Importing video from sony dcr-ip5

when i have an external HD connected via firewire my camera is not working either. could you be encountering the same issue?
(i have to import everything using the internal HD and then copy it over to the external.)

hope that helps
azzle

Sony dv camcorder dcr-ip5

You are contradicting yourself. That model is not DV (it's microMV) and consequently not supported by iMovie.

Buy a miniDV camera and copy the tapes over using audio cables and S-video cable. Then sell the Sony.

hey there azzle!
is your cam a Canon? many Canon cams have Firewire issues when used w/ an ext HDD. these cams like to have nothing else on the FW bus.

good luck!

thanks Donna. yes, mine is a canon. i am used to thinking it is because there is only one FW bus. there is nothing i can do about that until, someday, i will get another computer.

hey Lennart, can you try not to be so harsh. maybe Jeffrey doesn't know any better. everybody has to make a start somewhere.
and what exactly is microDV anyway? why should that different name be enough for it not to be recognised? if it comes through a firewire (well, if) would it not be in a format that is accepted by iMovie or FinalCut for that matter?

azzle

hey there azzle!
MicroMV not MicroDV(there is no such beast)is a proprietary Mpeg format developed by Sony & only sold by Sony. it doesn't work natively w/ iMovie or FCE which wants to see DV25(miniDV, Digital8, DVCam, or DVC Pro). lots of things can be sent over various types of cable, but the data therein may not be recognised @ the destination. i doubt you can import direct 24-bit/192K audio into GarageBand as it only works w/26-bit/44.1K audio, though both signals can be sent over Firewire cable.
good luck!

good luck with what? i shall pass this on to Jeffrey.

I once used a very (very very) cheap camera which files would only play in the wmplayer. no chance to export anything from there. but i did find a free tool which did convert the files to .avi
I had to try a couple different ones, it wasn't really worth the hassle, the picture quality was appaling, but it did work out in the end. perhaps, Jeffrey can convert the files to something iMovie can use. after all, Lennart was right: copy over.
that would probably give you better quality than software converting. what do you think?

azzle

hey there!
I have to agree copying to something iMovie will recognise is the way & if possible return the MicroMV cam & exchange it if possible.
"good luck!" is my standard sign off so i won't give to if it causes you some offense.

hey Lennart, can you try not to be so harsh

I'm sorry. My intention is (of course) not to be harsh. I write short and to the point.

I was able to eventually import my mpeg-2 micoMV video into imovie using a free application and a developer utility off of the Apple website to be able to read firewire video data and then I had to buy an add-on for quicktime that let me recode into quicktime format which can be read by imovie.

That was a lot of work. And you need to do it all over for the next tape. My advice about selling the Sony still stands.

Jeffrey, actually, after thinking it all over: Lennart had given you the best advice possible. just not in a format that you could recognize.

Hi Jeffery - I have a Sony DCR-IP1, and have had great time using the camera, despite it's compatibility issues. Can you tell me how you went about importing your video to iMovie? What were the applications that you mention in your email - the free app, developer utility, and add-on? Could you provide me some instructions on how to make it all work?

Thanks!!! I've had the camera for over a year, and haven't imported anything yet!!

Cheers,

-Andrew.

Andrew, I think a long time ago the the best advice for using these cameras was to buy a DV camcorder with pass through or one of the analogue to DV converters and import that way. So Lennarts advice to get rid of the micro-mov camera is still the best way to go. Sony never wanted us (Mac.users) to use this camera. BobK

Hi Jeffrey,
How convoluted a process is that? I've got a Sony DCR IP7E and really want to invest in a Mac but it would be unwise if the upload process is slow. Incidentally, for the uninitiated, please, what are the limitations of a movie editing computer like this? Can I expect to be able to splice together say half an hours movie with cuts pastes in video & sound without crashing the system or twiddling my thumbs waiting for the system to catch up? I'd really appreciate some advice please. Thanks

JUST BOUGHT A BRANDNEW SONY DCR-DVD403 AND HAVE ENCOUNTERED EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM.

MAYBE STUPID NOT TO CHECK MAC COMPATIBILITY FIRST - BUT WHO WOULD EXPECT TO AVANTGARDE PRODUCTS NOT TO MATCH??

ANY RECOMENDATION HOW TO SOLVE?