Downloading from Hitachi DVD camcorder

I was told Apple does not support this type of files,

Sort of correct. These DVD cameras are not compatible with iMovie. You usually can read them (play them), that is the DVDs themselves. They can be converted to import into iMovie and or Final Cut but there is a quality drop, and it is a slow process.

but I find it hard to believe that a company which leads the world in computer technology is still stuck in DV cam world

DV cams are far superior to DVD cams. I personally find it hard to believe that someone who wants to edit their video wants to use a DVD camcorder! In order to put that video onto your DVD it has to be compressed to MPEG2, which results in unavoidable quality drops. In my opinion, DVD camcorders are made for people who don't want to edit their video, even if they have PCs.

Actually it's not unavoidable - if you use a DV camcorder you do avoid it, and get higher quality video!

John Beatty

I was told Apple does not support this type of files, but I find it hard to believ that a company which leads the world in computer technology is still stuck in DV cam world

Believe it. It's true. You'll probably find some compression used to burn to those others... MiniDV and FireWire is pretty basic.

Unfortunately, the DVD camcorders are not compatible with MAC OS. However, if the DVD drive in your Mac is compatible with DVD-Ram and a finalized DVD-R, you may be able access the video with your computer. We suggest trying to the program Pixe VRF Browser. This is a software program that is produced by a third party software manufacturer which may work with the video that our camcorder records in. You may visit their website at: http://www.pixela-1.com/vrf_browser.htm

If you have any further questions about this or any other Hitachi product, please contact our technical assistance number at 1-800-HITACHI. Please have your model number ready. Thank you for your interest in Hitachi products.

Mike
Hitachi Consumer Electronics

Toast 7's media browser can mount and import titles and chapters from DVD-VR and RAM discs from set-top recorders and camcorders.

Once imported you can convert to different formats for editing (such as in iMovie) or for playback on portable devices like PSP or iPod, or for re-burning to a new compilation standard DVD.

You put the DVD in the DVD drive, rip the content of the DVD from the VIDEO_TS folder (the VOB files are MPEG-2) and then convert them to DV using MPEG Streamclip (free). You can use the DV files in iMovie or iDVD etc.

You can also use Toast to just authour and burn the MPEG-2 clips to a new DVD after trimming and cutting etc., in MPEG Streamclip.

This question is aksed about 500 times a month in this and the iMovie and Quicktime forums.

Unfortunately, the DVD camcorders are not compatible
with MAC OS. However, if the DVD drive in your Mac
is compatible with DVD-Ram and a finalized DVD-R, you
may be able access the video with your computer. We
suggest trying to the program Pixe VRF Browser. This
is a software program that is produced by a third
party software manufacturer which may work with the
video that our camcorder records in. You may visit
their website at:
http://www.pixela-1.com/vrf_browser.htm

If you have any further questions about this or any
other Hitachi product, please contact our technical
assistance number at 1-800-HITACHI. Please have your
model number ready. Thank you for your interest in
Hitachi products.

Mike
Hitachi Consumer Electronics

Is this to say that DVD cameras ARE compatible with Windows PCs?

I doubt it. It's just that everyone pounces when Apple computers show any flaw. The fact is that these programs work great under established standards. One of those is digital video. Using it gets you great results.

DVD is a 'presentation format' it is not meant for editing.

Anyone using dvd video for editing is watching crap results no matter what platform they're on.

I've used both PixeVRF Browser and Toast 7 to extract MPEGs from VR-mode DVD-RW burned on a standalone recorder. This is like what is recorded in a DVD camcorder. PixeVRF Browser includes a basic MPEG editor, but I find that Toast 7 is more reliable for the extraction. Instead of buying PixeVRF Browser, I recommend getting Toast 7 along with Pixela's CaptyMPEG Edit which is much better for MPEG editing.

I have the same problem. Have you found any answers to this problem yet? If so let me know.