Transfer from Sony DVD 403 to iMac

I've connected my new Sony DCR-DVD403 via USB to my
iMac G5, but am told the "disk contains volumes that
Mac OSX cannot read????

Any ideas how to get my video from mini DVD onto
iMovie or Final Cut Express???

Thanks

iMac G5 Mac OS
X (10.3.9)

ahh, i had the same problem with my canon dc20 minidvd camcorder. i am guessing you have a minidvd camcorder. the solution i have come up with was to buy the lacie d2 dvdrw dual layer, with lightscribe from apple for 189. use this to read the minidvd-r/rw, you must finalize the disc in order to read it. open in mpeg streamclip, you must also have the mpeg2 plugin from apple for 20. then you must fix timecode breaks. then import to dv. then open imovie and open the file and you are all set.

if you have a tray loading dvd drive on your apple, then you can use that, but i have a slot loading and it will not load the minidvd. if you have any problems please check my posts or post here, i would be more than happy to help. thanks to some of the members of this board, mostly lennart!, i was able to solve my problem only spending 210, which i needed to burn dvd's anyways, instead of having to go to a tape/minidv camcorder.

buy the dvdrw's, and after you transfer the movies to your hard drive you can initialize the minidvd's and use them over and over.

best of luck

Hi Anthony:

Any chance you could return it for a DV camera? DVDs are a pain to get into
imovie..

Sue

Hi Anthony:

Any chance you could return it for a DV camera? DVDs
are a pain to get into
imovie..

Sue

Sue, It was actually you who suggested the mpeg 2 plugin, thanks! It works and is really not a pain. Just takes an extra step or two, and i still like the minidvd's, over tapes. just curious, how long does it take you to get a full tape into imovie, best quality.

just curious, how long does it take you to get a full tape into imovie, best quality.

It imports real time. So a 60 min tape take (you guessed it) 60 minutes.

thanks lennart! minidvd seems to take the same time with fixing the timecode breaks in mpeg streamclip, and then exporting to DV. do you think that a software update in the future may fix this problem, or will i forever have to use the lacie to get the info into my computer? seems like apple could easily modify iMovie with an update to get these minidvd camcorders to be more compatible.

seems like apple could easily modify iMovie with an update to get these minidvd camcorders to be more compatible.

It isn't included in iMovie 6, so it will take until next major release (at least). Besides, I guess there are legal matters rather than technical matters that prevents Apple from including MPEG-2 support.

I went through this about a month ago. Apple has a list of all compatible camcorders somewhere. I got it after calling tech support. Maybe someone knows/remembers where that list is.

I ended up exchanging my DVD for a mini-DV, and the DV is much easier to work with. Also, you don't have to finalize any discs. I like the freedom of being able to use a tape and then re-record over it later. I take a lot of short movies, and like to transfer as I make tape. If I had to finalize after every five minutes of tape, I would be broke.

I have had some problems with LETTERBOXING, though, and don't know if it is the fault of the camera. I imported a bunch of clips. The clips were all automatically letterboxed - except about four clips. Now that they are in my system, I can't seem to change them to letterbox format. They should ALL have been letterbox size anyway, since they were filmed in 16:9 in the first place. I don't understand why a 16:9 film has to be imported into 4:3 and then switched to letterbox. if anyone here can offer some advice, that would be great.

Also, I am this very minute trying to import something to iDisk, and it is taking something like one hour to download a 5 minute clip. I don't understand why this is the case either.

Any thoughts?

"Just so I'm clear, I will finalize my disc, then plug my camera into the "lacie D2" which will read my sony disc onto a format comaptible with Mac. I'll also install the mpeg2 plug-in for Quicktime from Apple and import the digital video there and then move it to imovie or final cut express as I please. Is that about right?"

no sorry. plug the lacie d2 into your computer's firewire port. put your finalized disk in the lacie d2. it will see the d2 on the desktop. you open mpeg streamclip. then go to file, open file. go to the lacie and select the file. after you open the file you must go to edit, fix timecode breaks. after that is done, go to file, export to DV. save it wherever you want. then open imovie, and go to file, open and open the file and you are all set.

"Only outstannding issue - how to get data from the camera USB output into the firewire input of the "lacie D2"?"

i don't think that is possible.

"I ended up exchanging my DVD for a mini-DV, and the DV is much easier to work with. Also, you don't have to finalize any discs. I like the freedom of being able to use a tape and then re-record over it later. I take a lot of short movies, and like to transfer as I make tape. If I had to finalize after every five minutes of tape, I would be broke."

that is why i suggest using minidvd-rw. you can initialize the disc after getting the information off of the disc. then you can use them over and over just like a tape, but never have to rewind or fast forward. i love my minidvd camcorder, even though it takes an extra two steps to get it into imovie. it actually takes the same amount of time to get a tape via firewire, compared to my method using the lacie d2 to read the finalized disc.