've imported a one hour tape from my Sony HDR-HC3 (HDV import), and within a few minutes the sound and video get out of sync when I play it. I have elements v4 and also tried version 8 (trial) which was better but still a second out of sync vs 4-5 seconds for v4. The imported files for both versions both play perfectly in Windows Media player with no sync problems.
I'm running on Windows 7 64 bit with 4GB ram and a 4 core AMD processor which isn't struggling. In searching the web I've seen some old workaround solutions for similar problems which involved deinstalling quicktime, installing streamclip and a quicktime alternative and then converting the files imported by Elements. I am hoping there is a more straightforward solution within Elements which avoids having to go through this workaround.
Has anyone had this problem and solved it?
Thanks
Andrew

Thanks for the pointer Neale. I tried converting the file with Streamclip (quite slow - about 1/3 play speed) and noticed there were some errors reported near the beginning. I reimported the HDV into Premiere Elements 4 but this time in a number of smaller sections. I think it may have been related to those errors because when I cut to a later section the sound was in back in sync where it previously had been out of sync. This seems to have solved it for me. If I get some time to have a play with the converting solution I'll post the results back here, but for now I can catch up with the video editing which has fallen behind a bit.
Thanks again.
Andrew

HDV to MPEG2, best method?

Master timeline is HDV. Want to make MPEG2 for DVD.
If I dump the HDV on a different format timeline, such as DVCPRO HD, or DVCPRO 50, can I get a faster render and similar or better output quality?
Is there some new magic bullet trick for going from HDV to MPEG 2?
Ben

Just to add the link:
Bonsai’s HDV to DVD page
Alberto

*** Dropping an HDV sequence into a DV sequence for DVD output

I would like to output my HDV project to DVD but don't have an HDV camera or deck. I've dropped a few clips into an SD (anamorphic) sequence and rendered it out, but when the playback is viewed on a tv, it is jittery and not smooth as it needs to be.
I've had success sending my HDV project directly from FCP to compressor, but in this case, I can't do this because my next problem is having a glitch where it causes FCP to crash during the outputting to Compressor process.
This is the next workaround I've though of.........but it is having difficulty working.......is there another option or a setting I can change on this one?

All of the HDV footage I've worked with has been Lower Field First. If you want to de-interlace, use Apple's de-interlacer that can "interpolate" instead of duplicate or blend. This maintains the images edges. this can be found in Compressor, Shake, and even Motion. Also, Sending a sequence out to Compressor straight from Final Cut may seem like a good idea, but remember that HDV uses MPEG 2 Interframe encoding, and a lot of your cuts take place between complete frames. I've heard of a lot of problems, and experienced them myself by going this rout. I'd recommend exporting your entire sequence to a self-contained movie, which will render it completely, then taking that in to Compressor to convert to DVD or any other format. I like using the Apple Intermediate Codec or DVC PRO HD because it converts it to an Intraframe encoded format, aka, every frame stands on its own. It takes up more drive space, but its far less CPU intensive. While you're in compressor, you'll have to go into the "Frame Control" tab and set up your de-interlacing, which I believe lets you choose something like "motion estimation" or "best" which will interpolate the fields and produce sharper results. In Motion, it's just a filter. In Shake, its a node, or you can use the FileIn node to convert the format which can do the same.

MPEG-2 / MPEG-4

Taken from the FCE4 Manual, in part:
"About MPEG-2 Compression: High definition video requires significantly more data than standard definition video. A single HD video frame can require up to six times more data than an SD frame. To record such large images with such a low data rate, HDV uses MPEG-2 compression. MPEG compression reduces the data rate by removing redundant visual information, both on a per-frame basis and also across multiple frames."
With that as a given, should one not use MPEG-4 when exporting from FCE4?
Thanks,
Lyman

Thanks Tom.
Lyman

Editing native in HDV with no quality loss

Maybe some of you have already read this article
http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?category=Archive&articleId=174900 673
Because HDV's MPEG-2 compression retains only one frame (the I-frame) every half-second or so and interpolates the others, native HDV editing must cope with a major challenge: Even a simple cut, unless executed at an existing I-frame, causes massive recompression and artifacting in the subsequent frames.
to avoid this problem:
video should be acquired with wavelet based plugin that doesn't interpolate frames
Footage remains 50i but with the codec we choose
QUESTION
Lumiere HD seems to be a good choice for managing this work but which codec doesn't interpolate frames and between this codecs which should works best?

