IMovie HD HV20

For those who may know:
Is iMovie HD (on my somewhat antiquated system) adequate to work with high definition video from a Canon HV20?
Thanks again for your help so far,
Daniel

You should buy some more RAM, but otherwise it should work just fine. RAM is cheap nowadays, buy 1GB so you get 1.5GB total.

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Can't import into imovie using HV20 as AV/DV bridge

I've trying to import some old VHS footage from a VHS player to imovie v6.0.3 using a Canon HV20 as a analogue to digital convertor. I've got about 30GB free space on my Intel imac. It captures a fraction of a second of VCR image and then switched to importing the camcorder tape. I've had no problem importing VCR footage directly to camcorder (and then copying to imovie) but I want to avoid this two-step process and go straight from VCR to imovie vai camcorder in one go. BTW the chain goes VCR - stereo video cable - camcorder (AV/DV ON) - firewire - imac running imovie.
I've read somewhere that imovie v4.1 works fine but newer versions tend to work with specific convertors only. Can anyone help with a solution please and/or confirm this is a general problem.

I have an HV20 and just did the same thing with my MacBook Pro and a VHS VCR, with my HV20 in the middle. I used iMovie 08 and had no trouble at all.
The only reason that it would switch to the camcorder tape for me was if the VHS tape ended and I didn't manually stop the import in time.

FireWire is the only way to import Canon HV20 Camcorder videos into iMovie?

As a followup to my last post a moment ago tonight 1/30/08:
Is it true that I need a FireWire cable to import Canon HV20 Camcorder videos into iMovie?
If so, the Apple salesperson is wrong.
He told me last Monday that purchasing the new iLife 2008 (that contains iMovie 2008) would allow me to use my current USB cable.
Given I see NO FireWire port on my new MacBook Pro (bought in 8/2006), I don't see a solution.
Note the camera, an HD camcorder (the Canon HV20) did NOT come with a FireWire cable; it only came with a USB male plug on one side of the cable and the other is a small square-like male plug that connects to a female port on the Canon HV20.
Solution?
Thanks for any suggestions, Daniel

The USB cable is for importing still photographs. Not video.
The firewire 400 cable you need is one that goes from the 6 pin full size male connector to the small 4 pin form used for DV.
The cable plugs into the camera in a socket behind a plastic flap near the eyepiece. Its marked HDV/DV. The other end plugs into the MBP on the right-hand side. 4th from the back.

Recording to iMovie from Canon HV20

Hi,
I have IMovie 10.0.2 and Canon HV20 connected through the Firewire. I can control the camera in "Play" mode (Start|Stop|Revind) but I cannot control it in "Camera" mode. The Record button is absent and a message "Camera Not Controllable" appears. I want to Start|Stop recording. Is it possible?

Just did some testing with my HV20.
Doesn't seem to be possible to actually record directly into iMovie 10. I tried to use the "import" button. The camera starts running but nothing is really imported.
The only way I managed is to use Quictime 10 to record from the camera (that will work). It will give you a h264 .mov video, that you can import into iMovie.
Ben

How to import to iMovie '08 from Canon HV20 HD Video Camcorder

Pretty simple problem statement: I've got a Canon HV20, a USB cable, and a new iMac with Leopard and iMovie '08. I plug in the camera, and iMovie does not seem to recognize it -- the only camera it wants to import from is the built-in iSight.
Help? And thanks a bunch.

You need a Firewire cable for video. The USB is only good for the still camera mode; to transfer still images from a card, if you have one.
Rick

IMovie: I uploaded HDV video from a Canon HV20 and then to YouTube. The video and the audio are out of sync. The audio seems to precede the video by a tiny bit which is disconcerting. Any recommendations about how to correct this? Thank you.

I downloaded video via iMovie from my Canon HV20. The video was in HDV. I then published it to YouTube and Vimeo and in both cases, the audio is out of sync: the video precedes the audio by a fraction of a second. The original is fine as viewed in the camera.
Any suggestions as to why and how to correct it?
Thank you,
David

Anything here help?
iMovie: Improving audio and video synchronization
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25603?viewlocale=en_US

Can't Share (export) iMovie 6 project to Canon HV20

I'm running iMovie 6.0.4 under Mac OS 10.5.1.
I keep encountering the same error when trying to export a completed iMovie project back to HDV tape. I select Share -> Video Camera but keep getting an error message saying "Cannot Export to Camera, Your FireWire camera is not powered on or is not available. This also can happen if you added or removed a device from FireWire. Please try again."
Needless to say I've tried, tried and tried again trying a variety of different connection and powering-up processes. The camcorder is also in the correct mode.
I have connected the camcorder before and been able to export completed iMovie projects. So I don't think it's a hardware issue or an incompatibility issue. The only thing I can possible think of is I might of been using 10.5 when I last successfully completed this process. I'm now using 10.5.1.
So I'm at a loss. Has anyone experienced this before or know of a work around? I guess for now I'm going to "Share to a file, for sending to a camera later" and hopefully be able to export the completed project to tape in the future.

