The horror of importing video from Sony video cameras

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The horror of importing video from Sony video cameras

I have a Sony DCR-TRV210E and a Sony DCR-PG9E camera. I want to transfer the collection of video cassettes to my iMac Retina 27 inch from 2019 with Monterey 12.1.

Both cameras have a iLink (or mini usb) slot.

Purchased in the meantime: 1 iLink to (9 pin-)Firewire cable, 1 Apple FireWire To Thunderbolt adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 (usb-c) adapter.

According to all the videos on You Tube, that rather costly 'chain' is the only way to transfer the videos and they show it.

But... in the software (iMovie 10.3.1) the cameras are 'seen' but when I click on IMPORT nothing happens at all.

In Photos the cameras don't show up and it's the same in the Finder.

How o how do I transfer these digital movies to my iMac?

iMac 27″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Feb 11, 2022 5:53 AM

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Answer 1

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Rich839

Level 8

47,250 points

Feb 11, 2022 10:11 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

Importing from tape based cameras can be hit or miss with iMovie 10. Most of the time it works, but not always. Try importing to QuickTimePlayer instead of iMovie and see if that works. The information in the below link to a recent thread my be of some help in that regard:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253648103

-- Rich

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Answer 2

Feb 12, 2022 1:28 AM in response to Rich839

You're absolutely right: working with QuickTime is the way to get the result I want! Thanks very much! My money is not wasted and I can start archiving my old tapes! Thanks again!

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,250 points

Feb 12, 2022 2:06 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

Great. Glad you got it working.

— Rich

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The horror of importing video from Sony video cameras

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