I guess I don't understand the question.
From what I know of LumiereHD, and HDVxDV...they take the mpeg 2 format of the HDV and convert it into an I-Frame format...giving the footage full frames. The Apple Intermediate Codec does this as well.
But if you use Lumiere or HDVxDV, you lose any and all timecode information, and you footage is slighty compressed. The compression isn't noticable, but the loss of timecode is huge.
When working with HDV, I recommend either capturing it natively...or better yet, getting an HD capture card, HDV deck with component outs and RS-422 control and capturing it as DVCPRO HD.
But I have been lucky enough to avoid HDV for now, so I have no practical experience, only what I have heard and read.
Shane

HDV & Transitions

Just got a new HD Handycam but don't have an Intel Mac so I have to import the video files from my camera to my local drive & then convert them to files I can import into iMovie HD 6. (I'll get an Intel Mac eventually.) Everything works great except for the transitions. Any transition I add between clips just shows as an all-black clip. The transition preview shows alright but the actual transition doesn't seem to get created. I'm wondering if I'm converting the video to a format that, for some reason, iMovie can't add transitions to. My videos are a little bland without this working so any suggestions are much appreciated.
I'm converting the video using Toast 9. Here are the video settings before & after:
Original: H.264/AVC, 1920X1080, 29.97 fps
Exported: Apple Intermediate Codec (HDV), 1440 X 1080, 29.97 fps
Thanks!

I'm wondering if I'm converting the video to a format that, for some reason, iMovie can't add transitions to.
Anything you import into iMovie 6 gets converted (if necessary) to the format your current project was created with. It may be DV, HDV or MPEG-4 (plus variants). Since Toast converts to HDV, you SHOULD be fine. But maybe it's a HDV variant that iMovie doesn't like?
If your camera records AVCHD, try VoltaicHD for conversion. http://www.shedworx.com/voltaichd

Compressing HDV to MPEG2

Hi everyone,
Does someone have any experience in encoding an HDV edit to MPEG2? I've tried but it seems that the material is very interlaced (there are a lot of lines going through the encoded footage). Is there a special way that this has to be done or do I need different software for this?
Thanks in advance,
Tim Metz

Hey Tim
you are working in HDV, correct?
50i, 60i, 30F, 25F, 24p?
I have experience encoding HDV to MPEG-2, both for SD and "HD" DVD's.
unfortunately, you did not give enough details about how yourself are doing this down-conversion.
from my own personal experiences, my best encodes have come from first down-converting the FCP sequence, importing my HDV material, rendering, exporting to a self-contained QT, taking that QT file and finally importing into Compressor.
if this workflow is unaccaptable, the other and believe it or not lenghtier solution is to create a HDV sequence, export a self-contained QT, import that QT into compressor and wait.
the former is much faster and gives you control throughout the process (like this, you can see how the file looks every step of the way and if there is an error correct it in its appropriate step) , where the latter you only view the QT file once, let compressor do it's thing and you hope it looks good.
when working with HDV, regardless of the system, it is really a lenghty process. when down any type of advance conversions, double that time!
Mikey M.

HELP - Mpeg Editing

Hi,
This is my first post here.
English is not my primary language so expect stone-age English.
This said, Im posting here because I just received my Canon HV20 and after some recording tests I need now to isolate specific takes from that MiniDV tape to later use in a more sense movie time line.
Now I just wonder how you guys do to edit your MPEG 1440x1080 HDV files preserving the original MPEG HDV quality?
Since capturing a MiniDV tape generates a long MPEG file, how do you do to isolate specific takes and export/save them to later assemble a new lossless HDV footage (like a movie)?
Explaining:
1. Record a MiniDV tape using the Canon HV20.
2. After record the tape use the HDV/Firewire output port to export the MiniDV tape to Adobe Premiere Pro (or any different software).
3. Now that I have the full tape in a huge MPEG file how can I isolate the takes I want to export/save loosely?
How do you guys do to export/save that isolated takes lossless?
Do you export maintaining the MPEG file format?
Doesnt this method recompress the original MPEG file again losing HDV quality?
Do you export the isolated takes using any other format like uncompressed AVI files? Uncompressed AVI files are not to heavy to edit in real time resulting in frame skip?
Please, Im just starting and Im very confused about the best way to edit and maintain HDV 1440x1080 MPEG quality imagery in extracted/isolated takes from the main HDV MPEG file.
Many thanks.
Ben

