Simple question re miniDV tapes

Let's say I use a Sony camcorder to record some video.
Would I be able to put that tape into a Canon camcorder and import it into my Mac?

Beverly,
I may be wrong, however, I believe Sue's advice pertains to tapes recorded in LP/long play or extended mode rather than SP/standard play mode.
When playing back a tape recorded in LP mode in another camcorder unless the heads (and all those other big techical terms Klaus mentioned)are in perfect alignment, sync (or whatever) poor playback (eg. dropped frames) is usually the result.
Even identical camcorders, same make/model assembled only minutes apart by the same personnel won't have the same alignment (with the exception of random chance, something like the lottery - the odds are against this happening, but it could).
In this paticular instance it appears the recording speed would be the issue.
For tapes recorded in LP/EP etc. you need the same camcorder to import the footage without problems. Tapes recorded in SP are no problem.

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Question about outputting DVCPRO HD to MiniDV Tape

Hi There,
I have a DVCPRO HD 720p24 project that I need to output onto MiniDV and I have a few questions. I am running FCS2 with the latest updates.
1) I have an older sony camera (DCR-PC100) that I am outputting to. I would like to maintain my 16x9 aspect ratio. Provided I have selected anamorphic in my sequence settings, will my camera record a 720x480 image with the aspect ration intact? The camera is just a 4:3 consumer camera and it's a bit older. Just don't want to lose any quality.
2) As it states in my signature, I'm working on a MBP so my only video output for coloring monitoring and that type of thing is through firewire and out of my camera. This doesn't work correctly from my native 720p24 sequence - it just sticks on one frame. I am already in the process of rebuilding a 720x480 NTSC sequence. Is this the only way I can output properly to a monitor?
Thank you for reading my post

Hi Spiff,
Well I mainly assumed so because the most practicle way to screen a selection of films in one session at a short film festival is to compile a tape with all the films set to one ratio (usually 4:3)and I thought you were specifically asked to send a tape.
However it would be wise indeed to call them.
Some festivals use/compile miniDV or DVDs some others BetaSP or DigiBeta.
With regard to transferring the film onto your PC 100 (Mighty PC 100! It was very popular 4-5 years ago amongst domestic camcorders, so popular that Sony put a PC 12O in the market with enahanced features) providing it works fine, then you will be fine to use it. Renting a deck or using a pro camera with miniDV capability will not improve the quality of your video.
If your anamorphic version looks fine then lay that one on the tape.
Try to use Panasonic pro master 63 minutes miniDV tapes. THey are white tapes.
Good luck with the festival!
G

Unable to properly capture HD video from miniDV tape in FCE

unable to capture HD video from miniDV tape
When I connect my Sony HDR-HC3 miniDV HDV camcorder to my iMac via firewire cable and use Final Cut Express to capture the video from the tape, I do not get a Capture window that allows me to specify in and out points, I just get a playback window that immediately starts capturing and the only option I have in this window is hit ESC to stop capturing. If I let this capture window continue to capture the video from the camera with miniDV HD tape, then the entire tape would be captured as one massive single video clip.
QUESTION: Is there something I change or do to make the proper capture window appear where I can specify in and out points to capture from tape for each clip?
NOTE: using same camera and tape with iMovie with automatic capture enabled, all the clips get captured properly. I also tried to use the manual setting in iMovie and it worked too.
More details(read only if you want more information)
I have a several miniDV tapes containing HD video created on a Sony Sony HDR-HC5 and Sony HDR-HC7. Unfortunately, both these camera were stolen, and I have since moved to a camera that uses flash memory, not tape. However, I need to get the video footage off these tapes, so I bought a used Sony HDR-HC3, it plays the HD miniDV tapes just fine and iMovie reads the video from this camera just fine, but Final Cut Express does not.
When I setup Final Cut Express, I used the Easy Setup and specified:
Format: HD
Rate: 29.97 fps
Use: HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60
These setting match those of the camera and recorded tape. If I use any other settings but these, then Final Cut Express never sees the camera and never opens any capture window at all. Using Quicktime 10 movie inspector on the clips captured by iMovie from same camera, all the clips match this setting too.
Final Cut Express version 4.0.1
iMovie 09 Version 8.0.2 (821)
iMac 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 running
Mac OS X Version 10.6.4
My Final Cut Express scratch disk is a Seagate 2TB external USB 2.0 Hard Drive that has been formatted to be Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This external disk is also where iMovie successfully captured all the video from the same camera.

