how to transfer video from camcorder to MacBook Pro 17

Question

how to transfer video from camcorder to MacBook Pro 17

I have a new MacBook Pro 17 and I am trying to transfer movies from an old Panasonic palmcorder to computer so that it can be edited and then burned onto a dvd. I have the adapter that allows for a USB port. I am hearing that I need a thunderbolt connection so I am purchasing however how do I connect the palmcorder to that adapter. The only adapter I can find that fits into the DV output on the camcorder has a USB port on the other end. ? if this makes any sense.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Dec 10, 2017 5:15 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 13, 2017 12:20 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Here is a picture of the two ports. one says to PC and the other says DV. I have tried both but the "to PC" one connects to USB which I am assuming doesn't transfer video. I have another cable that connects to the DV port but that cable looks identical on both ends so I connected that to another cable that allowed me to connect to the USB-C to USB. iMovie did not recognize and I received message about power being too much for USB port and it was disabled.

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Answer 2

Dec 10, 2017 5:30 PM in response to rachellefrommn

If all you have is some sort of display interface like DVI, you will need to hire a service to digitize your movies. Un-digitized Video is impossible to deal with unless you have special video capture hardware -- far to expensive for a one-off project.

What model panasonic palmcorder? Does this model have an SD card? if it does, just get an SD card reader.

Camcorders that provide a 4-pin or 6-pin FireWire connection contain on-board digitization, so that the blocks transferred are not real-time Video, but packetized digitized video, and very easy to handle.

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Answer 3

Dec 13, 2017 10:39 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I am really hoping that I am able to use this camcorder to move my videos to computer. This Panasonic is PV=DV402. It has a 4 pin firewire connection. I thought if I had a 4 pin to 6 pin wire and then the firewire to thunderbolt. I also have a SD card but I thought that was for still photos. I have many videos of my children when they were small and want to edit and make DVD. I bought the Apple DVD attachment.

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Answer 4

Dec 13, 2017 10:45 AM in response to rachellefrommn

If you already have an SD card reader, try it and see what happens. That is certainly the low cost option if it works.

FireWire 4-pin is the same as, (and immediately converts to) firewire 6-pin by dropping the power pins. Both are FireWire-400. FireWire 800 is easily convertible -- a 6-pin to 9-pin cable or adapter will do it. The difference there is that Firewire-800 uses balanced drivers, so it has more wires and can go at faster speeds.

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Answer 5

Dec 13, 2017 1:33 PM in response to rachellefrommn

"to PC" looks to be a mini-USB, which will not help you unless you want to control the camera remotely from your computer. It was also used for a while for Motorola Phones. It has been completely replaced by Micro-USB, the new standard for connecting non-Apple phones.

I believe the one with the DV name is a FireWire 4 pin, and if you get a 4-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable you can convert it, through a series of adapters and converters to FireWire-800 and eventually to your computer ports.

FireWire is what you need here, it is all geared up to transfer Digitized Video. USB is not.

The first cable you are showing looks to be a 4-pin to 4-pin Firewire cable.

The second cable is a USB A to B cable, typically used for printers (and almost nothing else).

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Answer 6

Dec 13, 2017 2:29 PM in response to rachellefrommn

Yes. Because it does not have 9 pins throughout, it would immediately step down to FireWire 400 speed, and adapt to the camera port that does not want power supplied in either direction.

That cable is appropriately priced because there is no in-the-cable conversion being performed -- it is just wires.

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Answer 7

Dec 13, 2017 1:49 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Ok so if I purchased a Fire Wire 800 IEEE 9-pin/4-pin could I attach that to the camcorder then to the apple firewire/thunderbolt accessory?

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Answer 8

Dec 13, 2017 2:01 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

OMG that is the best response.. wish me good luck. I shall let you know once I receive the goods. Thank you again for you unbelievable quick responses.

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