Tutorial - Using iMovie + Compressor to import Hi8 / MiniDV into iCloud and Photos app

Tutorial - Using iMovie + Compressor to import Hi8 / MiniDV into iCloud

1. Purchase Thunderbolt dongles and FireWire cables for Camcorder
2. Connect Camcorder to Mac using FireWire 800 + Dongles (you might need multiple dongles if you are using Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 3 -> Thunderbolt 2 dongle, Thunderbolt 2 > FireWire 800 dongle, FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 cable)
3. Cue the tape on the Camcorder and choose the playback setting to connect to the Mac
4. Import footage into iMovie
5. Purchase Compressor from the App Store for macOS
6. Add the imported footage from iMovie into Compressor
7. Apply the Video Sharing Services > SD 480p settings to the clips
8. You may need to change the Source Location to modify the output folder (i.e. use the Movies Location to output to your Movies directory)
9. Start Batch
10. From the Locations directory (Source, Movies, Desktop), find the compressed clips with the -SD 480p.mov extension
11. Drag the compressed clips into Photo library

The compressed clips will be much smaller than the uncompressed footage from iMovie.

A 1 minute clip, using these settings, is about 10MB. A 1 hour clip would be about 600MB.

This will allow you to store a video of your Hi8 / MiniDV films in iCloud where you can view it on your iPhone.

*Note: Do not delete the uncompressed footage from iMovie. Do not destroy or erase the original Hi8 / MiniDV tapes. Store the uncompressed footage from iMovie on an external HDD for archiving.