Importing VHS video through digital camera

I am importing VHS video through my Sony camera (TRV22) to imovie. For some reason it the screen will go blue for a few seconds then the picture will come back. I was doing this on a older power pc mac and imovie would just stop recording. On my new imac it doesn't stop recording but the screen goes blue. Has this happened to anyone else and maybe know what is causing it? Should I try a different way of video transfer with some other software? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Two possible causes:
Faulty or badly connected cables
You are not using Firewire

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Can't Play Video Through To Camera iMovie Crashes

I was working with iMovie 3 the other day and viewing the project on my TV using my trusty old Canopus ADVC 100 with the "Play Video Through To Camera" option checked in Preferences. Today I went to preview a new project and iMovie crashes everytime it finishes loading all of the clips with the play through option checked. The only way to open the project is to turn off the ADVC and uncheck the play-though option and re-save. It will load whether the ADVC is on or off as long as the play through option is not checked.
What could have changed?

Hi David
This is a guessing question - so many ways things can go wrong.
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
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.
Yours Bengt W

I have been trying to import VHS video into iMovie via a Hollywood Dazzle bridge. Did not have trouble until I upgraded to mavericks. I have a mac book pro, 10.9.1, iMovie 10.0.2. Says it is recording, but when I go to check, it says the file is empty.

I have been trying import VHS video into iMovie via a Hollywood Dazzle bridge. I have been successful doing this in the past, but now it is not working. I have a mac book pro, 10.9.1, (mavericks), iMovie 10.0.2. Everything in iMovie looks like it is working. It reads "recording" in the upper left hand corner of the pane while the video is playing. When I stop the process to check on my clip it says that the file is empty. The only thing that has changed since I did it successfully is that I upgraded to mavericks from whatever I had previously. My system is about one year old. Any suggestions?

Hey, Clinton,
     Thanks for your help! I was able to go to iMovie 9.0.9 and import video. I was still curious as to why it didn't work in version 10.0.2, so I contacted Apple tech support. They were't sure at first as to why it wouldn't work, so they had me delete iMovie 10.0.2 and then re-install it just to see if something had gone wrong when it upgraded. That didn't change anything. In the end, they determined that 10.0.2 doesn't support the Hollywood Dazzle DV bridge. But I have a workaround path from them that I will share so that it's possible to import to 9.0.9, then move it to 10.0.2.
     1. Open iMovie 9 (finder/applications/iMovie 9.0.9
     2. Import from Dazzle Bridge to iMovie 9, note which event you are importing the clips into
     3. Close iMovie 9
     4. Open iMovie 10 (probably in the dock)
     5. File/Import Media...navigate to home(this was my name, on the left side of iMovie, under Favorites)/Movies/iMovie events. Find the event folder that contains your Dazzle clips (tip-try sorting by date modified to look at recent events.)
     6. Select the clips and import. Click the blue "Import Selected" button on the bottom right.
You may get a message that some files cannot be imported. Click continue import. It's a little glitchy. It imports your clip, and also makes a copy of it, too. On the copy, the audio is normal, but the video is choppy. In any case, you would delete the copy, anyway.
Hope this additional information helps somebody else. Thanks again, Clinton for helping me!

New Photos App - Can't Import Video from Digital Camera

Hi, everyone. I just "upgraded" to the new Photos app, but I'm finding that I can no longer import video from my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. With iPhoto, this was never a problem. All of the old videos I imported from this camera are there after migration, and are playable within the program. Photos import just fine. However, I get an error message for the videos (below). I don't understand why I'm not able to import anything new from that device.
I opened iPhoto to attempt an import and it worked just fine. Any help is appreciated. I'm running Yosemite 10.10.3 on an iMac 2010. Thanks.

