Sony handycam SX45 flash memory camcorder

Can i upload videos to youtube with this camera?

Hey bakerkid,
I don't see where this camcorder allows for direct uploading to YouTube from itself, but the software included with the camcorder will allow uploading of video content to YouTube.
Thanks,
Allan|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
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Similar Messages

  • Flash memory camcorder with Mini DV quality

    I don't know much about camcorders, but right now I have a cannon mini DV camcorder.  I'd like to get a flash memory camcorder with comparable quality.  Last Christmas my brother got an insignia brand which he returned due to grainy/jumpy video.  Any suggestions?

    Was the Insignia brand one of the "pocket" ones?  (To my knowledge they only produced "pocket" style cams.)
    Nearly all of the "pocket" flash camcorders are cheap and relatively low-quality.  In some situations they can perform well, but nowhere near as well as a proper flash camcorder.  The Insignia pocket camcorders are even worse.  I tried their high definition unit, and it was vastly inferior to even most other pocket camcorders.
    To get good quality (comparable to your miniDV camcorder) go for a full-featured flash memory unit like the Canon FS series camcorders.
    Unfortunately within the standard definition camcorder market, each camcorder seems to have a major deficiency.  Canon FS series use electronic image stabilization and not optical image stabilization.  Most of the others lack the external microphone that the FS series does have.
    The Canon HF series high definition camcorders are excellent.  I have an HF100 and love it.  It is more expensive and requires a beefy computer to work with the video, but the quality is great.  Canon HF-series camcorders were actually used to film some scenes in Crank 2: High Voltage.  (I believe they were used to record in-vehicle video for some of the car crashes.)
    *disclaimer* I am not now, nor have I ever been, an employee of Best Buy, Geek Squad, nor of any of their affiliate, parent, or subsidiary companies.

  • Coby - SNAPP CAM5002S 64MB HD Flash Memory Camcorder

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Coby+-+SNAPP+CAM5002S+64MB+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+Navy/3180957.p?id...
    I know that it states that this camera is SDHC compatible, but is it SDHC class 10 compatible? The reason I am asking this is because I have a 16GB SDHC Class 10 card that I bought to use in my old camera. I found out that it only could use up to 4gb memory cards.

    Hi keebles21,
    After doing some research on this it does look like this camcorder should be able to use your 16GB Class 10 SDHC memory card. The manufacturer has no restrictions listed on what speed class the camera needs to use, and from what I understand the speed class of a memory card should not present any compatibility concerns. Coby also lists that this camcorder will accept any SDHC card up to 32GB. I hope this helps!
    Coby SNAPP CAM5002S 64MB HD Flash Memory Camcorder - Navy
    Model: CAM5002S Navy | SKU: 3180957
    This camcorder records video in high-definition (720p) resolution and features a USB 2.0 interface for an easy connection to your computer. The 2" TFT-LCD display gives you a clear view of the action you're recording or reviewing.
      Read reviews (0)
    Sale: $39.99
    Thanks for posting,
    Allan|Senior Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
     Private Message

  • Does a Canon Vixia HF R21 HD Flash Memory Camcorder work with iMovie??!!

    I checked Apple's list of compatible camcorders with iMovie and this camcorder is not on the list.... But this camcorder seems so similar to other camcorders that I want to know if it works with iMovie on my Mac even though its not on the list?!?
    I need to know SOON because I need to start filming tomorrow and this camera is available at my local Best Buy now....
    Thanks

    AGNJ,
    If by 'formats' you mean 'drivers' then....maybe. Here is a simplified description:
    Mac tries to bundle all the drivers it needs with the install, and so there are typically no drivers available as they come with the OS. For video cameras they don't supply Mac 'drivers' but instead rely on iMovie since all new macs come with iMovie. Apple bundles the drivers with OS X, and in essence that means your camera either works with iMovie or it doesn't. So you have to check the list from Apple.
    You would think that you could hook up the camera and copy off the HD video files and then play them in Quicktime. But Quicktime doesn't play many AVCHD formats from the various camera companies (e.g. videos from a Sony camera). (I've found that the free VideoLAN Player does, though). So what most folks do is to use iMovie to import the camera's videos, then use iMovie save as a movie of some kind, encoding into some quicktime friendly format.
    On PC the cameras are bundled with some kind of movie editing program that can use the camera's drivers. Hope that helps. Others chime in and correct me

  • Is flash  memory compressed?

