zargham

Q: New Macbook Pro HD iSight

I got my first Mac.. The latest 13" 2.7 Ghz Dual i7 Macbook Pro ,the one which comes with the HD iSight Camera.The fact that the iSight camera is HD and supposedly widescreen was among the attractions I had in buying this.However I cannot figure out how I can record with the iSight in widescreen! I know this might be easy but it is my first Mac so please help me out. Btw by widescreen I mean the results on http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features.html .
Thanks in advance!

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.6), i7 2.7 Dual Core 13"

Posted on Apr 10, 2011 8:23 AM

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Q: New Macbook Pro HD iSight

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  • by EZ Jim,Solvedanswer

    EZ Jim EZ Jim Apr 10, 2011 2:24 PM in response to zargham
    Level 7 (22,547 points)
    Apr 10, 2011 2:24 PM in response to zargham
    Welcome to Discussions, zargham

    zargham wrote:
    I got my first Mac.. The latest 13" 2.7 Ghz Dual i7 Macbook Pro ,the one which comes with the HD iSight Camera.The fact that the iSight camera is HD and supposedly widescreen was among the attractions I had in buying this.However I cannot figure out how I can record with the iSight in widescreen! I know this might be easy but it is my first Mac so please help me out. Btw by widescreen I mean the results on http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features.html .
    Thanks in advance!


    (1) The key to recording in HD will be to find software that can do it.

    Regardless of which camera is in any Mac, the software that you use with a Mac's camera always controls the camera operation and determines the output that your camera can provide. This is true of both functions (like whether to record or video chat) and output resolution (like 720p that the new FaceTime for Mac can provide or the 640x480 {480p} limits of iChat.)

    To use your specific example, clicking on the "Read more" link about the FaceTime HD Camera in the link you provided takes me to this page:

    http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features.html#facetime

    The FaceTime HD Camera "+Read more+" page says: "You and your friends can make 720p HD calls ..."

    I cannot find any guarantee or claim of HD recording, so it is not clear to me whether HD FaceTime can record anything.

    (2) Nevertheless, you may be able to record HD (720p or greater) with your Mac by using software designed to perform video recording. First, try your Mac's QuickTime Player (v10.x). You can test QTX as follows:

     • Launch QuickTime Player

     • Click the QuickTime Player > File > New Movie Recording menu item

     • Select "Maximum Quality" as shown in this image:

        QTX

     • Click the QuickTime Player > Window > Show Movie Inspector menu item

     • Look at the Format info in the Inspector window

     • If the "Photo-JPEG" info shows "#### x 720" (or a higher number), you can record HD.

     • You can also test other recording apps you may have such as iMovie, iChat, and Photo Booth.

     • Some more apps that can record are shown in http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2013310

    (3) One more thing: Your posted system information shows you are still using Mac OS X (10.6.6). You should download and install the latest (10.6.7) version: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1361  Use Disk Utility to repair permissions *before installing _and again_ immediately following the restart* that completes the update.

    EZ Jim


    Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.7); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.7)
    LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.3.1