Older Sony mini DV cam (Sony DCR-PC5) & imovie hd "no camera attached"

My imovie hd does not appear to be compatible with my Sony DCR-PC5 using a mini dv tape. When I plug my fire-wire cable from the camera into my computer my imovie does not recognize the camera. (although my camera recognizes with "DV IN). How can I get imovie to recognize my camera so I can begin downloading?

Hi
My list to try to find the problem.
Cable
• Sure that You use the FireWire - USB will not work for miniDV tape Cameras
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin FW one ?
• Test another FW-Cable very often the problem maker.
Camera
• Test Your Camera on another Mac so that DV-in still works OK
• Toogle in iMovie pref. Play-back via Camera (on<->off some times)
• Some Cameras has a Menu where You must select DV-out to get it to work
Does Your Camera work on another Mac ?
Sorry to say it is to easy to turn the 6-pin end of the FW-cable 180 deg wrong.
This is lethal to the A/D-chip in the Camera = needs an expensive repair.
(Hard to find out - else than import/export to another Mac ceased to work
everything else is OK eg recording and playback to TV)
Connections
• Daisy Chaining most often doesn’t work (some unique cases - it’s the only way that work (some Canon Cameras ?))
Try to avoid connecting Camera <--> external HD <--> Mac but import directly to the Mac then move
the Movie project to dedicated external hard disk.
Mac
• Free space on internal (start-up) hard disk ? Please specify the amount of free space.
(Other hard disks don't count)
I go for a minmum of 25Gb free space for 4x3 SD Video - and my guess is 5 times more for 16x9 HD ones
after material is imported and edited.
SoftWare
• Delete iMovie pref file may help sometimes. I rather start a new account, log into this and have a re-try.
• Any strange Plug-ins into QuickTime as Perian etc ? Remove and try again.
• FileVault is off ? (hopefully)
*Using WHAT versions ?*
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie 8 (7.1.?) ?
• iMovie HD 6 (6.0.4/3) ?
Other ways to import Your miniDV tape.
• Use another Camera. There where tape play-back stations from SONY
but they costed about 2-4 times a normal miniDV Camera.
• If Your Camera works on another Mac. Make an iMovie movie project here and move it
over to Your Mac via an external hard disk.
(HAS TO BE Mac OS Exchange formatted - USB/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange WILL NOT DO)
(Should be a FireWire one - USB/USB2 performs badly)
from LKN 1935.
Hi Bengt W, I tried it all, but nothing worked. Your answer has been helpfull insofar as all the different trials led to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my iMovie software. I therefore threw everything away and reinstalled iMovie from the HD. After that the exportation of DV videos (there has not been any problem with HDV videos) to my Sony camcorders worked properly as it did before. Thank you. LKN 1935
*from Karsten.*
in addition to Bengt's excellent '9 yards of advice' ..
camera set to 'Play' , not rec/computer/etc.?
camera not on battery, but power-line?
did your Mac 'recognize' this camera before...?
a technical check.
connect camera, on, playback, fw-connected...
click on the Blue Apple, upper left of your screen ..
choose 'About../More..
under Firewire.. what do you read..?
More
• FileVault - Secure that it’s turned off
• Network storage - DOESN’T WORK
• Where did You store/capture/import Your project ?
External USB hard disk = Bad Choise / FireWire = Good
If so it has to be Mac OS Extended formatted
----> UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange is NOT Working for VIDEO !
Yours Bengt W

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Yours Bengt W
Don't know of any other forum else this (and FinalCut)
Your Camera NEED an FireWire-Cable FW-800 <--> 4-pin or FW-400 <--> 4-pin
The supplied USB-Cable will not work with iMovie or FinalCut - Sorry.
Yours Camera also can record Audio as 12-bit or 16-bit Audio.
Please - SET IT TO 16-bit (now) - else severe audio sync problems in iMovie
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See if my list can help:
Capture/Import problems:
a) File-Vault is on - turn it off
b) don’t Daisy chain camcorder - external hard disk - Mac
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d) Something is occupying the CPU/System, like other programs, Internet etc.
e) Bad RAM-chips
f) 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).
g) FW-wire cable OK?
h) Break in the time-code on the miniDV tape (make a camera to camera copy on a tape which is prerecorded with nothing/anything so that the tape has a time-code from beginning to the end)
i) defective camera TRY IT ON ANOTHER MAC !
j) remove bookmarks in iMovie project
k) Do You have desktop pictures or screen-savers active? Try turning them off.
l) Updating - OS has to be a clean install - not an update eg from X.3.x to X.4.x (no good)
OS X.4.0-2 needs a clean install to work (I use X.3.9)
m) Updating QT and/or other updates (to 7 needs v6 to be cleaned out first)
QT v.7 needs a clean install to work (I use 6.5.2)
n)
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
o) Trash: com.apple.iMovie.plist and com.apple.iMovie3.plist : files (Xinram)
Yours Bengt W

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No it is an Analog Camera - and have NO Digital-Out
I may be made a Wrongful assumption in that the - Panasonic digital camcorder - was a Digital 8 Camera.
If it is - it has a Digital Out (FireWire) and can playback the Hi 8 tapes from the other Camera.
If it is a miniDV Camera - it also have a FW-out (Digital out) - BUT can not play Your Hi 8 tapes.
Then there are not so many ways to do this.
If Your Panasonic digital camcorder - Has Analog in RECORDING ( not all have this, it was an EXTRA Cost ! ) - Then You can playback from the Hi 8 Camera to this and record onto a miniDV tape - to be played and Captured/Imported into Your Mac.
The Panasonic digital camcorder - Might have a feature - Play trough - that makes it possibly to use it as an Analog - Digital bridge - some can do this - But You've not told the exact type/no: etc - So I can not guess.
If this still do not work (The Panasonic digital camcorder do not have an Analog in connection/function)
- Then You need an Analog/Digita Converting box - from Hi 8 to this A/D-box then to Mac via FireWire.
There are several types and prices - I got a fairly expensive box due to that I've lot's of old VHS tapes in even bad quality. And this - Canopus ADVC-300 - has a function - Timebase Correction - that helps a lot in regard to drop outs and Audio slowly going out of sync. I just keeps perfect even over several Hours of VHS-tapes.
Yours Bengt W

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I have a Sony Mini-DV camcorder that I'm trying to connect to my Mac so I can save some video i've taken. The Camcorder is about 5 years old. The only output ports it has are: a really small USB, a slightly larger square looking port that says
i DV under it, and the old yellow audio/video out. I connected the camcorder via a mini usb converter to one of the regular usb ports on the back of my mac and nothing happens. It doesn't even recognize that something has been plugged in... Is there anything I can do to connect this camcorder to my Mac???

Hi
A. As Lennart writes but there are in some cases two FW-Cables depending
on how the FW-port looks on Your Mac
either a
• 4-pi to 6-pin FireWire Cable - or -
• 4-pi to FW-800 connector FW-Cable
Some new Macs only have the FW-800 port eg MacBook-Pro
B. On some Cameras You need to look into the Camera menu and set DV-out
so the Camera port gets active.
Yours Bengt W

Older Sony mini DV cam (Sony DCR-PC5) & imovie hd "no camera attached"

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