    I just read something in an article that is either wrong or shows that I have been laboring under a falsehood.
    Is flash memory COMPRESSED or NOT COMPRESSED? I was leaning towards a flash memory camcorder because it was free of the compression found with hard drive camcorders!
    -L

    Message was edited by: AppleMan1958
    AppleMan wrote and I interspliced my responses:
    AppleMan1958 wrote:
    I would stay away from both these cameras, unless you are severely constrained in your budget. They are both standard definition. If I was getting a new camera, I would definitely go for high definition AVCHD.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    This comes on the heels of John C. saying that he would leave his AVCHD and get flash memory if he were to buy another camcorder. May I ask some questions?
    1) *Why AVCHD?* What are its advantages? Is the advantage its newness? And does it have any downsides? Isn't it that iMovie '09 does not accept the kind of file that AVCHD sends? Or am I mixing AVCHD up with something else?
    2) I see that the advantage of high definition is beauty, but it has real downsides in that it is such a memory gobbler, and for Youtube with those ten minute restrictions plus the megabyte restrictions, high definition would leave me with less time to present the actual video content.
    Get an AVCHD camcorder from a leading brand like Sony, Panasonic, or Canon.
    The Sony is an old mini-DV tape standard def camera. The Canon is an old MPEG2 standard def camera.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    Well, I like Sony and Canon and have a Panasonic telephone so those are all ok with me. So ok, my presentSony digital video camera recorder DCR-TRV 11 is an old mini-DV tape standard def camera and I should not buy a dinosaur technology, and that would include MPEG2.
    So I will go now and research my eyeballs out looking for an AVCHD camcorder. But John C., if you are reading this, would you please tell me why you said that you would switch from AVCHD to FLASH MEMORY?
    AppleMan: Is AVCHD memory that which is found inside a HARD DRIVE? Because if that is so, then I would be buyina a camcorder large enough to accommodate that memory size. <charcoal grey descending>. If I am wrong in my assumption, please let me know.
    The picture quality on High Def versus standard is amazing, and if you are getting a new camera, you should go for it.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    AppleMan, I Know that the High Def picture is lovely. <Sigh> I was ready to give it up in exchange for having memory inside a little Flash Card.
    I would imagine that someone told you to avoid CMOS, but CCD is rare these days in consumer cameras. I have one (the Panasonic HDC-SD5), but the Panasonic cameras in their current line all use CMOS. Personally, if I bought a new camera, I would make sure I got a camera that is 1920x1080, progressive (not interlaced), and a good optical zoom.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    Actually I read that about CMOS affecting Image Stabilization within the iMovie '09 application. I then found out what CMOS was (a type of image sensor). More reading told me that the preferred type of image sensor was CCD, and that is when I narrowed my choices to CCD and kicked out CMOS.
    CCD is a plus but not necessary. When I need a steady image, I use a tripod. I have used image stabilization with good results, but it is nice to have, not must have, and you sacrifice some quality in the stabilization process.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    I cannot carry a tripod around, though. 8-( But this revives an old question that so far has not been answered: If iMovie '09 has that special image stabilization feature in it, then wouldn't it do the job anyway? So that the lack of IS in the camcorder would be an irrelevancy?
    When you pick a camera, try it out in a store. Do not buy from specs only. And do not over think it.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    Appleman, if I had followed that advice up there about not over-thinking it, I would have bought the Canon FS100 from Amazon.com last night.
    If your budget is only $300, I would go with a Flip MinoHD or similar. THey make great HD pictures but you give up some features like zoom.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    My budget can go over $300, but I was thinking that since I already have an expensive Sony digital video camera recorder DCR-TRV 11, I should try and be practical with this second camcorder. But I can afford higher.
    The best stabilizer is a Steadicam Merlin, but they cost around $800 and there is a learning curve that many people never get through.
    .......... Lorna says ...........................
    I assume that a Steadicam Merlin is one of those big honking tubular mechanisms that take the shake out of the camcorder. Well, such an inconvenience is not for me. *I want a small, lightweight camcorder.* Hauling around a Steadicam Merlin or Neptune or Aphrodite would never happen with me.
    And now I am going to Google around for camcorders that are ACVHD MEMORY, in Sony, Canon, or Panasonic. Probably Canon because I keep reading how Sony gives problems for uploading to the computer.
    Also, I have a Canon digital camera: SD970 IS. It also has a video.
    -L
    Message was edited by: AppleMan1958
    AppleMan wrote and I interspliced my responses:
    I would stay away from both these cameras, unless you are severely constrained in your budget. They are both standard definition. If I was getting a new camera, I would definitely go for high definition AVCHD.
    Get an AVCHD camcorder from a leading brand like Sony, Panasonic, or Canon.
    The Sony is an old mini-DV tape standard def camera. The Canon is an old MPEG2 standard def camera.
    The picture quality on High Def versus standard is amazing, and if you are getting a new camera, you should go for it.
    I would imagine that someone told you to avoid CMOS, but CCD is rare these days in consumer cameras. I have one (the Panasonic HDC-SD5), but the Panasonic cameras in their current line all use CMOS. Personally, if I bought a new camera, I would make sure I got a camera that is 1920x1080, progressive (not interlaced), and a good optical zoom.
    CCD is a plus but not necessary. When I need a steady image, I use a tripod. I have used image stabilization with good results, but it is nice to have, not must have, and you sacrifice some quality in the stabilization process.
    When you pick a camera, try it out in a store. Do not buy from specs only. And do not over think it.
    If your budget is only $300, I would go with a Flip MinoHD or similar. THey make great HD pictures but you give up some features like zoom.
    The best stabilizer is a Steadicam Merlin, but they cost around $800 and there is a learning curve that many people never get through.
    Message was edited by: AppleMan1958

