VHS & Hi8 to Final Cut Express

It seems as though I have looked forever and can't find a solution to my problem. Hopefully my biggest problem is not looking in the right spot. I need something to convert my old VHS & Hi8 tapes into a format I can edit in FCE. I don't have a digital camcorder, I was looking for a stand-alone unit to do this. But if there is no such thing, or its not worth my time to look for one then let me know. I have a Dazzle thing for my PC, but that dosent even work 99% of the time. I just need something to get these old videos into my Mac for editing. Please help!

A Canopus unit will be fine as already mentioned.
The Dazzle yeilds mixed results with Macs.
Some users have reported success.
Might be worth a trial test to see if does the job.
The FCE Easy Setup needs to be set to DV Convertor (PAL or NTSC) before you start.
Al

Similar Messages

Uploading Hi8 Videos into Final Cut Express

Hi,
I am having trouble uploading H8 video files into Final Cut Express.
What I have is:
Sony Player SLV-T2000
Canopus didital converter ADVC-100
I have connected the rca cables from the player to the digital recorder and then the firewire cable from the digital converter to the Macbook Pro. Also the digital convertor is set for analogue in.
When I play the Hi8 tape I can see the video in the viewer but it will not capture.
Can someone advice me where I am going wrong.

Hi
May be You find something here (it's not only for iMovie but FCE/P too)
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

Preferred input format with VHS via Canpous 55 to iMovie/Final Cut Express

I am using VHS deck to Canpus 55 to iMovie 08/MacBook Pro.
I do the input to iMovie 08 as it is less problematic for input than Final Cut Express and also I can share these with family for their video making in iMovie.
However I import the video files from iMovie events to FCE for editing.
1. I notice the VHS-to Canopus-to iMovie are .dv files with frame size 720x480 and compressor file says DV/DVCPRO - NTSC, not Apple Intermediate Codec.
2. I also import AVCHD files and those are frame size 960x540 and compressor is Apple Intermediate Codec.
When I bring the .dv files in from iMovie 08 to FCE, I sometimes get the warning about the files not in the standard settings and the drop down list of settings include Apple Intmediate Codec in various choices and the NTSC in various choices.
Should these be somehow standardized or will the eventual output be ok? I had one VHS 15 min segment look great on the computer in iMovie, then FCE but was very digitized after output to iDVD.
Thanks for the help.

misterdmmc wrote:
... and I also don't have Imovie.
you do.
on the Installer Disks, your Mac came with, there's 'Installed software', which allows to install the iLife Package only.
for most of your needs, esp. being no professional editor , iM offers all you need:
https://sites.google.com/site/karstenschluter/how-to-make-a-vidcast
shows you how to use pic-in-pic, green-sceen, integration of 'charts' and other 'effects' of iM, to produce a vidcast.
-Subtitles
'Subtitles' is for me a switchable feature on DVD ... if you mean 'titles in lower third' - any editor offers this. what iM does NOT offer, is a free-locatable title (or e.g. logo-bug), but there's a simple workaround working with transparent pngs, see my site too ....-
-Split screen video. Half/Half or Full screen for one video source, and a tiny screen say on the top left of another source...
side-by-side? iM no, FC yes.
-Export video in ipod compatible format
afaik, any Apple video-app allows that ..
general advice:
• iM is meant for consumers - convenient, but limited.
• FC/e or /p is meant for (semi)professionals - what iM offers as a 'one click done'-solution, is a many-steps-process with some background-knowledge and understanding needed.
• for sure, FC offers MUCH more options .. any option, you'll soon get lost
• the learning curve for FC is steep! buy a book of master-mind TOM WOLSKY, who generously participates here at this board ...-
• I don't see a need for you in spending 1.000$ more for the FC/pro suite ... Motion? Color? Compressor? Highly complex tools for even more complex processing ...
I would 'play' with iM to get familiar with your project - what do you need, how should it look? if you reach the limits, have a look at FC/e at any Apple-store ... if it doesn't scare you, get the app and the book, and spend some months studying ...
and Welcome misterdmmc to the  boards ...

Seperate Video Monitor for Final Cut Express HD 3.5

Hey guys. I was just wondering if it was possible for me to connect my iMac Intel to a seperate video monitor. The thing is--I know you could possibly connect a dvi to composite or s-video adapter and walla...have a mirror of your desktop right there on your sony trinitron. But here's the thing. I want JUST the Viewer from Final Cut Express to be playing through it. Basically...I want my tv to be my viewer. Back when I was in school learning this stuff I remember all the setups I used had a little broadcast quality monitor connected, and ONLY the viewer window would be playing through it. Now I didn't use Final Cut then. I used something called Media 100. But the computers we used were like at least 10 year old powermacs. I dunno. I just have always wanted to copy that setup with my own computer. It was soo much nicer to edit on. I figured after this many years the newer macs would allow that sort of setup to be had a lot easier. Thanks for your time you guys.
Branden