> Since capturing a MiniDV tape generates a long MPEG file, how do you do to isolate specific takes and export/save them to later assemble a new lossless HDV footage (like a movie)?
Premiere does not support Scene Detect, which will break your clips up into smaller files based upon breaks in timecode.
Use a free utility HDV Split it will Scene Detect your tapes.
http://strony.aster.pl/paviko/hdvsplit.htm
With regards to quality, capturing from tape is merely a
i transfer
of the info. What is on your tape will end up on your timeline.

Pinnacle Studio MovieBox Plus: FireWire to USB!

I don't have a Mac, but I've used them at my school, and I plan to get a Mac in the near future. Initially I figured I'd buy the $999 white MacBook since I use a Canon ZR800 MiniDV camcorder, until I just remembered I have THIS:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ol-images/hometech/uploads/2007-02-20PinnacleStu dioMoviebox.jpg
It is Pinnacle's Studio MovieBox Plus unit. What it does is that it connects to your PC via a USB 2.0 port and is able to capture analog video AND MiniDV, complete with device control! Yep, it has a FireWire port on the front to plug the camcorder in, and it connects to a USB 2.0 port!
The Studio 10 Plus software that came with it works great, on both PCs I've used it on, and I've also tested the MovieBox device with other programs, including Windows Movie Maker (XP version), Roxio Creator 10, various Nero programs and Ulead VideoStudio and DVD MovieFactory. They all recognized the DV part and the analog part. But the important part of the story is that when it came to Adobe Premiere Elements (version 3.0), that program was unable to capture analog video, but surprisingly, it recognized my Canon ZR800 camcorder through the MovieBox's FireWire port, and captured from it as if my camcorder was connected to a real FireWire port on the PC, using device control with it! The MovieBox is capable of capturing in DV, HDV, AVI, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2.
I wonder if I plug this thing into a USB 2.0 port on one of the Intel Macs (hopefully the newer-style MacBook), and then connect my Canon ZR800 to the MovieBox's DV port, the Mac would think the DV part of the MovieBox is a real FireWire port and capture from my MiniDV camcorder like it would on a PC? If anyone has one of these babies, an Intel Mac with OS X Leopard, and a MiniDV camcorder, can someone try and confirm this for me? That way, I can shell out a bit more money and get the $1300 MacBook and just use the MovieBox device for capturing from my ZR800 camcorder to edit in iMovie and Final Cut Express. As far as formats go, it encodes in typical DV format, which comes out as AVI on PCs and MOV on Macs, and also works with MPEG if you really want to use it that way.
Can anyone help me on this? My college's TV studio director, who is a former Pinnacle Systems employee and has worked with both Mac and Windows, thinks this might be a smart idea, so I don't have to spend more money to buy a USB flash-drive camcorder just so I can edit video on the new MacBook (which would admittedly be a stupid reason, IMO)

Great idea but ... but probably no go ... The MovieBox sofware is PC only and it is unlikely that the MovieBox converter by itself will work with a Mac. You can try it, but since it requires the Pinnacle software it is not likely to work. And Pinnacle equipment in general does not have a good reputation working with Macs.
You could take the MovieBox to your local Apple Store and see if you can try it out on a Mac there. It can't hurt anything.
Have you considered getting an iMac instead of a MacBook? Or perhaps a refurbed MacBook that has a FireWire port - they're currently going for $850 to $1000 and carry the full Apple Warranty, and are also eligible for the 3-year AppleCare. My son has one and it's been working flawlessly from the day he bought it.