  • Flash Memory vs Hard Drive

    Ok, I am trying to purchase a camcorder for a gift.  It's primary purpose will to be recording children's activities.  I went to Best Buy today looking at the panasonic sdr h80k which has a hard drive.  The sales associate suggested that I may want to consider a flash drive model instead, maybe the CanonFS200.  He suggested this because he said if you drop your HDD then your videos are stuck in the camcorder.
    Opinions??  Also, I would love opinions on camcorders - no expensive HDs.  We have no HD units.
    Thanks

    BTW, it can get confusing in the arena of camcorders when you say "HD", since some manufacturers use it to mean "hard drive" and others mean "high definition".
    It sounds like you are talking about a high definition flash memory camcorder?
    I don't know much about Sony high def camcorders, I tend to avoid Sony due to their NIH (Not Invented Here) syndrome - they're notorious for starting format wars and using proprietary memory only usable in Sony devices (like Memory Stick), while nearly everyone else uses standard memory types like Compact Flash or SD/SDHC.
    The Canon HF100 is an incredibly well regarded high definition flash camcorder.  The Panasonic SD9 is also well regarded, for me the choice between the two was tough (I can't remember what made me go with the HF100 over the SD9 in the end.)
    Define "not newer" as far as your computer?  What processor does it have and how much memory?
    It will most likely not be able to play the video from the camcorder directly, that requires a relatively new PC or at least a new video card (GeForce 8000 series or higher for NVidia, ??? for ATi).  Of the 5-6 machines in my house, only my newest one can play back 1080p AVCHD video (the format the camcorders save in) smoothly.
    That said, what you can do (and what I do) is archive the original source footage (the 1080p HD stuff), and convert each clip to a lower resolution (easier to play back and edit) and work with the low resolution clips.
    As an example, I took about 10 3-5 minute clips of a friend's rock concert last Friday.  I made a backup of the original clips, then used Handbrake (http://www.handbrake.fr/ I think, if that doesn't work Google it) to convert each clip to a 480p clip and worked with those for editing and such.  On my machine the conversion process tool 1.5-2 minutes per minute of video, on an older machine it will take longer, but keep in mind that once you've gotten the conversion settings you want, conversion is a "fire and forget" process - batch up the clips for conversion, start the conversion, and go to bed.  Wake up the next morning and it's done. 
    *disclaimer* I am not now, nor have I ever been, an employee of Best Buy, Geek Squad, nor of any of their affiliate, parent, or subsidiary companies.