Hi there Jermaster
iMovie 3 does not support the camera you have. iM is a Digital Video (DV) editor. Cameras that record to mini DV tape is what is required. IM 3 does not support USB either. You need Firewire. The camera you have is a flash based Hard Drive camera. To get the video off this camera you'll need iM08 or 09.
But it doesn't appear that the computer you have will support either of these versions.
See below ...
iLife ’09 System Requirements
Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor
iMovie requires an Intel-based Mac, Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), or iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster).
GarageBand Learn to Play requires an Intel-based Mac with a dual-core processor or better.
512MB of RAM; 1GB recommended. High-definition video requires at least 1GB of RAM.
Approximately 4GB of available disk space
DVD drive required for installation
Mac OS X v10.5.6 or later
QuickTime 7.5.5 or later (included)
AVCHD video requires a Mac with an Intel Core Duo processor or better. Visit iMovie ’09 Camcorder Support for details on digital video device and format support.
24-bit recording in GarageBand requires a Mac OS X-compatible audio interface with support for 24-bit audio. Please consult the owner’s manual or manufacturer directly for audio device specifications and compatibility.
Some features require Internet access and/or MobileMe; additional fees and terms apply. MobileMe is available to persons age 13 and older. Annual subscription fee and Internet access required. Terms of service apply.
iPhoto print products are available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and select countries in Europe and Asia Pacific.
GarageBand Artist Lessons are sold separately and are available directly through the GarageBand Lesson Store in select countries.
Burning DVDs requires an Apple SuperDrive or compatible third-party DVD burner.
Flickr service is available only in select countries.
Carl

IPhoto won't import videos from digital camera or s4

Up until now, I had been able to import videos from both. Now iPhoto won't even ask me to import videos. It just imports the photos.

Do the cameras have the option to record in AVCHD? If so is that what you're recording? What version of iPhoto are you using?
OT

Problem importing still photos from digital camera. Any help please?

I wanted to put together a little Premier Pro CS5 project using 20 stills from my Sony digital camera. When I go through the various options to import them
into my project (Import, Import through Bridge, etc) I get 20 different file names in the Project panel but instead of 20 different photos (as expected) I have 20 copies of the same photograph.
Wow, that is frustrating. The closest item in the support logs I could find was this one (see below), but that work around is both over my head and very time consuming.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/730233
I found another discussion along these same lines and it appears that no solution has been found.
I hope I am not asking too much of my $1,000 software program to say, "Please pull in these 20 pics so I can work with them in the timeline." I just want to hit import and go.
I am using a Win7 computer with a Sony camera taking 3 mega-pixel shots. Again, all looks to be going well (all 20 filenames in project panel are different) but when those files are opened they are all the same picture.
I've rebooted, opened and close PrPro, tried renaming the pics from the standard dsc123.jpg convention to something else - all to no avail. I would find it hard to believe that a program this powerful could struggle with such a simple chore - am I doing something incorrect?
Thank you for any help!
Stuart

More info about the issue. This is also a hit-and-miss error, as once you find a way that will appear to work and you say to yourself, "Finally! I figured it out!"
But once you go to the next photo to pull it in and get on with your project you find that you are pulling in multiple copies of the same picture as the one
you just pulled in.
This same problem occurs if you attempt to import using the Media Browser, and as an interesting footnote, the Media Browser window has a drop down
list. When you click each of your different file names, there it is - the same picture. I've invested 1.5 hours in attempting to find a work-around by importing, renaming, saving, right-clicking, using context menus - everything my 43 years of computer use can muster - but still no luck.
The last time that I created a project similar to this (a mix of video and stills) it worked just fine so that is even more of a head-scratcher for me.
I even went back and re-imported the pics that worked fine into the project that I am struggling with and they came in fine - no duplication. But vacation pics are the only copies I have and I just need to import these 20 shots and get to work on them.
I would be willing to let someone get my IP address and connect directly like my IT folks at work do so they could see what is going on with this.
Thank you again for any assistance!
Stuart

Importing VHS video into FCE4 via a camcorder

Hello,
I’m trying to import some old family videos that were recorded on an old VHS camera (now long departed) into Final Cut Express 4 using a Sony DCR-TR330 camcorder & a VHS player.
The camcorder is connected to my iMac via the firewire interface, the VHS player is connected to the “audio/video” input on my camcorder
When I press play on the VHS player the video appears in the Final Cut Express 4 capture window (the audio also plays) When I click “Capture Now” on the capture window I get the message:
“Waiting for Timecode
Device must be in VTR mode when Device Control is enabled”
If I first record the VHS video onto a Hi8 tape in the camcorder, I can then import the video (& audio) into FCE4 using the “Capture Now” button.
Is there any way to import the video straight into FCE8 instead of first having to transfer it to the Hi8 format.
Thanks for any help.
John Hutchinson

Many thanks for your prompt reply,
I am now able to capture straight from VHS to FCE4
Kind Regards
John Hutchinson

IMovie will only import short videos from my camera.