I have the MacBookPro and Canon HV20. I use both iMovie08 and iMovie06HD. The 6HD allows me to (a) Produce a better quality DVD than the 08 does and (b) export the movie back to the MiniDV tape on my Canon HV20 camcorder. I use the DV-Firewire cable to connect the HV20 to MacBookPro. There is no problem when I transfer the movie from HV20 to MacBookPro, but I cannot transfer it from MacBookPro to HV20, no matter how many times I reload the 06HD. My camcorder is connected directly to the MacBookPro. Are you always able to transfer your movies from MacBookPro to your HV20? If yes, I will appreciate a step by step process you use. Thanks.
April 12, 2008

Captuiring HDV straight into iMovie from Canon HV20?

Is it possible to do a long capture straight into iMovie on a G5 iMac?
I know we can do DV easily, but was wondering about the AIC/HDV issue.
Thanks for any insight I can pass on to students before they try it,
Rosco in California

"..Does video shot on an HV20 have to be imported through an HV20? Or can I import by some other means?.."
You can import via some other camera which can play the same system you recorded with. In other words, you could import an HDV (hi-def) 30fps recording made with your Canon by putting that tape into a Sony HDV camcorder and importing it from the Sony.
However, if the Sony can't make sense of your 24fps recording (..and Sonys have their own way of "manufacturing" 24fps, by taking various fields from different video frames..) then it might import badly ..or may replay at twice the normal speed.
If you connect the camera, click on the apple logo at top-left of your screen and choose 'About This Mac' and then click on 'More Info...' and choose 'FireWire' in the left-hand column of 'System Profiler' ..does your camera show up there? If not, it may be that the FireWire port on your Canon isn't working properly ..or maybe you've a bad FireWire cable. I don't have an HV20, so I can't suggest any other ideas, sorry ..but use Search Discussions at top-right of this page to find out if others have had - and solved - this problem.

Canon HV20. Anyone using one? Any problems with iMovie HD?

So as a follow up to my other post about the Sony, has anyone been using Canon's HV20 with iMovie hd? If I can't get the older Sony to run with iMovie, I'd probably check this out over the Sony HD model, given all the reviews I've read. I really would like an external mic ability, in case I want to use a lavaliere mic for an interview. It appears that the Sony will not allow me to use one. I assume that I can easily plug this model into a MacBook and run it from iMovie, as well as import and edit clips.
Thoughts?

There is a box in the top right corner of this discussion group labeled "Search Discussions". Just type HV20 in there. There have been a couple of threads lately on the HV20.

IMovie not compatible with Canon HV20?

Can't get my iMac to recognize my HV20. Anybody else have one and able to explain if I'm missing something? Got a firewire cable, plugged it into the HDV/DV port on the camera, turned it to "play" and I'm getting nothing. On the camera, no matter if I set the output to DV or HDV/DV, the mac doesn't see it.
Canon's website says I shouldn't need anything for OS X support.
About to head upstairs to my windows box to see if it'll see it.
Any suggestions? I'd much rather use the mac for vid capture than my windows computer.

... it certainly makes me wonder about your compute setup. Do you have any other Firewire devices connected to your computer when you are trying to make the video transfer? I know some earlier Canon DV camcorders wanted to be the only Firewire device on the bus during transfer.
Macintosh: FireWire Issue With Some Canon Mini-DV Cameras at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61603
iMovie: Cannot see or control camera at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43000 has a lot of good information!
F Shippey

Analogue/Digital Conversion w/ Canon HV20 & IMovie 08

I can't figure out how to transfer VHSc tapes from my old JVC Camcorder through my new Canon HV20 into iMovie '08 on my new Imac 24" 2.4.
I have the JVC connected to the Canon with AV cable. And I have the Canon connected to the IMac with a DV cable from the Canon's HDV/DD port to the Imac's firewire port. And I have the Canon's AV=>Dv function turned on.
I put both camcorders on the "play" mode. The audio and video signals get passed from the JVC to the Canon. But when I select Import in iMovie, I get the message "NO TAPE" in the upper left hand corner of the blue screen and neither video nor audio gets passed through. Help!!!!

