iMovie HD and Panasonic SDR H18

Question

iMovie HD and Panasonic SDR H18

So,
I thought I was going be lucky and actually get something that works with my mac. Bought a Panasonic SDR H18 Hard Drive Camcorder the other day. With the intention of having a hard drive, to transfer data to my mac and use in iMovie which I have been waiting to use for a couple of years now. Well, the Panasonic states Mac compatible. But, it is actually the weak Panasonic software (Image Mixer) that is compatible. So, I import the data to my machine using the Panasonic software, because iMovie would not recognize my camcorder. Well, once imported using Panasonic software, I try to get it over into iMovie. And, low and behold, it will not recognize it.

So, my question is, what is the point of iMovie HD if it will not recognize Hard Drive Camcorder's format's? I can't stand it.

And also, can someone please tell me a way to get it into iMovie. Maybe a step by step or something!? I would greatly appreciate it.

PS, need to know soon, since I am leaving for a honeymoon in a couple of days, and wanted to have a camera that will actually work with my computer for the trip.

Powerbook 17", Mac OS X (10.4.10), using iMovie HD and a Panasonic SDR H18.

Posted on Sep 5, 2007 8:21 AM

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Answer 1

Klaus1

Level 9

52,879 points

Sep 5, 2007 9:18 AM in response to Michael Spross

Hi Michael and Welcome!

iMovie HD is compatible with video cameras that can send it a DV stream from tape via firewire.

If you want compatibility with hard drive cameras you will need iLife 8.

Happy Honeymoon! 🙂

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Answer 2

Sep 5, 2007 11:04 AM in response to Klaus1

So, iLife 08 will work seamlessly with all Hard Drive cameras? And, would anyone happen to know which would give better pic quality? DV or Hard drive when using with iMovie?

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Answer 3

Klaus1

Level 9

52,879 points

Sep 5, 2007 11:19 AM in response to Michael Spross

iLife 08 will work seamlessly with all Hard Drive cameras?

Can't be certain. Check if there is a list of compatible cameras on the iLife web page.

would anyone happen to know which would give better pic quality? DV or Hard drive when using with iMovie?

Both are digital so it shouldn't make a difference. HOWEVER, DV from tape is not nearly as compressed a format as the mpeg format from hard drive cameras. I would expect tape to be better.

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Answer 4

Sep 6, 2007 6:24 AM in response to Klaus1

Good morning Klaus1-

I have the same hard disc camcorder as Michael listed (Panasonic SDR-H18) here in this discussion.

You mentioned below that if we want compatibility with hard drive cameras, we will need iLife8. Is this still true knowing that this particular camcorder only has a USB port, and not a firewire port?

Thanks so much for this information, as I've been quite bummed so far after having bought the camcorder thinking it was going to be a snap using with iLife06.

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Answer 5

Klaus1

Level 9

52,879 points

Sep 6, 2007 6:33 AM in response to TpaTallMan

Good morning to you! (actually it's 14.30 here!)

I know no more about iLife 8 than is printed on Apple's web pages. You might do better to ask in the iMovie 8 forum where someone who actually has it can give a better answer.

But I don't think there is any way round the lack of firewire.

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Answer 6

Sep 6, 2007 7:11 AM in response to Klaus1

I know no more about iLife 8 than is printed on Apple's web pages.

a good source of info is the manual of iM08 ( +OMG! YES! a manual!+ ) 😉
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iMovie08_GettingStarted.pdf

But I don't think there is any way round the lack of firewire.

I share this opinion, but many of those HDDcorders come with usb2 ... and DO work with iM08 that way... (see pg 9)

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Answer 7

Sep 6, 2007 7:32 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

Thanks for the link to the manual. It's looking more like iMovie 08 may be my solution. I went ahead and dropped a post into the iMovie 08 forum just to double check.

TPA Tall man, let me know if you figure it out, and I will do the same!

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Answer 8

Klaus1

Level 9

52,879 points

Sep 6, 2007 8:26 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

OMG! YES! a manual!

They published a MANUAL?? Is no tradition sacred?

How very radical! 😀

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Answer 9

Sep 6, 2007 5:45 PM in response to Michael Spross

Hi folks, I was having the same problem (same video recorder). To get around this I installed the software that came with the video camera (ImageMixer2 v3.0.2) and use it to download video clips to computer (they come down as .mpg files). The problem is they are in MPEG2 format which is not recognized by iMovie HD.
So early tonight I purchased the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback plugin ($20) which allows you to view MPEG2 files. I then purchased the QuickTime 7 Pro upgrade ($29.99) to be able save these as .mov files, which in turn can be imported into iMovieHD.
BUT all is not solved yet. Although I can play the clips in the ImageMixer software, as soon as I try to view them in QuickTime I can see the video but there is no audio. Saving them as .mov files and importing them in iMovieHD gives me the same results, video with no audio.
Can anyone help? (Other QuickTime clips work fine so it is not a speaker problem, nor is it a QuickTime Preferences Sound setting problem). Thank You!

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Answer 10

Sep 7, 2007 6:54 PM in response to Michael Spross

Happy Friday...good deal Michael. I'll also be sure to re-post as to what happens...once I upgrade to ILife08 that is <g>. Have a gr8 weekend all.

Salud!

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Answer 11

Nico2007

Level 1

5 points

Sep 10, 2007 11:27 AM in response to Michael Spross

I bought exactly the same Panasonic camcorder and have now returned it after having been told by Apple Tech Support that the mpg-1 that this camera burns in is not compatible with i-movie hd, nor will it be if I upgrade to i-life 8.

The files have to be dv, mpg-2,3 or 4, or avchd - according to Apple...

Expecting our first baby this coming weekend and want to buy a replacement camcorder, but am having a tough time deciding which to buy!

Nico

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Answer 12

Sep 26, 2007 3:49 PM in response to Michael Spross

I just bought the panasonic sdr h200 a couple weeks ago, and i'm having the same problems with the format from the hard drive not being compatible with iMovie. I was just wondering if iLife '08 will also fix this problem

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Answer 13

Nov 23, 2007 2:34 PM in response to elieguy27

After much thought and reading these threads, I decided to give the Panasonic SDR H18 a shot since it's the camera I really wanted. I downloaded the MPEG Streamclip and purchased the quick time plug- in mentioned above. It works! I installed the software that came with the camera and downloaded my video clips to that first (I haven't played around with bypassing that step yet...). Then I saved the clips onto my desktop. It uses the.mpg file type. I then open the streamclip program. I open the movie file from my desktop. From there I export to MPEG4 and it creates a new file on my desktop. Finally, I open imovie and import the movie from the desktop! It seems like a lot of steps but it's really pretty simple. I'm so happy that I was able to purchase the camera that I really wanted and make it work with imovie. Hope this helps!

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