Hello,
I recently bought a Sony CyberShot DSC-HX50 camera. I filled one 8 GB memory card and have half-filled a 16 GB card (I was overseas and couldn't download photos to my MacBook Pro, which was at home). I have the most recent version of iMovie but this is the first time I've used it. My MacBook has a new solid-state hard drive and plenty of memory.
iMovie does not "see" ANY of the videos on the 8 GB card; the videos are all either about one, three, or seven minutes long. On the 16 GB card, it only "sees" the videos that are under one minute. I have imported those videos to iMovie, but I can't get it to "see" the other, longer ones. I've tried unplugging and replugging the camera cable, removing and replacing the memory card, turning the camera on and off, and shutting off and restarting iMovie. I've gone through all of the options in the toolbar and haven't found the answer, and the "help" option isn't helpful at all. The videos play fine on the camera screen.
All iMovie does when I try to "import from camera" from the 8 GB card is show the little icons that look like a piece of old-fashioned camera film; no indication at all that there are any videos on the camera card. When I try to import from the 16 GB card, iMovie just shows the three short videos and no indication that the longer ones exist.
Interestingly, iPhoto can "see" the same movies iMovie can. I understand iPhoto is not set up to download longer movies (although it has downloaded movies from my iPod that are several minutes long). But I have no idea why iMovie isn't cooperating.
Help, please! Thank you!

OK thanks. I downloaded the Simple Transfer app but not too sure how to use it to transfer pics back to PC. It asked me to go to a website but I couldn't get it to transfer anything - it seemed to only want to transfer from my PC to the Ipad and not the other way around.
I'm very new to apple products so big learning curve for me.
Any suggestions?
Thank you for your help.

Question about Playing Videos from Digital Camera on iPod

I just got an iPod video and it won't let me put my video recordings from my digital camera on it. I got this camera about six months ago and it will play through Windows Media Player but will not on iTunes. What's weird is that my iTunes plays videos from my really old digital camera.
Does anyone know how I can play my videos?

I don't create videos myself but this might help you.

Importing sound formats from Digital Cameras

I know this is partly covered elsewhere, but if anyone comes up with a way to import video shot on digital cameras and then saved on iPhoto, please let me know. I have a wonderful Casio Exlim S880, that outputs Quicktime movies direct, but with DVI ADPCM audio -- which iMovie '08 simply rejects. Speaking to Casio engineers in Japan, they rightly see it as Apple's problem.
I know I can convert these movies using iSquint, QT Pro, or iTunes, but to do this over a lot of files is a pain. It SHOULD be possible in iMovie. This major problem aside, I'd be happy with iMovie's lower level capabilities.

