Diponti
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: DV to iMovie.. Image shown, import doesn't work

I pushed my father from Windows to Mac so it's kinda important to sort this out..

 

My father wants to digitize his hi 8 tapes on a brand new iMac i7

 

This is what we did so far:

 

Canon Hi 8 cam via SVHS to Sony cam with DV (pass through)

 

DV out via Firewire and Firewire/Thunderbolt adapter to iMac

 

When I press "play" on the Canon cam, the video plays in iMovie.

 

In the left corner of the window where the video is shown, its states " No cassette". The back/forward/play buttons are grayed out.

 

if I press the import button, it seems to work (a clock is running where " No cassette" was shown at first), but when I stop Imovie has recorded nothing.

 

My simple brain is telling me "if I see it on screen, I should be able to record it"

 

Help is greatly appriciated. If Imovie can't do the trick, maybe another app?

 

Thanks!

Posted on Jun 3, 2015 3:48 AM

by thesurreyfriends,Solvedanswer
thesurreyfriends thesurreyfriends
Level 3 (833 points)
A:

Here is a recent post that may help.

 

where to go from here...

If you have only a few tapes to import then your best bet might be to copy the Hi 8 tapes to DV tapes on your Sony cam. This will provide the Time Code that is required, then import the DV tapes into iMovie.

The other option is to use QuickTime X to import using pass through,File > New Movie Recording, see link.Then import this into iMovie.

If you have QuickTime 7 Pro you can do as QuickTime X above, File>New Movie Recording then import this into iMovie.

Posted on Jun 3, 2015 8:06 AM

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Diponti

Q: DV to iMovie.. Image shown, import doesn't work

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  • Helpful answers

  • by thesurreyfriends,Solvedanswer

    thesurreyfriends thesurreyfriends Jun 3, 2015 8:06 AM in response to Diponti
    Level 3 (833 points)
    Jun 3, 2015 8:06 AM in response to Diponti

    Here is a recent post that may help.

     

    where to go from here...

    If you have only a few tapes to import then your best bet might be to copy the Hi 8 tapes to DV tapes on your Sony cam. This will provide the Time Code that is required, then import the DV tapes into iMovie.

    The other option is to use QuickTime X to import using pass through,File > New Movie Recording, see link.Then import this into iMovie.

    If you have QuickTime 7 Pro you can do as QuickTime X above, File>New Movie Recording then import this into iMovie.

  • by Diponti,Helpful

    Diponti Diponti Jun 3, 2015 10:54 AM in response to thesurreyfriends
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 3, 2015 10:54 AM in response to thesurreyfriends

    Thank you! I will install Quicktime 7 Pro on my dads iMac and give it a go!

  • by thesurreyfriends,

    thesurreyfriends thesurreyfriends Jun 3, 2015 11:22 AM in response to Diponti
    Level 3 (833 points)
    Jun 3, 2015 11:22 AM in response to Diponti

    As QuickTime 7 Pro is not free, you might want to try importing with QuickTime X, which you should already have, to see if it gives you what you want.

     

    QuickTime Player 10.x: Record video or audio

     

    Note the bit that says:

     

    To change the input source or quality of the recording, click the arrow button in the controller.

     

    1. Note: Audio files are encoded in AAC format, video files are encoded using H.264, but recordings made with the high quality setting may use different codecs depending on the capabilities of your computer.

  • by Mac Merschel,

    Mac Merschel Mac Merschel Sep 4, 2016 9:29 AM in response to Diponti
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Video
    Sep 4, 2016 9:29 AM in response to Diponti

    So, for what it's worth, for anyone who stumbles across this:

     

    I have a very similar situation-- using an older Sony camera to play Hi8 tapes, using a Sony DV camera as passthrough and importing to my iMac on Firewire.

     

    This worked well for many months, and I imported about half of my home movies without much pain.

     

    Set the project aside for a few months, during which iMovie updated.

     

    Now, it still will import video played on the DV camera. But although iMovie will display the video being converted by the DV camera, it will not allow me to record. I get the "no tape" message.

     

    If I insert a DV tape into the DV camera, it imports that tape. 

     

    If anybody knows what setting might have changed, or what the workaround is, I would appreciate it.

  • by Mac Merschel,

    Mac Merschel Mac Merschel Sep 4, 2016 1:11 PM in response to Mac Merschel
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Video
    Sep 4, 2016 1:11 PM in response to Mac Merschel

    And confirming the diagnosis that the problem is with iMovie 11 -- I was able to import the clip problem-free using an old version of iMovie 9 that was sitting around. Hope that helps someone.