  • Flash 8 Video Encoder Error with Sony Handycam movie

    Hi,
    I'm using Flash 8 Video Encoder to convert movies to .fla
    format to use them on websites. Now trying to do this with movies
    shot with my new Sony Handycam, Flash Video Encoder gives an error
    and doesn't convert the movie.
    Any idea what to do?
    Thanks, have a nice day.

    Ferrohead wrote:
    > Thanks for the reply.
    > I haven't tried this option yet, I've opened the Picture
    Motion Browser but I don't see how to convert it to mpeg2.
    >
    > Can you tell me how to do this?
    >
    > Thanks again.
    I have this option from right click menu - Convert to Mpeg 2
    and save.
    By the way, does your CD comes with Sony Vega program?
    This one is able to open Sony's raw file format and export to
    very nice
    quality mpeg that works superb in flash. I did lots of video
    using Vega,
    to adjust the sharpness, color contrasts and all, before
    start exporting and
    down sizing...
    Best Regards
    Urami
    "Never play Leap-Frog with a Unicorn."
    <urami>
    If you want to mail me - DO NOT LAUGH AT MY ADDRESS
    </urami>

  • Can the sony handycam dcr-hc30 support more than the original 512mb memory? Thanks.

    Can the sony handycam dcr-hc30 support more than the original 512mb memory? Thanks.

    According to this compatibility chart: http://esupport.sony.com/perl/support-info.pl?&info_id=11 the DCR-HC30 can use the following cards:Memory Stick Duo Pro - 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4GBMark 2 Memory Stick Duo Pro - 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4GB.You might want to read the chart to make sure I was reading it correctly.

  • IMovie doesn't love a Sony Handycam (DCR-SX)

    I have a MacBook Pro and have been successfully importing video from my Canon LS-someting and editing for about 2 years now.  I recently went to Italy with the family and left the video camera charging on my desk.  So in Rome I bought the first camera I could find, a Sony Handycam.  Now it simply doesn't work.  I have 3 problems.  First, I left the camera at home charging.  Second, I had to pay for a second camera.  Third, I now have 2 hours of random video that my wife thinks I should just burn to a DVD using someone else's "real" computer and I can barely sit through the 10-minute infomertials I produce for our family, much less 2 hours of me yelling, "Smile, DAMNIT!" at my kids.  Can you help?
    Here's what I have:
    MacBook Pro '09
    Mac OS X 10.6.8
    iLife '11 (iMovie 9.0.4  1604)
    Sony Handycam DCR-SX45E
    It says "Works with iMovie" on the box.  The Sony Website says it is MPEG-2 Format.
    The Apple website has it on the list of compatible camcorders:
    http://help.apple.com/imovie/cameras/en/index.html?lang=en_US
    Using inputs for the drop-downs on the Apple webpage: Camcorder, Sony, MPEG-2, Memory, PAL, GO!
    By all accounts, these two should do alright together.
    I'm no expert as I've only had a Mac for about 2 years now.  But I borrowed a waterproof camera from a buddy once and had no issues when I switched cameras.  The Canon pulls up and offers to do the work for you.  The waterproof camera was a bit of work, but I figured out how to import.
    For this I have tried to trick iMovie into importing the footage by turning on the "USB COnnect".  No success despite FInder visibly showing that the camera is connected.  I went through File-->Import from Camera and when I get to the files, they are grayed out.  I selected the folder containing them and let it run for an hour or so and hoped that Apple would do it's magic. Obviously no luck.  I then inserted the memory card into my laptop and tried to manually search it in File-->Import and...same thing.  Nothing.....  I finally went in and copied them to a folder on the desk top and tried to import from there with no luck.
    Can you please enlighten me?  Both products (Apple and Sony) claim that they are compatible. If so, where am I going wrong.  I'd hate to have to buy 3rd party software to fix translate this....
    Thanks!

