Panasonic SDR-H40 Grainy Video Conversion

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Level 1

23 points

Panasonic SDR-H40 Grainy Video Conversion

I just recently bought a Panasonic SDR-H40 camcorder. So far it's a great little camcorder and relatively inexpensive. Even though it doesn't really say it's supported by iMovie, I took my MBP in with me to Best Buy and it worked, so I bought it.

I can import the videos fine, however, the quality just does not seem that good. Most inexpensive camcorders don't have the greatest low-light recording to begin with, but on the tv straight from the camcorder the video looks fine. But after the conversion to iMovie, the video is much more grainy.

Is there a setting somewhere in iMovie I'm missing. I don't mind using the HD space, so if it means I need to turn a setting up and use up more space, that's fine with me. I'd rather have better quality than less disk space used.

Thanks...

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.2), Mini PPC running as my file server

Posted on Apr 23, 2008 1:42 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 23, 2008 2:13 PM in response to the_0ne

I am not 100% sure about this answer, but the apparent loss of quality may have something to do with iMovie 08's use of single field processing of the video files.

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Answer 2

the_0ne Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 23, 2008 2:45 PM in response to Forest Mccready

hmmm, does that mean there's nothing I can do about it? Is there something else I should be using to convert the movies off of the camcorder?

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Answer 3

Apr 23, 2008 3:30 PM in response to the_0ne

IF, and that's part of the problem as I see it with many of the issues faced by posters to this forum, you had a miniDV cam, I would say use iMovie HD6 - better resolution with double field processing. Someone with more knowledge of 08 may be along here to help.

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Answer 4

the_0ne Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 23, 2008 6:23 PM in response to Forest Mccready

Actually it's a 40 GB HDD camcorder, not a miniDV. But I'll try your suggestion. btw, what is iMovie HD6? I'm downloading it right now from apple's site, but why is it available? Is there something wrong with iMovie 8.0 that they had to re-release HD6 as an alternate download?

Thanks for the reply.

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Answer 5

wilcofan

Level 1

0 points

Apr 23, 2008 8:39 PM in response to the_0ne

I am having trouble downloading video off my new SDR - H40 Panasonic onto my Mac. I see some are not having the same issue. How do I do it? When I tried, iPhoto comes up, not iMovie.

Really appreciate a response!

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Answer 6

Apr 23, 2008 9:03 PM in response to the_0ne

Hi One,

Yes, I know you have a HDD cam. If you read my first sentence carefully, you will see I was saying that the people with the most problems here are the ones who DON'T have miniDV.

iMovie has been around for a number of years and HD 6 was the last version before Apple brought out 08. iMovie HD6 is what the old iMovie faithful still prefer to use, since it has more editing features and many say better video quality, since it uses double field processing to iMovie 08's single field. iMovie 08 is NOT an upgrade to previous iMovies at all, but a whole new re-write of the programme that is geared towards the You Tubers and other web video posting purposes. Apple continues to make HD6 available to buyers of iLife 08 because they rightfully knew that a great many iMovie fans would not like the new interface.

Unfortunately, you cannot use the iMovie HD6 you are downloading because it requires DV from a miniDV tape cam to import. There are workarounds, using third party software to get the files off your HDD cam into iMovie HD, but you also will lose some video quality in the process and you will waste a bunch of time converting the files to DV.

Unfortunately, far too many people are jumping on the HDD/Flash/SD/DVD cams that the manufacturers are pushing now, without doing some homework on the best options out there for use on their computers. Apple doesn't consult with camcorder manufacturers to ensure compatibility with all cams out there. That's why there are so many problems being encountered by the uninformed. MiniDV is still the best choice for video quality whether it be Standard Def or High Def, and also the best for use with any version of iMovie.

Hope that clears a few things up for you.

Forest

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Answer 7

the_0ne Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 24, 2008 5:29 AM in response to wilcofan

I found the same problem at first also. The only reason iPhoto is coming up for you is because you have some still pictures. At least that's why it happened for me. When I got the cam I hadn't taken any still pictures yet. When I plugged it in, nothing happened other than it being mounted in Finder. However, I then opened iMovie and it recognize the cam immediately. The annoying thing with iPhoto coming up is only cause I then took a still picture.

Not sure what you can do about iPhoto coming up, I just close it everytime.

But these are the steps I take to get it hooked up and imported into iMovie...

Get everything hooked up. Unfortunately this camcorder makes you run it from AC to import to a computer.

Once everything is hooked up, turn the camcorder on to Play mode. Wait a second, the screen on the camcorder will ask you how to connect. You choose PC Connect and then HDD for your media type. That's when Finder will mount the HDD Camcorder. Then I open iMovie and it immediately shows an import window with all my movies.

Hope that helps.

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Answer 8

the_0ne Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 24, 2008 5:41 AM in response to Forest Mccready

Thanks, I didn't read your post correctly, sorry.

Now I understand what you mean. I was a little lost when I downloaded HD 6 and it didn't bring up the import screen. I'm not new to mac per se, however, I am new to importing and editing video, that's for sure. Never worked with iMovie or iDvd until the other day.

As I am showing my naivete, let me say I came to the same conclusion last night around 1 am. I am still going crazy trying to figure out what I am doing wrong and I finally start finding people saying how much better miniDV with firewire is. Apparently tape how been the standard for so long, they've perfected it.

So, thank you for your information. I said the same thing to my wife this morning, that we are probably going back to tapes for a few years until this HDD thing gets much, much better.

I found that most miniDV's have firewire ports and read that any miniDV with firewire "should" work with mac and pc. And the quality will be much better.

Thanks again for the info. I'm probably heading out to Best Buy tonight to trade this one in.

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Answer 9

wilcofan

Level 1

0 points

Apr 24, 2008 1:16 PM in response to the_0ne

Thanks. Something still isn't working. I did as you indicated. I closed iPhoto and opened iMovie. Do I create a new project? When I do that and locate my camcorder in Finder and attempt to start the new project, it still doesn't work.

Steps I am taking...
-create new project in iMovie
-select HDD
now I get several options such as DCIM, SD_Video, etc. No matter what I select, it ultimately says, 'project can not be created' The disk may be locked, read-only or completely full.

Frustrating- I am not great at this stuff, just trying to play with video from my son's birth on Sunday!

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Answer 10

Apr 24, 2008 1:28 PM in response to the_0ne

AHHH! Another One sees the light!! :))

You will be glad you did!

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Answer 11

the_0ne Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 24, 2008 7:36 PM in response to Forest Mccready

lol

Just ordered this one from amazon. For some reason Best Buy and Circuit City were over $100 bucks more than most online retailers. Not sure why. Stinks though, I have to eat a 15% restocking fee for the sdr-h40. 😟

Panasonic PV-GS320
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M4LXIW/ref=cmcr_pr_producttop

Give it 5 years and I'll look back into a hdd camcorder.

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Answer 12

the_0ne Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 25, 2008 6:40 PM in response to wilcofan

Sorry, I didn't notice your next response since this is sort of a mini-thread. I didn't have to do any of that.

First plug in the camcorder, get it all hooked up and turn it onto Play. With the sdr-h40, on the camcorder it asks what type, I choose PC Connect. Then it asks what media, which I only have the hdd, I don't have an sd card.

That's when it should be mounted on the mac.

Open iMovie and it automatically recognizes that I have a camera in. I didn't have to do anything. However, if that does not work, then on the left side of the iMovie window there is a Camcorder icon. That will bring up the import window also.

If that's not working, I'm not sure what the problem is. I was surprised when I took my MBP to Best Buy and it just worked the first time.

Good luck.

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