Please advise: I want to pull my Sony HDV V1U camcorder tapes into my MacMini 2018.
The Sony HDV camcorder has two outputs: DV/HDV and HDMI.
The MacMini has these inputs: USB C with Thunderbolt technology and HDMI.
The Apple.com site says that I need DV out to Firewire in.
Can anyone tell me what this looks like?
Thank you!
Two things to be aware of ...
1 - You will need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapter. Apple used to make one but it was discontinued sa few years ago (even the product page is gone.) But it is possible to find them on eBay and other online sellers. I believe the Apple part number was MD464LL/A.
This is what it looks like:
There may be 3rd-party adapters like this but I am not aware of any.
2 - Most miniDV/HDV camcorders have a 4-pin Firewire plug on the camera body. You will need a 4-pin Firewire to FW800 cable like this one. Or, alternatively, if you have the Sony iLink cable (4-pin FW to FW400 6 pin) you would also need a FW400 (6pin)-to-FW800 (9pin) cable.
Two things to be aware of ...
1 - You will need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapter. Apple used to make one but it was discontinued sa few years ago (even the product page is gone.) But it is possible to find them on eBay and other online sellers. I believe the Apple part number was MD464LL/A.
This is what it looks like:
There may be 3rd-party adapters like this but I am not aware of any.
2 - Most miniDV/HDV camcorders have a 4-pin Firewire plug on the camera body. You will need a 4-pin Firewire to FW800 cable like this one. Or, alternatively, if you have the Sony iLink cable (4-pin FW to FW400 6 pin) you would also need a FW400 (6pin)-to-FW800 (9pin) cable.
As Martin et al said, you need these hard-to-find and pricey adapters for Mac mini 2018:
DV import to Sonoma still works - Apple Community
Also notice that the "new" QuickTime Player is not very good for DV import because it deinterlaces and produces "ghost lines" no matter what. So you need to boot to Mojave and use the old QuickTime Player 7 Pro (no licenses sold anymore...) for the import. Final Cut Pro works well but it is somewhat pricey just for this task.
Why is it so difficult to capture DV tape… - Apple Community
You might have to Restore legacy video device support in Sonoma 14.1 and later:
The easiest method might be to get an old Mac with built-in Firewire and use old iMovie v1-6 for the import, iMovie HD 6.0.3 might be the best candidate and it works up to Mojave which also Mac mini 2018 can run (but then you need those pesky $$ adapters). iMovie versions had a few nasty bugs needing workarounds so chime in if you stumble on them.
Carolyn B Pugh wrote:
Please advise: I want to pull my Sony HDV V1U camcorder tapes into my MacMini 2018.
The Sony HDV camcorder has two outputs: DV/HDV and HDMI.
The DV/HDV output would appear to be a 4-pin FireWire 400 one – what Sony calls "iLink". There used to be two types of FireWire 400 connectors: 4-pin and 6-pin, and the difference was that the 4-pin ones didn't supply bus power.
See pages 98 – 100 of the camcorder user manual.
Archive – Sony HVR V1U HDV Camcorder user manual 2006
So to connect the camcorder to a Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5 port, you would need
Servant of Cats wrote:
The Thunderbolt end of Apple’s FireWire adapter plugs into a Thunderbolt port with an old-style Mini DisplayPort connector.
OMG, I forgot all about that.
You are right ... the OP would need to daisy-chain two adapters ... the Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adapter AND the Thunderbolt 3-to-Thunderbolt 2 adapter
The Thunderbolt end of Apple’s FireWire adapter plugs into a Thunderbolt port with an old-style Mini DisplayPort connector.
If you wanted to use it with a Mac that had a Thunderbolt 3, or 5 port, you would need to daisy-chain it with an Apple Thunderbolt 3-to-2 adapter. Also, the Mac would need to be running something earlier than
Tahoe.
Port on the camera labeled DV in/out with a big ℹ️ icon next to it is the i-Link port(Sony's version of Firewire).
The cable you label as DV cable should be the firewire cable and the other side is probably USB.
You can try that connection and see if something like iMovie can see the camera in VTR mode and get the video from the tape.
If not, you'll likely need an I-Link(Firewire 800) to Thunderbolt adapter.
https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00029443
Apples version looks like this (they no longer sell it unfortunately):
It may in fact be easier to look for an old inexpensive Mac (desktop or notebook) with a built-in FireWire port (and with an early version of iMovie) to be used as an intermediary.
https://everymac.com/systems/by_capability/macs-with-usb-firewire.html
iMovie for macOS supported cameras - Apple Support
Carolyn B Pugh wrote:
Please advise: I want to pull my Sony HDV V1U camcorder tapes into my MacMini 2018.
The Sony HDV camcorder has two outputs: DV/HDV and HDMI.
The MacMini has these inputs: USB C with Thunderbolt technology and HDMI.
The Apple.com site says that I need DV out to Firewire in.
Can anyone tell me what this looks like?
Thank you!
Consider using a Service like iMemory, LegacyBox or ForeverStudio that can convert and copy your Tapes onto a Flash Drive. If you search locally, you may even find a local camera shop, that can convert and copy your Tapes onto a Flash Drive.
Carolyn B Pugh wrote:
How do I get from FW 800 into MacMini 2018 ports?
With the Thunderbolt-to-FW800 adapter I mentioned earlier. The Thunderbolt end plugs into any of the USB-C ports on the back of the 2018 mini.
The challenge is going to be finding one of the adapters, since they are discontinued. Look online.
What year MacMini and what version of macOS is installed. Reason is that macOS 26 Tahoe no longer supports Firewire so the previously mentioned adapters will not work.
There are a wide variety of video capture cards on Amazon with HDMI inputs:
They range in price limited only by what you want to spend from cheap and simple to very sophisticated.
lanstrad1 wrote:
Aside of the physical connection, I personally made about 100 like this using an app called LifeFlix which has been instrumental for this transfer. I understand it is feasible with FCP, but LifeFlix is a dedicated app for this.
Interesting app. Just be aware that its default import bitrate is only 3.3Mbps, about the minimum necessary for acceptable quality. If I intended to edit the imported video, I wouldn't capture it at this bitrate.
Native miniDV (from the camera) is 25Mbps, HDV is 20-25Mbps, so if the OP wants to preserve the original quality of the video, they need to set Lifeflix to import uncompressed video. Note that a 1-hour DV/HDV tape at native bitrates takes up about 13GB of disk space.
Re: “The MacMini has these inputs: USB C with Thunderbolt technology and HDMI.”
That HDMI port is not an input. It is an output only, for connecting a TV or monitor.
DOH!
Missed the mention of the 2018 Mini.
BTW, might actually find a used, working 2010 or 2011 MacMono for the price of an adapter and the hassle of getting it to work.
While it doesn't have firewire, I saw OWC had a base 2014 Mini for only $79.
If you were content with SD quality a capture card like the ones mentioned are the easiest (and cheapest!!!) way to go.
They range from £6 upwards on Amazon and the cheapest seem to ve as good as the pricey ones.
I got one (£10 . . . there was nothing cheaper at the time)) for my Canon HDV and the quality is fine as long as you don't intend to make any prize-winning films.
How to get Sony HDV tapes into MacMini?
