Sony Handycam vs iMovie

Just bought a new Sony Handycam DCR SR200. It is a hard disk drive video camera. When I got it, I discovered that it does not have firewire, so I connect with USB. In trying to get the movie from the camera to the Mac, the camera puts an icon on the desktop. I can find the files, but they are not in a format that can be opened. Neither iMovie, Final Cut Pro or Express nor Quicktime can open the file. On the desktop the file looks like any other Q-time file.
Is there anybody else who has had this problem? How do I convert an MPG file to an iMovie friendly format?
Thanks
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I am facing the same problem after buying a DCR-SR300. The lack of firewire is not an issue since the USB2.0 transfer rate is adequate for me at least. There is a very useful earlier thread which might help you http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=903570&tstart=30
Alternatively, you can go for the Pixela solution
http://www.pixela-1.com/sony/hdd/mac/
I bought the Pixela software. It has a converter called "Capty MPEG Edit EX Dolby Digital 5.1" which is a very basic editing and conversion software including to DV which you can then take to iMovie. It also has a DVD compilation/burning software called "CaptyDVD". They are not exactly the best at $100 but it lets you convert the MPEG files out of the DCR into iMovie.
What I can't get over is why sony have decided to penalise MAC users by not including MAC in the bundled CD.
Hope that helps.
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Similar Messages

My ipad does not appear in itunes. I am OS 10.6, itunes is up to date, I have restarted computer and ipad and switched usb sockets. Dont know if its related, but I can no longer see my sony handycam in imovies too.

My brand new iPad 2 does not appear in iTunes. I am OS 10.6, iTunes is up to date, I have restarted computer and iPad and switched usb sockets. Don't know if its related, but I can no longer see my Sony Handycam in iMovies too.

What content are you wanting to copy of the iPad ? You should be able to copy off anything that you've purchased from Apple (films, music, ibooks, apps etc) by connecting the iPad to your computer's iTunes and doing File > Transfer Purchases. If you want to copy off music copied from your own CDs or purchased from other sites then you will need to find a program for your computer that can copy them off – iTunes won't copy them off.
For photos taken with the iPad, copied to it via the camera connection kit or saved from emails/websites then you should be able to copy them off via the Windows camera wizard.
For photos that were originally synced from a computer you will need a third-party app such as Simple Transfer which can copy them off via your wifi network. But as photos are 'optimised' when they are synced to the iPad, any that you then copy back to a computer may not be exactly the same as they originally were on your computer.
Content in third-party apps (documents and files etc) then how you copy that content off will depend upon what the apps that they are in support e.g.either via the file sharing section at the bottom of the device's apps tab when connected to iTunes, via wifi, email, dropbox etc.

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.

Problems connecting Sony HandyCam in iMovie

I'm running a MacBook Pro 10.6.8 and trying to import movies from my Sony HandyCam HC-52 via the firewire port in iMovie. I have the camera set to playback/edit as required, but the camera never shows up in the "import" window. I'm running a brand new firewire cable, but the only camera that iMovie recognizes is the built-in Web cam. Why won't the HandyCam show up under "Import"?