Thanks for the answer. It makes me sad. I thought using Final Cut Express would be an upgrade to a more robust editing system from iMovie, yet iMovie does a superior job of logging and capturing video from HDV video on miniDV tape in comparison to FCE. Not only does iMovie capture each clip on the tape into it's own video file automatically, it also includes timestamp information in the filename indicating when the clip was originally recorded, which appears to be something that is missing from Final Cut Express. Now I realize that HDV miniDV cameras had a relatively short life span in the consumer marketplace and have since all been replaced by flash and hard drive based AVCHD cameras, but from circa 2004 to 2007, miniDV HDV camcorders were very popular and I am sure there are lots of consumers that must be super frustrated by Final Cut Express limited ability to log and capture clips properly from these cameras.
Assuming I do not want to make a rough cut of video in iMovie and prefer to begin my editing project in Final Cut Express (not doing XML export of iMovie project), I need to determine the best way to get clips captured via iMovie into Final Cut Express and determine if there is anything inferior in the iMovie captured clips that I need to be aware of. So far it appears that both iMovie and Final Cut Express reduce the 5.1 surround sound captured on the HDV miniDV tapes to stereo sound, which is not a big lose given the 5.1 sound was recorded from camera's built-in microphone, but it makes me wonder if the video is reduced in any way by the iMovie import process, examining the video in quicktime's inspector window the video appears to be the same in both iMovie and FCE, but I'll research the answers to these questions elsewhere on this forum and post additional questions if I do not find the information I need.

HT4753 I have a very simple question: how do I view where Lion has autosaved my current version to (without the convoluted route of using finder)? In days gone by i'd simply use the save as function to see where it was being saved.

I have a very simple question: how do I view where Lion has autosaved my current version to (without the convoluted route of using finder)? In days gone by i'd simply use the save as function to see where it was being saved.

It's actually even easier than using Save As to see the full path to the currently open document. Just do a "Secondary click" on the document title in its window's title bar.
Like you, I relied upon Save As my whole life to check a file's location and considered it a must-have capability. Turns out it's even faster to use the single-click method to reveal the full path to the open document. It displays the entire path to the current document starting from the level of your Mac, and works for files stored on drives as well as iCloud.
If you're not sure how to do a secondary click, go into System Preferences, select Trackpad, Point & Click to find the current preference for secondary click on your Mac. If you happen to have a mouse with more than one button, it's probably the right button. As a trackpad user, I check the box to "Click or tap with two fingers," so a simple two finger tap on the title of an open document reveals its full path. This feature actually has been around for a very long time.
Note that this is not the same thing as the Autosave and Versions menu, which is exposed using a little drop down triangle to the right of the title. There is no visual clue for the presence of this feature - you just have to know it's there, probably because this feature goes all the way back to pre-OS X days.

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.

DROP FRAME MINIDV TAPES

Hey guys, I've got some MiniDV tapes that a client gave me that seem to all have a glitch where the tapes won't play audio and are skipping frames continuosly. The tapes are all labelled "drop frame" and "avid output". They are not playing in the DV deck (JVC) so it's actually not a FCP question. Does anyone know what this is?