This is a shot in the dark, but I think you may have to have a tape in the Canon (or whatever brand pass-through you use).
I was doing the same thing as you about 4 years ago (on a PC at the time) and I vaguely remember the "No Tape" message on my Sony. Technology has changed a lot in that time, so I may be WAY off base.
Sandy

IMovie 08, the Canon HV20, & 24p?

Although iMovie 08 has been highly disappointing (less functionality, timelines, etc) can it natively capture video from the Canon HV20 that has been recorded in 24p "Cinema mode"? If not, is there a plugin to do the pulldown required for capturing and editing, and are the results equal to native 24p capturing and editing? If not, I'll have to use iMovie HD all the time - too much functionality was taken out it in iMovie 08.

I use HV20 all the time with iMovie 06 and 08. Like many has pointed out the only thing 24p about HV20 is its sensor. It can scan 24fps progressively but records to tape as 60i using pulldown and the result is '24p looking video playback' on 60i system - just like many movie DVDs where the source is 24p but stored as 60i.
If you want true 24p editing you need to use NLE that supports 24p timeline, which no consumer level NLE does, and you should convert 60i clips back to 24p via a process called reverse-telecine. So for most of us Hv20 would work just fine with iMovie 06 or 08 as is.
As for low light performance of HV20, it is a little bit better than other cams in this class when you use 24p mode because the shutter can open for longer time allowing more light in. But any consumer HD cameras suffer from bad low light performance so don't expect HV20 to do any miracles.

IMovie HD (6) will not capture video taken from HV20 in PF24 mode

The preview window shows the video just fine. iMovie complains that Quicktime doesn't have the ability (codec/plugin) to edit or playback my video. I find it ironic that software claiming to support HD and HDV can't read the video. It says to re-install iMovie. Of course, that didn't work. I read some blurbs online from people with similar errors, but mostly that involved copying a codec from their buddy. Is there a way to make this work natively without having to resort to piracy? I did upgrade my machine to Leopard, but the Apple support person didn't seem to think that would keep Quicktime and iMovie HD from working together.

Avoid 24p. It's a format which was introduced only to allow people who couldn't afford film cameras to shoot on video and then have the material transferred to film to show in cinemas. It's for people who shoot mini-documentaries, etc.
It's not a video standard: in America the frame rate for video is 30fps (frames per second) and in Europe it's 25 fps.
iMovie edits video, so it expects one of those two normal frame rates:
The only 'p' frame rate which iMovie copes with is a "rogue" rate introduced by JVC with their first hi-def camcorders which recorded at 720p (720 pixels high instead of the more usual 1080, and shot in 'progressive' mode instead of the more usual 'interlaced' mode which video normally assumes).
If you do manage to import 24p ('progressive') then you'll probably find that the video plays back at twice the normal speed, as 'progressive' frames are just single frames (like film) instead of being split into two half-frame "fields", which is the normal case with video.
So 24p is for "pretending" to shoot film. Try not to use it if you're shooting video!

"Slow Motion" Audio - Canon HV20 and IMovie 6.03

Hi
Just tried the above combination for the first time. Footage imports fine and plays normally in the clip viewer. However, if I play the same clip in full screen mode, my wife's voice drops an octave! Exactly the same happens when exporting to Quicktime. The whole sounds drops in pitch and women sound like men, men like Barry White. The 'speed' is OK and plays in sync with the video - just at a lower pitch.
This seems to have been mentioned early last year but no solutions seemed to have been suggested bar editing the pitch for each clip.
Any solutions/explanations/cures gratefully received.
Thanks
Matt

Only as I say above. Snipping a second off the start of a clip seems to bring the sound back to normal again. No idea what'shappening but it seems to work. Tried importing on my iMac G5 with an earlier version of iMovie (5.something) and there are no problems. So it's either something in 6.03 or something weird the MacBook Pro is doing but everything points to a software glitch. iMac G5 also imports in real time which I didn't expect. Only has 1gb of RAM too.

IMovie 09 Won't import Canon HV20 Video

When I plug the camera in and click import it just stops. The video never even gets past the blue screen. Help!

I have an HV30 and was experiencing the same thing. The way I got it to work was to go into iMovie > Preferences > Video and set Video Standard to PAL. (you'll have to restart iMovie for the change to take affect) Once iMovie was restarted I hooked the camera back up and it worked. Then just for kicks, I changed it back to NTSC, restarted and it still worked and has worked ever since. I figure it must be some kind of bug and another poster had previously mentioned. Hope it works out for everyone else as well.

IMovie HD HV20

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