Not only are we dealing with apples and oranges here, we're dealing with two entirely different philosophies and reasons for existence!
"..So no one's at fault precisely, but without iMovie having access to high quality input, it defeats its purpose of the software itself being low cost, no?.."
Camera manufacturers are just that: camera manufacturers. They earn their money by selling cameras; making them simple and efficient to use, pretty to look at, and - as Jon says - they aim to "store video in the smallest space possible while retaining reasonable quality". They don't really give a hoot what you do with the video after you've shot it.
..Like Kodak, when their main business was making film: you buy (or bought) the film ..but what you actually used it for (scientific recording, family snaps, wildlife photography, cataloguing postage stamps) they didn't care about.
Apple, on the other hand, doesn't make cameras (though they used to sell some of the first digital snapshot cameras, and the standalone iSight). Their - intangible - product is "ease of use".
That's what Apple sells: "buy our products, and we'll make portable music easy to use; we'll make photo-manipulation easy; we'll make web-browsing easy; we'll make electronic mail easy; we make everything to do with computers easy; we'll make video editing easy".
The camera manufacturers aren't necessarily talking to Apple ..the camera manufacturers go off on their own route, trying to give their individual products Unique Selling Points so that people will buy theirs in preference to another manufacturer's.
They aim to cram as much data as possible into the smallest (physical or virtual) space possible, add pretty design, long battery life, low price, reasonable reliability (so that they don't have to take back faulty devices) with a high profit margin. They want to get their items to market as soon as possible.
They don't want to consult with people in other industries (Apple, in the "ease of use" business), they just want to get their product on shelves.
(..In the case of Sony, and HDV video, there was some involvement with Apple, so that Sony could reassure users - primarily pro and semi-pro users - that the material they shot really could be edited. But miniDV pioneers JVC never bothered with that. And Sony never bothered talking with Apple, I believe, about Sony's "consumer-oriented" microMV format..)
Polaroid, uniquely, never needed anyone else: their film developed by itself, so you didn't need to go to a developing lab to get your pictures done (..though they had other hardware partners; Eumig, for instance, made their Polavision movie hardware). Other camera manufacturers sold cameras, but (apart from Kodak or Fuji-branded cameras) the film developing was always done by a somebody else - you bought a Konica or Olympus or Pentax or Nikon or Canon or Leica or Hanimex or You-Name-It camera; then you bought some film from someone quite different (Agfa, Orwo, Kodak, Ilford, Fuji); then took your pics, then took the film to a third outfit to have the material developed ..the camera manufacturers were far removed from the eventual picture-development process. Kodak introduced new films and new development techniques ..but camera makers were generally uninterested in that; their gaze was on f/stops, lens materials, shutter timing, new materials for camera bodies.
And so it's been with video: camera makers have bought and used chips, lenses, tape transport mechanisms, microphones, and assembled them into their own products, with their own arrangements of sockets, buttons and battery placement and cosmetic designs.
Then they've devised, or licensed, new methods for compressing video, so that more can be crammed into smaller storage, with fewer moving parts, making things cheaper and simpler to build.
The "unravelling" of that compressed audio and video for editing - as distinct from simply plugging a camera into a display for replay - has generally not been the camera manufacturers' worry.
One more analogy: car makers assemble cars. It's generally not been their worry about how roads are made; optimum camber-angles on bends, and coping with surface water run-off, and grading the gravel and asphalt mix for optimum adhesion.
You can't use a car without a surface to drive it on. But I don't think that Toyota and Tarmac devise their products in collaboration with each other.
Camera manufacturers make hardware to pile onto shelves and to sell to people who want some equipment in their hands.
Apple sells an experience: "ease of use". They generally have to react to what the hardware manufacturers are putting on the market ..except when they devise the hardware themselves, as with iPods, iPhones, display screens and Apple TVs. And, of course, Mac computers. By devising and selling both the hardware and the software, they make Macs, iPods and iPhones "easy to use".
But when someone else makes the hardware, and they're constantly changing it, and messing about with the new features, and Apple wants to provide that missing "ease of use" capability, then Apple can't always keep up with new developments as fast as customers would like.
Check the interoperability before you buy! Think what you're buying: are you buying the hardware, or are you hoping to buy the fun and useful experience?
If it's the experience; does the manufacturer provide that experience, or are you likely to need a third-party to provide it ..as with film developing, audio and video processing and editing, having decent roads to drive on, having the right sea-state to sail on?
If it's an experience you're after ..check the whole train of interlocking 'components' before committing yourself and your cash.

Can you import movie videos from SD camera card

Can you import movie videos (MP4) into an Ipad from an SD camera card on a Lightning cable ... or can you only do this from a laptop via Itunes? In other words, is Itunes the only way to get non-Itune videos to the Ipad? Hope I havent made this sound confusing.

To import the videos must follow a very strict naming convention.
All file names must have 8 characters for a name and be located in a folder named DCIM
for example
DCIM
MOV_5789.mp4
You can't watch the videos off the cart, they must be imported into the iPad. They'll go into the camera roll, when you tap on them it'll open the video app and you can watch from there.