It goes this way: Firewire out>camera (aka A/DV coverter)>S-VHS (or composite) to NTSC monitor. The audio goes line out from the A/DV converter to speakers.
Hook everything up when the computer is off.
Turn on the camera, monitor and speakers
Turn on the computer
Launch final cut
it the image does not automatically show up on the external monitor
go to View>Refresh A/V Devices
then
Set View>Video Playback>Apple Firewire
Set View>External Video>All frames
Set View>Audio Playback>Audio follows video
all should be happy. there is probably a big section in your user manual about this stuff.
good luck.
x

File Compatibility between Final Cut Express and iMovie '09

I am in the process of converting some old VHS tapes to DVD so I can import and edit them in Final Cut Express or iMovie '09 (I'm upgrading from iMovie '08). I would like to transfer them to a file format that I can use in either application.
Are the file formats the same in both applications or is there one in particular that I should use? I know that it is possible to open a video move created in iMovie '09 in Final Cut Express, but there some situations where I want to go in the other direction. i.e. Import the raw file that was created to be imported by Final Cut Express by iMovie '09 instead.
Bob

It would be better if you did not get them transfered to DVD. This is a highly compressed format. If you can get the material transfered directly to QuickTime using the DV NTSC codec you would be better off.
The file formats in iMovie and FCE are not the same. iMovie uses DV Stream. FCE uses QuickTime.

Burning an AVCHD Final Cut Express project using iDVD

I have a 1080i AVCHD video that's been edited down to 45 minutes in Final Cut Express, I'd like to burn it to DVD using iDVD, but the quality when I export as a quicktime movie and burn the disc is not good at all. I'm not expecting it to be HD quality. I'm hoping for DVD quality, when I burn this it barely looks VHS quality. It just seems like iDVD isn't compressing it well. Would it look better if I exported it to a quicktime movie from FCE and changed the size to a more DVD friendly 720x480? How do I go about doing that?
In iDVD I'm using Professional quality, I have around 20GB free on the hard drive. Should I free up more space before I try again? Any help here would be great.

Hello,
I have been experimenting with this problem for weeks now. I realize we have no way to quantify "looks great" or "degrades" but this may help. I watch the finished product on a 42" HD Hitachi plasma TV. The AVCHD footage rendered through FCE using either Pro Res 4:2:2 or AIC 1920 x 1080i preset ends up looking worse than SD 720 x 480 when rendered and burned through iDVD. There are compression artifacts all over the screen. De-interlace / re-interlace maybe? Also, using the RGB outputs from the Sony HDR-SR12 looks stunning when played directly through the TV. No compression artifacts visible. So, if the camera can transcode the image so easily in real time, why can't my mac do the same? Just the import alone is a degradation of the image. Seems to me we are waiting for FCE and FCP to have native support for AVCHD.
We have new 8 core Mac Pro towers here at PCC and the results are the same. Apple says no AVCHD support unless you have an intel mac but that is only for import. It does not natively support the format.

Capture devices that work with Final Cut Express

Would any one out there be able to recomend a reasonably priced video capture device that works with FCE other than a video camera? I want to input video and audio from VHS and DVD. I also want to input Audio from cassette and CD.
imac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

I am in a similar situation. All I can say is that the ADS Pyro AV Link works well with iMovie but not with Final Cut Express or Pro so I returned it.
I am waiting for a DataVideo DAC 100, Their web site gives specific instructions as how to use the DAC with FCP so I am hopefull that it will work with FCE.
http://www.datavideo.us/products/dac100_mainpage.htm
The Canopus ADVC 110 has also been recommended on this forum.
http://www.canopus.com/products/ADVC110/index.php

I'm running Final Cut Express 2. How can I move entire project and application from one internal hard drive to another? Ran out of space on one drive. Thanks.

I'm running Final Cut Express 2. My video project is 95% done and I've run out of space on my 500g internal hard drive. How can I (1) move the complete FCE program and video to my unused 250g internal hard drive and operate it from there and (2) how do I then purge all the FCE info from the 500g drive without losing anything from the 250 drive?
Also, is it possible to change the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 when the project is finished? If so, how? I now know this all should have been done before I started. Thanks for the help.

1. You can't move the application. It must remain on the system drive. Move your capture scratch folder to the external FireWire drive and use the reconnect function in the project.
2. What's the media 16:9 or 4:3?

My external hard drive is 'seen' by my iMac and I can go into the Finder and open files and folders. I am using the hard drive for Time Machine back up. However Time Machine says it can't find the drive. Same thing has happened with Final Cut Express.

My new LaCie external hard drive is 'seen' by my iMac and I can go into the Finder and open files and folders. I am using the hard drive for Time Machine back up. However Time Machine says it can't find the drive.
The same thing happened recently between Final Cut Express and my other LaCie external hard drive used as the Scratch disk. It fixed itself.
I've run out of ideas. Help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

have you done some searches on FCPx and time machine? Is there a known issue with using a TM drive with FCPx? dunno but ...wait...I'll take 60 sec for you cause I'm just that kind of guy.... google...." fcpx time machine problem" Frist page link
http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/fcpx-bug-best-practices-for-using-external-hard- drives-and-final-cut-pro-x/
You cannot have time machine backups on your hard drive if you intend to use it in FCPX.
booya!