2 Sony Devices, No Longer Seen By iMove, or Mac G4 Dual 1 Ghz Machine..

Hi There,
I am having a hard time, and my computer is acting very un-Mac like.
Sometime between the beginning of November, and now, something has changed in my system which makes, iMovie,, Final Cut Express, and My G4 in general, no longer see my Sony Camcorder, or Sony Digital 8 VCR.
I just did a big project at the beginning of November, so I know it was working.
What I've done to try to rectify it, so far.
Can an Security update cause such a problem?
Repaired permissions, Zapped pram, remove battery for pram, reset open firmware, brought the firewire cord in question to our local Apple store, and it seemed to work fine, booted in safe mode.
My iSight camera works fine, but I am going to need to import more video soon, and I'm kind of at a loss..
Any help, or advice would be appreciated..
Happy Holidays,
Eric
PS I'm going take out the pram battery overnight for good measure. Or overkill.

Hi
When I burned my two Cameras I also could control FW, play, BW BUT no picture.
That's why they had to be tested on another Mac. It's the A/D chip in the Cameras
that died for me. Everything else worked OK. Recording to tape (normal
filming) play back via analog port etc.
Here is my full trouble shooting list.
May be You find some help in my list:
Mac:
- hardware
◊ Slow hard disk (fragmented: repair permissions, repair hard disk, use a faster hard disk)
◊ I wonder how full your Mac's hard disc is. (David Babsky) A near full hard disk prevents Import/Capture.
10% free is recommended + space for Import/Capture + work space (about 4 to
5 times the amount needed for Capture) eg on a 200Gb hard disk You need 20Gb + (one hour tape)
13Gb + 50Gb = about 80 to 90Gb free space.
◊ Disconnect all other ext devices (FW and USB) exept Camera (and keyboard + mouse) and try again
◊ Reset PRAM
◊ Bad RAM-chips
◊ disconnect Mac from powerline (not just switch off, really plug out) for a few minutes to reset FW ports
- software
◊ File-Vault is on - turn it off
◊ Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
◊ Do You have desktop pictures or screen or energy-savers active? Try turning them off.
◊ Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good) OS X.4.0-5 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
◊ Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first) QT v.7.0.0-4 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
◊ Have you tried the crazy fix: Open GarageBand, play a few notes, close it and reopen iMovie. The camera should import fine now. Sue/SDillini
◊ Running iDVD at the same time as iMovie can cause problems: (Lennart Thelander)
◊ If You also have installed FinalCut Express/pro there are possibly problems with this
◊ Did You select the right sort of project? DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i , HDV 20p, MPEG-4 or iSight.
iMovie:
◊ remove bookmarks in iMovie project
◊ Trash: com.apple.iMovie.plist and com.apple.iMovie3.plist : files (Xinram)
Connection:
◊ don’t Daisy chain Camcorder <--> external hard disk <--> Mac
◊ FW-wire cable, is it OK?
◊ USB/USB2 is NO GO !
◊ Cheque FW connection at Camera end. OK? (Adam Smith1)
◊ Cheque FW connection at Mac end. OK?
Camera:
◊ The Camera is set to VTR ? (not as when You ”film” record with it)
◊ You may be need to go to the Camera menu and select digital out.
◊ defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC ! (if the A/D chip in the camera is harmed then it will say in iMovie that the camera is connected and You can forward resp. backward the tape but there will be no picture or sound just the blue screen).
◊ connect camera to power-line, not battery-only....(Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Canons don't allow daisychaining on firewire, make it "only device" on port (Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Cheque the menu on Your Camera so that it communicates with the FW digitally to Your Mac
◊ Date and Time is correct on Your Camera ?
Tape:
◊ Drop outs on the miniDV-tape - make a camera to camera copy on a tape which You have previous recorded with a time code (dummy recording).
◊ Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is pre-recorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
◊ If You recorded in LP-mode (90 min on a standard 60 min tape with 12-bit sound). Try to change in iMovie pref. to import but not as individual clips. If this doesn’t work You have to make a Camera to Camera copy with the receiving Camera set to SP-mode and 16-bit sound.
More:
◊ follow advises here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000
◊ follow Grandmaster Dan's advice for Sony cameras here: http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/usage/5020.shtml
NEWS: Jerry Harris writes:
I know that in a lot of the new Sony HD cameras, iMovie requires that you turn iLink Conv off. I would look for a similar setting for your camera. This setting has to do with shooting a movie in one format, and using the camera to import as a different format. For instance, if you shoot HD footage and have iLink conv on - the camera will send DV to the computer etc...
So, case in point: look for a setting on your camera that has to do with the video format and see if that helps.
I had a similar problem -
Macbook + iMovie HD + HDV Camera = No import
Took me a little while to work out that the project file I had opened and was trying to capture into was set to DV and not HDV 1080i, hence iMovie was not detecting my H
DV camera's signal - hence always reverting to the isight camera.
Try opening a new project. At the filename dialog box, you should see an 'options' button which should allow you to select the appropriate video format depending on your needs. You should be able to choose between DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i and HDV 720i. Choose DV or DV Widescreen if you're about to import from a DV camera. iMovie's default might be HDV.
All the best!.. ”ahroyboy”
It seems I've probably got a loose or damaged pin on the firewire connector. I happened to place the camera/dock/cable in a position where it was able to connect, and even import.
Something else to add to anyone in a similar position is to take a look at your system profile when the camera is attached. This is how I realized that it was talking to the laptop finally, but it would be a good debugging step - if your computer can see the camera, it's likely not in the physical setup. ( CraigP )
This camera will not be recognised by iMovie, as the HDD format that it is recorded in, is not standard video file. All you can do is, connect the camera to firewire then:
- open the camera, like a hard drive from the finder or desktop.
- import footage to the computer in movies, or anwhere you choose.
- sometimes HDD camera footage can be imported directly to iMovie.
- may have to convert the video, in a third party application.
- then drag and drop video into the iMovie oane on the right side.
Had a customer with the same problem once and this was the only method of importation of video footage, the photos come into iMovie great but the video, was a headache.
Anyway this should get ya importing Bach Goldie
Yours Bengt W