Importing selected photos from Digital Camera

More than a question, this is a suggestion to the Apple developers of the iPhoto software. There are two options or tools I would really appreciate to have in my iPhoto version 5.0.4
1. Ability to import selected photos from my digital camera or memory card reader.
2. Ability to select the albums I want to burn to a CD or DVD.
I hope you can include these basic functions to your well appreciated iPhoto software.
If any Apple Discussions Member agree with this request, please join me asking Apple for these useful tools.
Best regards,
Pablo
G5 Dual 2.3 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.7) iPhoto version 5.0.4

There may be a more "elegant" solution, but you can do it manually.
1) Go to the finder. Look for the mounted Camera (the Camera mounts just like your drive, DVD, or Disk Image). You can find this on the Desktop or in list of volumes on the left side of any window. My Camera mounts as "NO NAME".
2) Double Click the Camera "Volume". Keep Double Clicking (Opening folders) until you get to the picture images.
3) Select the ones you want to Add/Import to iPhoto.
4) Drag these on the iPhoto Icon in your Dock or in the iPhoto window, which will perform the import.
Hope this helps.
David

How to set image size for importing photos from a digital camera

I'm using Iphoto 6 and am a novice user of my new digital camera. The camera is set to HQ image quality. Initially when I imported photos from the camera into IPhoto, the images were very large (over 1 meg) and produced good quality 4X6 prints. Now when I import photos from the same camera still set to HQ image quality, the photos are very small (less than 100 kb) after being imported into IPhoto. I think I must have changed some kind of setting in IPhoto that affects the size of an imported image, but I can't find where that is or how to change it back so that the size is not changed when imported. Can someone please help me with this? Thanks!
IMAC G5 Mac OS X (10.3.9) my other computer is a Dell Dimension L500CX running Windows XP Pro

Dave, thanks for clarifying Toad's response for me - I was just too ignorant to connect the dots from his responses. As you said, there were 2 versions - 1 in the original folder and 1 in data; the original folder had the photos that were 1 mb. We must have pulled from that folder previously to print photos not realizing they existed in 2 places. So when we found these thumbnail photos, we just thought they were the real thing. Where can you go to learn about the struction and hierarchy of the photos in terms of what Iphoto does to an image when you import it? Is it in Iphoto help somewhere? Thanks so much for your help with this, and you too Toad for leading me down the path.
If you're getting the size from Finder, I think Old
Toad's question makes a lot of sense. Is the file
you're looking at, somewhere in a folder called
"Data" in iPhoto Library? That 56k sounds about the
right size for a thumbnail.
If you do a search for the image name, both the
actual photo and the small thumbnail are stored with
the same image, e.g. abc.jpg
IMAC G5 Mac OS X (10.3.9) my other computer is a Dell Dimension L500CX running Windows XP Pro

When I import photos from my digital camera in iPhoto 7.1.5 all i get is empty squares. Used to work great

Just recently, I went to import some photos from my digital camera into my iPhoto 7.1.5 version on my Mac. All I am getsting is the amount of pictures on the camera in the shape of blank picture holders on the screen. I hooked up the same camera to our son's mac and it has no problem importing pictures. I had some on a USB stick and am having the same problem.

As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

Question about Imported AVI movies from Digital Cameras

Hi
I use a Canon "Ixus" series digital camera., the video clips on this camera are AVI (Apple OpenDML JPEG, 640 x 480, Millions).,
My problem is saving edits i do to these video clips in the in the same original format when opening them in QT, unlike photos Qt makes you save AS instead of saving modifications to the original file.
Again, if Qt does not allow you to save the edits to the clip itself but rather asks you what you want to save it as, and i can not find the same exact QT which is "AVI" (Apple OpenDML JPEG, 640 x 480, Millions)., then what is the correct format to avoid any loss in quality?
Can anyone advise?

i just have to rotate these clips, they where shot sideways.
I understand - however, video is a horizontal format; when you rotate your file 90 degrees either the 640 vertical dimension must shrink to 480 pixels which will leave black borders on each side of the image or you expand the 480 horizontal dimension of your clip to 640 pixels and you crop of the top and bottom of your image.
Here is how to do it: How can I rotate rectangular pixel DV material 90° while maintaining the correct aspect ratio and interlacing? at http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#vert-horizrotate
Good luck.
F Shippey

Importing VHS video through digital camera

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