Final Cut Express won't allow me to capture from my vdo camera

I just loaded Final Cut Express HD on my Mac because I wanted to upgrade from IMOVIE. My Powerbook G4 had no problem capturing video with my Sony HDV 1080i video camera. But I can't get Final Cut Express HD to locate my camera at all no matter what "easy setup" setting I choose. But if I turn on IMOVIE, the program can capture from my video camera no problem. I know the firewire cable is hooked to the computer correctly & the camera is on & in the VTR mode. If anyone can help me identify this problem, I'd really appreciate it because I'm trying to begin a new video project & can't if I can't capture video. Thanks for helping.

Fritz from Technical support told me about a glitch in Final Cut Pro & Express HD that happens when you upgrade to Quicktime 7. He told me to go to this article: Link: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n301852
and follow the instructions & it would fix my problem. It didn't & then of course I called tech support back & it was after hours. I still can't capture from my video camera but it works in IMOVIE. I removed Final Cut Express HD from my computer (even all the files in library/users, etc.) and then reinstalled it. It still gives me the same error even though I have my camera plugged in & turned on. It says unable to locate capture device. This is unbelievable. Hopefully I can get some help. Brian

Final cut Express unable to capture

My Final Cut Express wont initialize my deck. A dialog box comes up saying so. one site suggest deleting quicktime receipts in my library folder on my mac, that quicktime needs to be reinstalled, then i should be able to get my canon HV20 video camera to communicate with FCE 4 and start capturing. has anyone heard of resolving my "unable to initialize video deck" issue this way? Any ideas how to get my HV20 and FCP to communicate to eachother?

There is a separate forum for FCE.
Make sure you are using the correct HDV settings in FCE and that the camera is set to output HDV and not downconvert.

Final Cut Express won't capture audio with the video anymore, why?

I have used Final Cut Express 4 for over a year now with no problems, but recently I am unable to capture any audio with the video from my camera. I can do it through iMovie no problem. I can't figure out if I changed a setting by accident because everything looks normal to me. Could another program be interfering with this? Quicktime Pro? I have no idea how to fix this.

First of all, we need a bunch of information in order to help. Please provide the specs of the footage and the sequence you are using. Also, are you using DV, HDV, or AVCHD? Do you hear audio when the clip is played in the viewer, or is there no audio at all once the clip is captured/ingested?

Panasonic HDC-SD100 media card unable to capture on Final Cut Express 4

No problems at all with transfer to i-movie but just purchased final cut express 4 and problems with capturing from the media card. Signal system on camera is 1080/50i. Have tried setting HD and 1080/50i in the easy set up but no joy. Have tried log and transfer and see clips but on transfer message states no data. Can anyone help with the settings please?
Many thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum!
There are many things that could cause this, and almost all have been discussed.
Some things to try:
• In the Log and Transfer window, click the preferences button (the gear in the upper right). Make sure audio is set to *Plain Stereo*
• Also in that preferences window, click the button to *Clear the Cache*
Also, what drive are you using to capture to (internal or external)? How is it formatted, and how much space is left on that drive?

IMovie 08, iMovie 6, or Final Cut Express

I just got a new Sony HDR-SR12 HD camera. It records in 1080i. I tried iMovie 08, but I don't like the export options. I used the iMovie 08 import .mov file and opened it in iMovie 6. I exported the video and it doesn't look that good. I'm thinking about Final Cut Express but I don't know how it integrates with iLife apps. What's the best option?

iMovie 08 imports AVCHD in full 1080i. The AVCHD is converted to Apple Intermediate Codec 1920x1080.
The issue comes when you render the project. The iMovie 08 presets max out at 960x540 for Apple TV. Apple TV looks very good because most TVs will upscale it back to 1920x1080.
It is possible to export to Quicktime in full 1920x1080.
However, then you have the problem of how to play it back.
You can play it back at 1920x1080 on your Mac, if your screen is large enough.
You can play it back on a Sony Playstation 3.
You can play it on a BluRay Disk Player.
Toast 9 permits burning a BluRay Disk in full 1920x1080. You will need a BluRay disk Burner for this. Toast 9 also lets you do a short AVCHD/Bluray disk on a regular DVD on a regular DVD burner, but you are limited to about 20 minutes of playing time.
If you burn to a normal DVD in MPEG2, you are limited to 480i, so that is the worst option.
Message was edited by: AppleMan1958

Is it possible to transfer stored (b-roll) video footage from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro event library? Is so, what do I need?

I have been editing in final cut express and now that I'm working in Pro X I would like to transfer my b-roll footage from FCX to Pro X. I read that there is an app. that you can buy that does this for Final Cut Pro 7, is this possible with Final Cut Express?

Any media used in FCE can be used in FCP. No third party software is required.
You cannot take an FCE project to FCP. 7toX will not help as FCE has no XML export.

VHS & Hi8 to Final Cut Express

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