    Dear AppleMan1958,
    Thanks for providing that link!  I just got the same camera. My question is, should I install the PMB software from the disk provided with the computer on my Mac in order to import videos from the camcorder to iMovie?  Thanks much!

  • Sony handycam on my xmas wishlist...any suggestions?

    my wife and i want to buy a sony handycam (or other brand....if good recommendations) for Christmas..
    ....can anyone put there two cents in?...
    .....what problems do u have with yours overall, and with working with your mac?
    ....we mainly want it for typical recording of family memories such as kid's activities (daughter's figure skating, son's baseball games, swimming in the pool and so on)....
    ... i have been told that the --in thing--right now is the camcorder with the Hardrive .....no disc, no tapes, ....what is your take on this format?... i do like the idea of a hybrid (made by other brands...whereby the cam has a hard drive and a direct-to-dvd disc recording option....)

    Ditto to everything mishmumken's said, and also in that Discussions thread he mentions (..I think mishmumken's a 'he'..)
    Some newer camcorders can record 'HDV' ..that's high definition video, to match the new HD TVs. But they need a very fast Mac and lots of RAM (memory) in order to handle the hi-def material (..you don't say which Mac you have..) so unless you have one of the very latest Macs, or a tower PowerMac or MacPro, it may not be worth getting an HDV model. (..The HDV cams also use miniDV tape, which is what you should be looking for..)
    You can't go wrong with a Sony, Panasonic ..or Canon (though Canons won't let you plug in an external FireWire hard disc into your Mac at the same time as connecting a Canon camcorder).
    Your movies will look better if the camcorder has a built-in 'image stabiliser', to avoid camera shake.
    As mish says, a wide-angle screw-on adaptor is an excellent idea if you intend to shoot indoors as well as outdoors. Most cams have a good zoom, for getting close to sports action outdoors, but don't 'pull back' very wide, so few will shoot a family group in a room indoors unless you add a wide-angle lens on the front.
    Just in case you're going to get a bit more serious in 6 months or a year's time, it might be worth looking for a cam which has an 'external microphone' socket on it somewhere ..so that you'd be able, later if you want, to get a 'zoom' or 'gun' mic to fit on the camera, and thus get "close up sounds" of those sports and swimming shots along with the "close up" video which the camera's zoom lens gives you.
    You'll need to buy a 4-pin-to-6-pin DV/i.Link/FireWire cable to go with the camcorder, as there's never one in the box with the cam. The cable connects the FireWire, also known as DV, socket on the camera (..called "i.Link" if it's a Sony cam..) to your Mac.
    Do NOT buy any camcorder which has only a USB socket: that will NOT work with iMovie. Just about every miniDV or Digital-8 (..same thing but cheaper..) camcorder has a DV socket, but the hard-disc, DVD or memory-chip camcorders do NOT have a DV socket (..they have only USB..) and they're not directly compatible with iMovie, without passing the video through other software in order to convert it to DV format.
    In 5 words; get a Sony miniDV camcorder.

