I want to transfer video from minidisk on my Sony DCR TRV80E to my MacBook Pro running OS 10.6.8. The USB doesn't seem to work and I can't find a driver for it. Should I try Firewire? Any advice?
It must be Firewire and depending on the age of your machine you may need an 800 to 400 cable adapter.
The DV stream format on the tape can be imported by any version of iMovie.
Many thanks - very helpful!! So if I connect the camcorder to the laptop with firewire, imovie will find the camcorder and allow me to transfer the video from the minitape to my macbook pro? The camcorder is from 2003, while the macbook pro is from just a few years ago - model 7.1 Am I right then to buy a 800 (for the macbook pro) to 400 (for the Sony camcorder) firewire cable?
The camera is Firewire 400 (6 pins) and your machine has Firewire 800 (9 pins). You can buy the adapter from the Apple Store.
iMovie will recognize the camera and handle the import. You can then use it to edit and adjust the video and export to standard definition, or smaller, formats.
Many thanks indeed! - that's everything I need to know (hopefully).
I think that you get more points for "this solved my question" than for "this helped me", but I stupidly pushed the wrong button - you certainly solved my problem and deserve maximum points. If there's a way for me to correct my mistake and ensure you get more points, just let me know and I'll change it. Again, many thanks for very prompt and helpful advice!!
Mark the first post as this helped me. You get 2 of them.
Done. Thanks again.
You are welcome.
Transferring video from Sony camcorder minidisk to laptop