As Wes said, it could very well be a dirty head(s) or misalignment problem. But are you certain the material on the tape is actually DV and not some other format? I've seen DVCam and DVCPro recorded onto MiniDV tapes in a pinch and while some DV VTRs will play DVCam footage, they don't always playback other formats.
-DH

IMovie08 share to miniDV tapes

This appears to have gone with imovie08....
I have a Sony HDR-HC7 miniDV high def camcorder and I can do all the HD editing I need to in iMovie08... the problem is that because HD (or blu-ray) is so young I can't yet easily burn and view high def DVD's to watch on my HD ready TV...
My solution was to make the video film and then export it back to tape so that I will be able to use the tapes and make those DVD's when HD technology is more affordable and available.
I was starting to use iMovieHD 6 to do this but have encountered horrible audio bugs in my transitions... (see my previous post).
My question.... Is there any way to share back to miniDV tapes with iMovie08?

turski wrote:
... My question.... Is there any way to share back to miniDV tapes with iMovie08?
this feature isn't included in the actual version of iM08 ...
only workaround:
'Export with Quicktime.. ' and using 'Apple Intermediate Codec' as codec, import THAT into a iMHD6 project, export to camera..

Simple Question how to send Videos to Hard Drive`

Have 5 years of Mini DV tapes lying atound and would like to get the footage on an external HD for editing and burning eventually. Any help is appreciated, is this something iDVD can do simply? Thank you

How many hours of minidv tapes are we talking about?
There is another option I use that's a huge time saver since it does this in real time (but only allows for very basic edits and menus). Invest $80 in a set top DVD Recorder with i.Link/digital input (ie, Daewoo DVD Recorder DVR07). Menus look very simple (nothing fancy like iMovie > iDVD).
That way you can go directly from the camcorder to DVD-R via firewire. Plus the DVD plays fine in most macs and pc's alike.

MiniDV Tape issues

Hi. I am using P-Pro CS4, and trting to capture miniDV tape without the jagged edges (interlace?). When i use the de-interlace filter the image is unacceptably soft. Can someone help with steps, from the beginning on how best to capture and work with minidv tapes keeping the near broadcast quality and no jagged edges? Thanks!

Hi All,
I am not sure how to answer some of your questions. I am not at a computer with Premier pro, perhaps i should hold this until I am (also, in a few weeks i will have CS6 at work, now I have nothing).
It could be that I am setting up the project not to match the video (?). Also, I guess this has really been done on SC5 (I forget i did most of it at school, at home I have CS4).
What is "SD"?
I did not realize that the Canon GL2 gives me much choice in how it shoots, it is digital, but not HD. I never saw anything about "shooting interlace" or not.
So, the tapes were transferred onto the computer in a tape deck, I assume it is attached via firewire. I always wondered if I could do this without going through Premier Pro? As I mentioned, I am not there and cannot recall what the project settings were.
Is there different miniDV camera-setting? Should therebe just one "best' setting for minDV tapes? Can anyone enlighten me?
So, the files are .AVI and that's when they look jagged. I put one file on a computer at home, attached to my 55inch LED and they still looked jagged. I assume these are "raw" files? That is unprocessed? Maybe I am doing this part all wrong?
The final product will be for DVD, but if it is good enough, maybe for a TV broadcast. Doesn't this get decided in the "export' after i am done editing?
I am just at a loss as to why it plays back with thesedges. I don't think it did that with the old monitors.
So, if anyone can tell me about the settings, i will double check next time i am at capturing.
Thanks. Let me know if more info is needed.
Richard

Which MiniDV tapes should I use?

Hi everybody,
This may be kind of a dumb question but here goes...
I just bought a Canon ZR830 MiniDV Camcorder through
Amazon.
Is it okay to use Panasonic MiniDV Tapes with a
Canon camcorder? (that's what Amazon tried to upsell me).
Any help is mucho appreciated!
Mike

Thanks, Matt =)
I figured as much but I had major problems trying to get my first camcorder (a SONY DCR-HC30) to work with iMovie so I just wanted to get all my little ducks in a row and facing the right direction before I started another project.
Thanks again!
Mike

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Simple question re miniDV tapes

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