  • Using a Sony Handycam with a MacBook

    We have a Sony Handycam and I am unable to make it work with my MacBook. Are they compatible and how can I import the movies off the camcorder and work with them on my mac?

    im pretty sure you have to get a firewire cable to connect the sony to your macbook. unless of course you have a memory card reader. then you could just dump the memory card from inside the sony cam into the card reader and import.

  • Sony Handycam Question

    I've got a sony handycam DCR-SX40 that has both internal memory and an inserted Memory Stick Pro. I cannot get IMovie to import from the memory stick, only from the internal camcorder memory. Any suggestions?

    If you connect the memory stick to your computer can you see the files in the Finder?  If yes you can copy them into a folder on the computer then import into iMovie from that. 

  • Saving Video from a Sony Handycam HDD - I'm stuck in iMovie ****!

    We foolishly bought a Sony Handycam HDD video camera last year, thinking we could save our movies to DVD using the computer.
    I can do it using the laptop we got my daughter for Christmas, but this isn't really feasible. My G4 has iMovie 3.0.3. and even though I recently upgraded to a 2Ghz processor, I still can't install the iMovie I bought with iLife '08 2 years ago.
    I need to be able to save files from my Sony handycam to my computer and burn DVDs. Or even if I could just burn them without saving, that would be fine.
    I have heard that I need StreamClip from Apple and I see that I need to buy Apple MPEG-2 converter first and then I see in the feedback category for that product, everyone who gave it bad marks was trying to do what I'm trying to do. Then I read somebody recommended Quicktime Pro...
    I'm completely confused..and frustrated!!!!
    Is there a version of iMovie that will work for me even though I just have a plain old 2Ghz processor?
    Would Quicktime Pro or some other software do it for me? I don't mind paying $30 for some software that I'm only going to use for saving movies from camera to DVD, but I'd rather upgrade iMovie if that was possible.
    thank you.
    (I'll come in off the ledge now...)

    Hey. This is a really good question because I too have run into video problems with mine. After a couple of years I couldn't stand it anymore so I sprung for a MacBook Pro for myself this past Christmas. When I say video problems I mean I can't watch a DVD, a video on the net, etc. It's a pain.
    But I still haven't given up on it. Currently it's just used for storage. Did that processor upgrade make any difference for you? I've been looking into that upgrade along with an upgrade to Leopard on the Quicksilver to see if it can handle the video.
    We bought a Panasonic video recorder and have a G5 (pardon me but I don't know the processor speed). Even that computer wouldn't recognize the video files stored on the recorder and refused to import them. I called Panasonic and they explained I needed iLife '09. (Currently on the G5 there is '08 and it is running Tiger.)
    What you might want to do is a couple of simple upgrades. First the OS to Leopard and then upgrade your iLife to '09. I can say that the camcorder works like it should with iMovie '09 just like the rep at Panasonic said it would.
    Hope this helps.
    Frank

  • Sony Handycam HDR no longer recognized

    I have a Sony HDR HDD camcorder that, for quite a while now, had no issues with its 4pin DV-USB cable (that came with it) connection to my Mac Pro being recognized by iMovie 9. I haven't made a video in a couple of months, but recently, I filmed about 3 hours worth of wedding footage, connected the camcorder to the Mac as before, iPhoto recognized it instantly (and auto-launched as always) but iMovie refuses to believe the camcorder exists.
    I've been told that no stores sell Sony's proprietary DV cables for their products (which makes since as universality would only benefit consumers and not businesses). Additionally, some go so far as to say Sony doesn't even make such a firewire cable to handle an issue wherein iMovie 9 now requires a firewire connection—or so I've heard.
    1) Has iMovie 9 been nerfed in some update that now requires camcorders to be connected via firewire now.
    2) If so, is there some method to import the videos either directly to the finder or into iMovie without the need for a potentially non-existent DV-Firewire cable?
    PS: The connection is no longer recognized on my iMac as well.

