Trouble capturing analog video using Quicktime 7 in Yosemite

Question

I am attempting to use Quicktime 7 Pro under Yosemite to convert old 8 mm or Hi8 analog videotapes to digital .mov files. The tapes are being played through a Sony TRV350 camcorder, which digitizes the analog video, and outputs digital video via the iLink (Firewire) output, which then goes to the Thunderbolt input on my MacBook Pro using an adapter. I start the camcorder and then start QT7 Pro.
This DOES WORK - for a short while. After taking in 32MB of data or a minute (of a 90 minute video), QT7 stops capturing data with a message:
"Recording stopped because the format of the source media changed. Media of different formats cannot be recorded to the same file"
What does this mean and how do I get around it?
PS: There are not many ways to convert these old tapes. Under Yosemite iMovie will no longer accept video from a Hi8 camcorder. There is some discussion of older iMovie HD but this does not work properly under Yosemite at all.
Need to digitize these old family tapes - any help will be appreciated

Answer 1

One tiny wrinkle is that "Save" from Vidi gives an error message but "Save as" works fine. I suspect Vidi may also stop working with the next OS X release.
Since you did not indicate the specific nature of the error message, I don't know if this is a "fixable" problem or not. The difference between the "Save/Record" and "Save As.../Record As..." options is that the former automatically stored the captured files in a designated location using a default filename. You may wish to check or reset the preference settings here to see they are causing your issue.
Yes, the conversion of a 90 min tape does give a 21 GB file but I don't care - these family videos are irreplaceable and storage is cheap.
This sounds about right—i.e, the normal average DV-25/DVCPRO-25 total data rate is on the order of 28.5 Mbps (or about 13 GB/hour) with DV-50/DVCPRO-50 about 57 Mbps and DV-100/HDV about 114 Mbps.
One more question. Now that I have a DV file, what can I use to convert to a more compressed format that preserves quality? QT7 to save as H.264 is best? Or something else? Toast?
This normally depends on your goals and personal workflow preferences.
For instance, if you are editing content (i.e., trimming; merging; adding titles, fades, transitions, effects, etc.), I would normally use the export/share options that are available from within the editing app itself. On the other hand, for simple trims and export/share of files, I would normally use QT X or QT 7 Pro depending on the specific project needs and/or level of manual control desired. For totally edit-free conversions, I would normally use the encoder options now built into Yosemite (or Mavericks) operating system at the Finder level or the free HandBrake app. (The former basically employs a non-anamorphic approach with high/low quality or target device controlled quality options while the latter has a better graphic user interface for anamorphic strategies with more manual control for truly customized exports as needed.)
EXAMPLE 1: The family normal has Thanksgiving at my brother-in-laws home in PA so my son hosts a second "pseudo-Thanksgiving" dinner on January 1st for the relatives here in NJ. This year I wore a GoPro and within minutes of returning home created the following "trailer" of the gathering (with a total absence of any real planning or forethought) using iMovie to shared the file directly to Mail for posting to others. In this case, I used the video editor to both edit and share a "quickie" video with the rest of our relatives from the East to West Coast. I.e., it seemed the most efficient workflow for the mini-project... SAMPLE VIDEO
EXAMPLE 2: On the other hand, several yeas ago I was asked to post a "quickie" tutorial showing how to layer audio and video content. As this was a relatively simple project, I used QT 7 Pro for this project. Here is the resulting SAMPLE FILE created while making the tutorial.
EXAMPLE 3: In cases where the quality of the source file varies drastically—one video being an 80 year old cinema classic and the next a just released blockbuster loaded with special effects—and/or the source files are not "natively" compatible with QT, I prefer HandBrake for its ability to "tweak" settings over a wide range to create "universal" playback files for all mobile devices, local network streaming, and sharing via internet... SAMPLE 1959 TRAILER
EXAMPLE 4: Lastly, when I simply want to just transcode one or more QT compatible files (for any number of reasons) at the Finder level without having to open a dedicated converter utility, I simply select/highlight the files in the Finder and pass them to the Yosemite/Mavericks operating system for conversion... POCKET RECORDER SAMPLE FILE
As you can see, you have a myriad of options to choose from depending on your personal preferences, needs, goals, etc. As to H.24/X.264/MPEG-4 AVC, yes I would recommend sticking with any encoder that adheres to the JVT standard since it has become a default Mac system standard and, with different settings, is extremely scaleable with regard to use—i.e., it can handle anything from cellular streaming to Blu-ray or multi-K Hi-Def resolutions. However, for all-purpose use, I stick to High Profile (current mobile, TV, High-Speed Internet compatible) or Main Profile (older mobile device, original TV, lower-speed platform compatible) anamorphic encodes at level 3.1 which nicely covers data rates from less then 100 Kbps up to 14 Mbps or anything most users will ever need.