Hi
NO CAMERA or A/D-box
Cable
• Are You sure that You are using the FireWire Cable - USB-Cable will not work for miniDV tape Cameras
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin (or 9-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
• Toggle 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
• Camera connected to "charger" (mains adaptor) - not just on battery
• Camera set in Playback mode - NOT Recording mode
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 e.g. recording and playback to TV)
A/D-box
• Is the dip-switches set right ?
• Set to same standard as recorded/editing e.g. NTSC 29.97fps or PAL 25fps
• Try resetting it
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.
• FireWire-port - Can be re-setted by - Turn off Mac and disconnecting Mac from Mains/Power for 20-30 minutes
External device’s (hard disk’s)
• Should be FireWire as USB/USB2 performs badly and so does Airport or Net-work connected ones too.
• MUST BE - Mac OS Extended formatted - UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange - DO NOT WORK for video due to 4Gb barrier.
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 minimum 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.No Camera or A/D-box
• GarageBands fix - Close iMovie, Open GarageBand, Play some notes, Close GB and iMove can now be OK
• Does Your Mac have a FireWire Port
• White MacBooks - don't
• MacBook-Air - don't
if not then a few Mac’s has a PCM-CIA slot and there are FW-Cards that makes a FW-port this way
else - NO SOLUTION
Only option as I get it is either
• Use another Mac to Capture material (to an external USB2 - Mac OS Extended formatted hard disk - or -
• Change to another Camera that can be used with Your Mac (no there are no miniDV tape Cameras that can)
• If Your Mac-Book has a PCM-CIA Card place - then there are FW-port-Cards and then
You can import via this - but I've not seen this on more modern Macs. My PowerBook G4
has one and this FW-Card-port works greatly.
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)
• Screen Saver - OFF
• Energy Saver - OFF
Using WHAT versions ? .
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie’08 (7.1.?), 09 or 11 ?
• 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 Extended 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 helpful 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 Choice / FireWire = Good
If so it has to be Mac OS Extended formatted
----> UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange is NOT Working for VIDEO !
mbolander
Thanks for all your suggestions. What I learned is that I had a software problem. I had something called "Nikon Transfer" on my Mac that was recognizing my Canon camcorder as a still camera and was preventing iMovie from working properly. After un-installing Nikon Transfer and doing a reboot, everything worked great.
I never liked the Nikon Transfer software anyway--I guess I'll get a cheap card reader and use that to transfer photos in the future.
No Camera or bad import
• USB hard disk
• Network storage
• File Vault is on
jiggaman15dg wrote
if you have adobe cs3 or 4 and have the adobe bridge on close that
or no firewire will work
see if that helps
DJ1249 wrote
The problem was the external backup hard drive that is connected, you need to disconnect the external drive before the mac can see the video camera.
MaryBoog wrote
Maybe your problems is solved in the meantime, but for all others this might help as I had the same problem, also have the Sony HDR-HC7, but the 7e (Europe, PAL). I found this link today and it works perfectly
//support.sony-europe.com/tutorials/dime/videotransfer/vtransfer.aspx site=odw_en_GB&sec=DVH&m=HDR-HC7E
What I exactly did.- put camera in play mode - open guide - choose connection guide - choose comp./printer (where to transfer movie to) - select connection.- i-link (on my camera) but equal to firewire - OK - choose HDV - choose NO for conversion of i.link.
Settings are shown then (VCR HDV/DV.- HDV and i.link-conv..- OFF), press OK, OK, END.
Switch camera off. Connect firewire cable to camera & Mac. Switch camera on, in play/edit mode.
Open i-movie, choose import from camera. On screen below the camera connection is shown.- DV (HDV). Now you can import, automatically or manually.
This worked perfectly for me. Took me 2 days to find out. Could not find any clear thread explaining what I had to do on the camera and the manual was not clear either.
Yours Bengt W

Trying to import videos from my sony handycam imovie connects but nothing happens

Trying to import videos from my sony handycam. imovie searches and then nothing. I was able to import yesterday. SPoke to Apple Tech he said I just need to wait it out, have been waiting 3 hours?????

Trying to import videos from my sony handycam. imovie searches and then nothing. I was able to import yesterday. SPoke to Apple Tech he said I just need to wait it out, have been waiting 3 hours?????

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 DCR-HC26 not recognized by iMovie'08

System: iMac PPC G5, 2GB DDR SRAM, running 10.5.8
iMovie: '80 7.1.4 (585)
Camera: Sony Handycam DCR-HC2, plugged in (battery in too), in Play/Edit mode (not record mode)
Firewire: 4-6pin, tried 2 cables.
Alert message: "No camera connected. To import video please connect a camera."
Camera on/Firewire in before starting iMovie; also tried restarting with Firewire already attached, no joy.
I DID successfully import video from this camera to another mac about two years ago -- it wouldn't recognize it at first, but I bought a new cable and that took care of it. This time I used the "old" (new last time; gold connections) AND bought a new one. Nothing doing.
Anyone have any help to offer? If I have the time I'll try to dust off the (home) machine that I used a few years ago (not sure which iMovie that was) and see if that works...
Thanks in advance!