    Well… I opened Image Capture with the camcorder plugged in and modified the "Connecting this camera opens…" menu to be iMovie. Unfortunately, all that resulted in was opening iMovie upon connecting the camera. iMovie still refuses to acknowledge that the camcorder is connected.
    Related: This is my work machine, wherein we do moderate amounts of video capture and I am using iMovie '08 7.1.4 on OS X 10.6.8. I'm really disappointed in Apple having altered something within iMovie (or the OS) that prevents the camcorder from being recognized. The last import I had performed was March 25, 2011.
    More info regarding the camcorder: Sony Handycam HDR-SR11 60GB HDD. I am going to try to burn straight to DVD and then try and import from that, but that is, of course, not ideal. I'd much prefer to import into iMovie directly from the camera as I used to be able to do.
    EDIT: I'm guessing you need to install the Picture Motion Browser software for the Disc-Burn feature of the camcorder to work. And that is only available on a Windows-based PC.

  • How do I get the Movies off my new Sony Handycam using iMovie?

    WOW! I didn’t think that this would be such an issue!
    So, I purchase a new Sony Handycam DCR-SR42 with a 30 GB
    Hard Drive in it. I ask the sales person “Is this camera compatible
    with my G5 Mac?” He says, it sure is! I take it home record the kids
    around the house, and my daughter’s ballet recidal. COOL!
    Then I go and try and downlaod the movies to my Mac. I come to
    find out that the 2 cds that came with the camera are pretty worthless!
    Sony states in one of the bullet points in the instruction manuel
    that the software on the cd will not work on a Macintosh computer.
    So, I figured, NO big deal, I will be using iMovie! Unfortunately
    iMovie does not recognize the camera when I hook it up, because
    it can only hook up using a USB connection. It doesn’t even offer
    a Firewire connection, and iMovie ONLY recognizes Firewire.
    I then find on one of the cds, a PDF of the Handycam Handbook.
    It states in the PDF, that Mac users need to open the disk icon
    on the desk top for the camera, and copy the files from the camera
    to my hard drive. So I follow the steps and do this. Then I go to
    open one of the files using Qucktime, and I get an error message
    stating that Quicktime cannot open the file because it could not
    parse it -2048!?!?!
    Next, I go to the Apple web site to see if I can find anything to
    resolve all this. I find an article “iMovie does not work with muxed
    MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 clips” In the article it states that if the files
    are MPEG2 Muxed files, iMovie can not support them!
    I come to find out that the files are MPEG2 Muxed files. It seems
    that the newer camcorders are using this format, because the files
    are heavily compressed to allow the camera to cram more data
    on the hard disk. The problem is you need some kind of software
    to decompress these files in order to use them, and Sony doesn’t
    include it for the Mac!
    After more research I find - QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback on the
    Apple web site. I purchase it for $19.99 from the site hoping this
    will be the answer. Nope! It allowed me to open the movies in
    QuickTime, and copy them into iMovie but they are only the
    video portion. They have NO audio!
    Anyone else run into this whole pile of BS?!?!!? If so, were you
    able to figure out a work around? Or, are you stuck with a cool
    camera full of movies, with NO way of getting them off with
    sound? Well. unless you find someone with a PC that has
    a DVD burner in it! Man, that thought scares the ---- out of me!
    °Jeff Camp
    camper
    G5   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

    Get a nice Sony miniDV camcorder. It is not too expensive; it is small and easy to carry around to shoot your video. Most importantly, it will be instantly compatible with iMovie. You don't have to install any software, just connect it via FireWire (Sony calls this iLink) and you are good to go!
    I have had several Sonys and love them. You don't need one with fancy editing capabilities because you will edit your movies in iMovie. Just be sure that it has AV In and Out so you can import and export back to the camcorder.
    My current version is the small DCR HC-26. There are newer versions of that HC-30something and 40something. Look at the specs on Sony's website
    Some of them require the use of a dock to import and export. I am not really fond of that feature. I like just connecting directly to the camera.

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