Sony DCR-PC55 worked w/ iMovie, doesn't with iMovie HD 6.0.2

I was able to import video from my Sony handycam - iMovie was able to see the camera, control it, and even automatically import video. I "upgraded" to iMovie HD, and now the exact same camera, docking station and firewire cable no longer works. iMovie HD is unable to connect to the camera at all. What changed?
I've tried hard resetting the camera, resetting the time in the camera to match my Mac, replacing the iLink/FireWire cable, and the "workaround" using GarageBand, all to no avail. Very frustrating...
Is it relatively easy to uninstall iMovieHD and reinstall iMovie? I'm not sure what else to try at this point.
15" PowerBook G4 1.25GHz 512MB DDR SRAM Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Hi Craig
May be You find some help in my list:
Print it out and tic one idea at a time.
Mac:
- hardware
◊ Slow hard disk (fragmented: repair permissions, repair hard disk, use a faster hard disk)
◊ I wonder how full your Mac's hard disc is. (David Babsky) A near full hard disk prevents Import/Capture.
10% free is recommended + space for Import/Capture + work space (about 4 to
5 times the amount needed for Capture) eg on a 200Gb hard disk You need 20Gb + (one hour tape)
13Gb + 50Gb = about 80 to 90Gb free space.
◊ Disconnect all other ext devices (FW and USB) exept Camera (and keyboard + mouse) and try again
◊ Reset PRAM
◊ Bad RAM-chips
◊ disconnect Mac from powerline (not just switch off, really plug out) for a few minutes to reset FW ports
- software
◊ File-Vault is on - turn it off
◊ Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
◊ Do You have desktop pictures or screen or energy-savers active? Try turning them off.
◊ Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good) OS X.4.0-5 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
◊ Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first) QT v.7.0.0-4 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
◊ Have you tried the crazy fix: Open GarageBand, play a few notes, close it and reopen iMovie. The camera should import fine now. Sue/SDillini
◊ Running iDVD at the same time as iMovie can cause problems: (Lennart Thelander)
◊ If You also have installed FinalCut Express/pro there are possibly problems with this
◊ Did You select the right sort of project? DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i , HDV 20p, MPEG-4 or iSight.
iMovie:
◊ remove bookmarks in iMovie project
◊ Trash: com.apple.iMovie.plist and com.apple.iMovie3.plist : files (Xinram)
Connection:
◊ don’t Daisy chain Camcorder <--> external hard disk <--> Mac
◊ FW-wire cable, is it OK?
◊ USB/USB2 is NO GO !
◊ Cheque FW connection at Camera end. OK? (Adam Smith1)
◊ Cheque FW connection at Mac end. OK?
Camera:
◊ The Camera is set to VTR ? (not as when You ”film” record with it)
◊ You may be need to go to the Camera menu and select digital out.
◊ defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC ! (if the A/D chip in the camera is harmed then it will say in iMovie that the camera is connected and You can forward resp. backward the tape but there will be no picture or sound just the blue screen).
◊ connect camera to power-line, not battery-only....(Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Canons don't allow daisychaining on firewire, make it "only device" on port (Karsten Schlüter)
◊ Cheque the menu on Your Camera so that it communicates with the FW digitally to Your Mac
◊ Date and Time is correct on Your Camera ?
Tape:
◊ Drop outs on the miniDV-tape - make a camera to camera copy on a tape which You have previous recorded with a time code (dummy recording).
◊ Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is pre-recorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