Hej Sixten
May be You find help here.
*NO CAMERA or A/D-box*
Cable
• Are You sure that You are using the FireWire Cable - USB-Cable will not work for miniDV tape Cameras
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin (or 9-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
• Camera connected to "charger" (mains adaptor) - not just on battery
• Camera set in Playback mode - NOT Recording mode
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)
A/D-box
• Is the dip-switches set right ?
• Set to same standard as recorded/editing eg NTSC 29.97fps or PAL 25fps
• Try resetting it
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.
• FireWire-port - Can be re-setted by - Turn off Mac and disconnecting Mac from Mains/Power for 20-30 minutes
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.
• Does Your Mac have a FireWire Port
• White MacBooks - don't
• MacBook-Air - don't
if not then a few Mac’s has a PCM-CIA slot and there are FW-Cards that makes a FW-port this way
else - NO SOLUTION
Only option as I get it is either
• Use another Mac to Capture material (to an external USB2 - Mac OS Extended formatted hard disk - or -
• Change to another Camera that can be used with Your Mac (no there are no miniDV tape Cameras that can)
• If Your Mac-Book has a PCM-CIA Card place - then there are FW-port-Cards and then
You can import via this - but I've not seen this on more modern Macs. My PowerBook G4
has one and this FW-Card-port works greatly.
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)
• Screen Saver - OFF
• Energy Saver - OFF
Using WHAT versions ? .
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie’08 (7.1.?), 09 or 11 ?
• 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 Extended 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 !
mbolander
Thanks for all your suggestions. What I learned is that I had a software problem. I had something called "Nikon Transfer" on my Mac that was recognizing my Canon camcorder as a still camera and was preventing iMovie from working properly. After uninstalling Nikon Transfer and doing a reboot, everything worked great.
I never liked the Nikon Transfer software anyway--I guess I'll get a cheap card reader and use that to transfer photos in the future.
*No Camera or bad import*
• USB hard disk
• Network storage
• File Vault is on
jiggaman15dg wrote
if you have adobe cs3 or 4 and have the adobe bridge on close that
or no firewire will work
see if that halps
DJ1249 wrote
The problem was the external backup hard drive that is connected, you need to disconect the external drive before the mac can see the video camera.
MaryBoog wrote
Maybe your problems is solved in the meantime, but for all others this might help as I had the same problem, also have the Sony HDR-HC7, but the 7e (Europe, PAL). I found this link today and it works perfectly
//support.sony-europe.com/tutorials/dime/videotransfer/vtransfer.aspx site=odwenGB&sec=DVH&m=HDR-HC7E
What I exactly did.- put camera in play mode - open guide - choose connection guide - choose comp./printer (where to transfer movie to) - select connection.- i-link (on my camera) but equal to firewire - OK - choose HDV - choose NO for conversion of i.link.
Settings are shown then (VCR HDV/DV.- HDV and i.link-conv..- OFF), press OK, OK, END.
Switch camera off. Connect firewire cable to camera & Mac. Switch camera on, in play/edit mode.
Open i-movie, choose import from camera. On screen below the camera connection is shown.- DV (HDV). Now you can import, automatically or manually.
This worked perfectly for me. Took me 2 days to find out. Could not find any clear thread explaining what I had to do on the camera and the manual was not clear either.
Yours Bengt W

How to Download to iMovie on MacBook Air from Sony HandyCam Model DCR HC21

I have a Macbook Air, with USB and Thunderbolt ports. I'd like to download to iMovie from my Sony HandyCam DCR HC21. I have a Firewire cable, which I used to download to my old Macbook Pro. Is there an adapter? Do I have to download to the old Pro and transfer?

http://store.apple.com/us/question/answers/product/MD464ZM/A/thunderbolt-to-fire wire400-adapter/QP7DUKX7DDHF7JA9K

IMovies 08 use with Sony Handycam DCR-DVD 109

Does anyone know for 100% tried and tested, if you can just plug a Sony Handycam DCR-DVD-109 directly into an iMac using imovies 08 and import home movies directly so they can be edited. Many thanks

I can't seem to figure out how to import video files from the tape.
Since you say tape, I must assume you do not have a Sony DCR-DVD109. As Appleman indicates, "tape" camcorders use the FireWire interface/protocol for tapped video and USB for the Memory Stick "stills."
I looked at iSquint but I guess I'm not sure how it will recognize the tape source any better than the Memory Stick source.
iSquint was recommended specifically for the conversion of VOB ("muxed" MPEG-2) which have already been copied to your hard drive. It is not a dedicated "capture" application.

