iMovie and NTSC captures

Question

iMovie and NTSC captures

I am using iMovie to import a series of old videotapes and have a problem with one of them.

The VCR is connected to my Mac via a Canopus ADVC55 – the cable is SCART to S-Video (which I assume is OK, or should it be straight S-Video?). All the tapes that I've tried have captured, bar one. That is a US home video and therefore presumably NTSC rather than PAL. That neither previews nor records in iMovie though I can view it fine if the VCR is connected to a TV. I have tried flipping the PAL/NTSC dipswitch on the ADVC55 but that makes no difference. The project is a PAL one and in iMovie HD 6 I see no way of setting the default for new projects to NTSC (it seems to have been in Prefs in earlier versions). Oddly enough if I stop the VCR whilst attempting to record I get one frame appearing in iMovie's preview window.

What is going on here? Should I be able to capture from an NTSC source? If so, how?

Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Apr 21, 2007 2:40 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 21, 2007 3:00 AM in response to Stymied again

Apple has (for an unknown reason) sort of renames PAL to "25 fps" and NTSC is now "29.97 fps". So just select 29.97 and create a new project.

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Answer 2

Apr 21, 2007 4:29 AM in response to Lennart Thelander

Thanks. Switching to a default of 25 fps doesn't help and indeed new projects are still tagged as PAL.

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Answer 3

Apr 21, 2007 4:36 AM in response to Stymied again

I wrote: "So just select 29.97 and create a new project."

But you still select 25 fps and that is PAL.

29.97 fps gives you an NTSC project.

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Answer 4

Apr 21, 2007 4:49 AM in response to Lennart Thelander

Sorry, I'm getting confused with the numbers, but whichever frame rate is set as default the project is still labeled PAL.

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Answer 5

Apr 21, 2007 4:57 AM in response to Stymied again

The frame rate is for the NEXT project, not the current one. Set 29.97 and CREATE A NEW PROJECT.

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Answer 6

Apr 22, 2007 11:21 AM in response to Lennart Thelander

That's actually what I was doing. The program behaves in a bizarre manner. If I swap to default of 29.97 it will sometimes open a new project with a window labelled NTSC, sometimes not. If I save that project and reopen it it will sometimes reopen labelled NTSC, sometimes not. Mystifying.

Unfortunately I still can't import my tape whatever the setting.

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Answer 7

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Apr 22, 2007 11:43 AM in response to Stymied again

Fact check time: You are playing an NTSC tape using a PAL video recorder that plays NTSC as well as PAL. The output of this video recorder would usually be hooked up to a PAL TV set. Is this correct? If this is the case, it's anybodys guess what the output out of the video recorder is - but it may be more related to PAL than it is to NTSC.

Does anyone think/know what the video format out actually is?

Should I be able to capture from an NTSC source?

My suspicion is that you wil need a true NTSC video player to do this.

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Answer 8

Apr 22, 2007 11:47 AM in response to F Shippey

My suspicion is that you wil need a true NTSC video player to do this.

Silly of me. Why didn't I think of that?
Yes, you need a true NTSC player to be able to import NTSC.

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Answer 9

Apr 22, 2007 2:47 PM in response to Lennart Thelander

My VCR is a UK-sourced Sharp MH835. In the manual it does say "You cannot record NTSC signals or dub NTSC tapes onto other VCRs from this VCR." I guess this confirms what you are saying.

Thanks to all.

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Answer 10

Apr 30, 2007 5:10 AM in response to Lennart Thelander

Yes, you need a true NTSC player to be able to import NTSC.

I've just heard from Canopus (makers of the ADVC-55) who confirm that their devices can't operate from the hybrid signal that PAL/NTSC machines put out.

Now, where do I find a true NTSC VCR in the UK?

Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

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Answer 11

Apr 30, 2007 9:23 AM in response to Stymied again

There are VCRs that are made to world-wide standards. They can (natively) play and record both PAL and NTSC.

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