◊ If You recorded in LP-mode (90 min on a standard 60 min tape with 12-bit sound). Try to change in iMovie pref. to import but not as individual clips. If this doesn’t work You have to make a Camera to Camera copy with the receiving Camera set to SP-mode and 16-bit sound.
More:
◊ follow advises here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000
◊ follow Grandmaster Dan's advice for Sony cameras here: http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/usage/5020.shtml
NEWS: Jerry Harris writes:
I know that in a lot of the new Sony HD cameras, iMovie requires that you turn iLink Conv off. I would look for a similar setting for your camera. This setting has to do with shooting a movie in one format, and using the camera to import as a different format. For instance, if you shoot HD footage and have iLink conv on - the camera will send DV to the computer etc...
So, case in point: look for a setting on your camera that has to do with the video format and see if that helps.
I had a similar problem -
Macbook + iMovie HD + HDV Camera = No import
Took me a little while to work out that the project file I had opened and was trying to capture into was set to DV and not HDV 1080i, hence iMovie was not detecting my H
DV camera's signal - hence always reverting to the isight camera.
Try opening a new project. At the filename dialog box, you should see an 'options' button which should allow you to select the appropriate video format depending on your needs. You should be able to choose between DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i and HDV 720i. Choose DV or DV Widescreen if you're about to import from a DV camera. iMovie's default might be HDV.
All the best!.. "ahroyboy"
Yours Bengt W

Export in Full Quality??

With iMovie '06, all I had to do was click on "Full Quality" when exporting to have the video export in the same quality that it had been in as I was working on it. I can't find any way to do that with iMovie '11. I've tried Export Medium & Export Large, Export to Quicktime Broadband High as well as the default option, and every time the final video comes out fuzzy and not nearly as clear as the project I had been working on. The material is not in HD, but nevertheless the final exported product is always much lower quality than what it should be.
Someone please tell me there's a way to export my video without vastly reducing the video quality. Thanks

Hi
The problem is - What do You mean by Full Quality. It's very different if Your original material is
• miniDV tape PAL or NTSC refered to as DV and 25 or 29.97fps
• DVPRO
• DV-HD
• DV Widescreen (16x9)
• HDV 1080i
• HDV 720p
• MPEG-4
• iSight
• MPEG-2 from Cameras that records on DVD or miniDVD - some versions are OK
• .mov
• .avi
• AVCHD (= H.264)
And - where You aim Your movie
• as a DVD
• YouTube
• AppleTV
• else
IF You are as Me in miniDV tape age and aiming to do a DVD as result.
Then and Only Then - iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 - are not the tools to USE as they all discard every second line
in interlaced video on export - How-ever You trie to do it. Not Possibly.
Tools to use are
• iMovie up to HD6
• FinalCut any version Express or Pro
To re-install iMovie HD6 - You need the iLife 6 Disks or the one that Came with Your old Mac.
From here You must seek the forum to figure out exact steps - Has been delivered several times during the Years.
As I get it iMovie'11 has to be removed first - then iMovie HD6 installed then put application into a folder
named iMovie Previous versions - Then iMovie'11 can be re-installed.
Yours Bengt W

HDV to Mpeg-2?

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