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!

HT4124 Macbook Pro 10.6.8 Imovie will not recognize Sony Handycam DCR-HC38 via Firewire 800-9pin cable. Is it not compatible? It worked with previous Macbook (black) with prev. firewire version.

Have tried to connect Sony Handycam DCR-HC38 to Macbook Pro via Firewire 800-9pin to 4-pin cable. I Movie will not recognize camera. I have transferred media on old Macbook (black version) with different firewire. Does the new IMovie not support this product?
Thanks

Hi,
Did you solved this problem?
I have the same situation here...
Regards

IMovie 08 Freezes when importing movies from Sony Handycam

I Have a Sony Handycam DCR-SR65 and when I try to import multiple or all videos into iMovie 08 the computer freezes and I cant quit the application without shutting down my computer by holding down the power button. Why can't I import my movies easily, is there some kind of trick? Most of the time I can import one video at a time, but even then it freezes sometimes.
Thanks in advance,
Paul

I haven't got and haven't used one of these, but a little bell rings at the back of my mind concerning similar cameras which record onto solid state memory: try first taking off all the still photos (..if you've taken any..) and putting them in iPhoto and then deleting them from the camera's hard disc or Memory Stick.
THEN try importing the video.
The mix (..if you have both stills and movies..) on the camera may affect importing.
If the stills go exclusively onto a Memory Stick, and don't get recorded onto the hard disc, nevertheless ..try importing those into iPhoto first, and then wiping the Memory Stick.
However, that may not be the cause of your trouble, and others may have better answers!

IMovie won't import MPEG movies from Sony Handycam

My Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 is connected to my Macbook pro via USB. After clicking iMovie's File Import, I can see the "No Name" device as well as the various mpg files that I want to import. The mpg files correctly show the date created, file size, etc. However, the mpg files are grayed-out and I cannot select them to import. Does anyone have a suggestion?

I have exactly the same issue. I think that iMovie must have a limitation on the length of the clip you can import. My 45 minute clip will play with VLC, but won't import inot imovie.

IMovie 11 and quality loss with Sony Handycam DCR-SX33e

Hi folks,
I have a Sony Handycam DCR-SX33e (good one!) and iMovie '11 recognizes it, it's able to import movies directly from the cam, creates events, etc... BUT the quality of the movies within iMovie environment is very very poor (i.e. pixels big like a house!) BUT if I look at the movies using QT (from iMovie events, "reveal in Finder" on a movie), the quality is perfect.
Still, if I make a project and finalize it, the exported movies are horribles.
I notice that the cam works with a DV-PAL resolution (720x576), but iMovie works with wide resolutions.
How can I work with iMovie without losing quality on my movies? Can QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component for Mac OS X help?
Thank you!
Bye

Geriatra,
Don't judge the imported footage in iMovie11 on the clip area and the monitor area. They are not a true representation of the finalized project. What's the best way to judge if the footage is imported properly is to look at the actual footage itself by clicking the clip and then select reveal in finder. Play the footage and see if it matches the original. If you do not want iMovie to optimize the footage, you can deselect this feature and it will simply either copy or move your original footage.
Personally, I don't know if iMovie 6HD helps because your Mac still needs to read MPEG-2 properly which you said are not having any success. Over here on my Macbook, I have no problems working with MPEG-2 converted files and with iMovie 11. Quality is superb. Albeit, I converted those MPEG-2 files using my faster Quad Core Vista 64 machine and posted them later on my RAID network server before being made available for the Mac.
Hope this helps.

IMovie and Sony handycam DCR-HC20

I have a Sony handycam DCR-HC20, it records onto miniDV. I hook it up with a firewire cable to my computer to import video AND after uploading video onto iMovie for five minutes or less it crashes. I have tried other computers and the same problems occur. The camera worked fine with my last computer. I've been to the Apple Store and I forgot my camera so they couldn't help me.
Is my camera model just outdated?

Welcome to discussions!
When you start up iMovie, and the first dialog box appears that gives you the option to create a new movie, etc. Underneath that is a drop-down arrow named Video format. Click on that and choose HDV 1080i, then see if it imports.
Sue

Sony Handycam vs iMovie

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