transfer Samsung camcorder mini dvd videos to Mac

Transfer will require a tray-loading DVD player that you can connect via USB to the Mac. Mini-dvd discs can't be played in slot-loading DVD players.

OR it will require a video capture card and software to grab video from the camcorder to the Mac.

Elgato has done video capture cards for the Mac for years.

It might be easier to ship the discs off to a video transfer service than to buy the hardware and software required to transfer the discs yourself. One such example of a service is Timeless DVD.com.

Google search is your friend in this quest.

This might help:

Getting DV (Digital Video) onto current M… - Apple Community

There are a couple pf ways to do this.

Scratch this first part. I read too quickly and thought you said MiniDV (as in tape) rather than Mini DVD (as in recordable optical discs).

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One is to connect the camcorder using FireWire (a.k.a. IEEE 1394; iLink) and import the digital video from the tape into iMovie. Unfortunately, no modern Macs have built-in FireWire ports. No Thunderbolt 3 – 5 docks have them. And Apple discontinued the Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 adapter (the one that you could use as a part of a three-adapter chain to connect a MiniDV or Digital8 camcorder).

So you may be hosed as far as using the optimal (preferred) transfer method.

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The other is to get a video digitizer and import analog video, like you were importing video from a VCR. (Most old MiniDV and Digital8 camcorders have both FireWire ports and RCA-style composite video output jacks.).

One example of a video capture device would be the El Gato – Video Capture . Check that the capture or editing software that comes with any such device is compatible with your Mac.