why so difficult to import dvd to imovie

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
i have a fairly new dvd camcorder sony dcr-205 so i can record direct to dvd AND get widescreen.

WELL my path to get the da+%$#m dvd file .vob into imovie has shown me this



http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6010.shtml



what a pain



can someone show me a simple simple simple path to get this into imovie like one step even if it cost a few bucks OR



does min dv camcorder come in wide aspect format or am i stuck with having my families video's forever in the "old" aspect ratio???



soooo from what i understand and searching this and apple discussion groups...imovie works best with minidv (i had one my wife droped it and i thought to spend to $$$$ to the sony dcr dvd205 i thought it was an upgrade....yea right.



this capability should be part of imovie or imovieHD so apple using people can "think different" namely simple....hey SJ add some value to your mac friends by doing this.....make imovie better for crying out loud.



help or i will just return the d...m camcorder.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    parkyparky Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NOFEER View Post


    i have a fairly new dvd camcorder sony dcr-205 so i can record direct to dvd AND get widescreen.

    WELL my path to get the da+%$#m dvd file .vob into imovie has shown me this



    http://danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6010.shtml



    what a pain



    can someone show me a simple simple simple path to get this into imovie like one step even if it cost a few bucks OR



    does min dv camcorder come in wide aspect format or am i stuck with having my families video's forever in the "old" aspect ratio???



    soooo from what i understand and searching this and apple discussion groups...imovie works best with minidv (i had one my wife droped it and i thought to spend to $$$$ to the sony dcr dvd205 i thought it was an upgrade....yea right.



    this capability should be part of imovie or imovieHD so apple using people can "think different" namely simple....hey SJ add some value to your mac friends by doing this.....make imovie better for crying out loud.



    help or i will just return the d...m camcorder.



    Maybe a better idea would have been to check compatability of the camera with iMovie before you bought it rather than having a go at Apple.



    It has been well reported that DVD cameras are not supported in iMovie.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    superbasssuperbass Posts: 688member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by parky View Post


    Maybe a better idea would have been to check compatability of the camera with iMovie before you bought it rather than having a go at Apple.



    It has been well reported that DVD cameras are not supported in iMovie.



    I had no idea that DVD cameras weren't supported - it's kind of ridiculous that Apple ignores such a big segment of cameras... Are there workarounds? I finally got FLAC to work in iTunes - that's another ridiculous example of Apple ignorance to large portions of its' target market...
  • Reply 3 of 11
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    here's a sort of work around....but i have to look at the specs. when i use my camcorder i am very aware using snipets and self editing. unlike others that just keep the thing rolling for every boring moment. if i do this and go to LP format so that a disc holds one hour (i could also use double sided discs) then i can just copy the minidisc from my external burner to my macbook burner. OK i don't use imovie but at least I can get the disk to my family members.



    BUT if i want to use imovie then i have to go the above tedious path or return my sony for a minidv camcorder (part of the reason i went to the new camcorder is that it was dropped damaged the tape, but i sent it off to a repair company and they repaired it and put it on dvd)



    any of you with experience with widescreen minidv and imovie???



    i don't want to spend a lot on this if i go the imovie route (this would be my first time using it--i just took my tapes and had them put to dvd for family) i'm looking at the following minidv units one is widescreen but i don't know how this translates to widescreen in imovie.



    JVC GR-D770 DV ---16:9 640x480 resolution 2.7"display



    CANON ZR700 MINIDV--16:9 2.7"display



    PANASONIC PV-GS80--16:9 2.7"display



    SONY DCR-HC28--16:9 but the display is 2.5"



    all are about $280



    as far as checking out if imovie supported dvd camcorders, well i have never used imovie, i thought all camcorders had the ability to export to imovie, didn't realize that the dvd format was never intended to edit.... and all i wanted to do was put these minidiscs on a regular size dvd for storage, as i did with the original minidv tapes. a lot of this was my wife wanted me to copy a scene from a recent recording of my daughters friends piano concert (she's 6). that got the ball rolliing up the hill of frustration. i can copy using toast lite 6.0 and my external lacie burner. with all those tiny discs i will have to get a dvd-/+rw to get simple multisession ability so i can put 4 discs on one dvd. I just learned yesterday that i can remove the minidisc without finalizing to quickly put in another minidisc. i thought before you could exchange discs you had to finalize it. welllllll i find out i could label a disc and reuse it granted i couldn't play it on my home dvd unit but i could still play it from the camcorder. this would also simplify recording without having tons of minidiscs with only 8-10 minutes on each thus requiring me to multisession to a dvd



    long story short....all this tech is hard to keep up with, specially since you may not know your needs 6months from now let alone a year. things change so fast and formats change as well.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Superbass View Post


    I had no idea that DVD cameras weren't supported - ....



    A camcorder is not as large an expense as a new car or new automobile, but it is expensive never the less. As such, it is incumbent on the buyer to understand what he is buying. To use an automobile analogy--if you bought a Corvette, then you would be silly to be surprised that it cannot haul a piano. The end product of a miniDV camcorder is an editable digital video tape. The end product of a miniDVD camcorder is a finalized DVD. It is not editable by definition.



    iMovie HD is a video movie editor. It makes so sense for it to support uneditable formats and the camcorders which generate them. There are readily available software titles which RIP DVDs into editable formats. Despite their legitimate uses, they are also used for DVD piracy. Neither Apple and nor any other mainline manufacturer will include the tools of piracy on their systems.



    None of this was a secret. The iMovie HD area on Apple's website gives all the information you need about the product. Your miniDVD camcorder's manufacturer also has a website which lists your model and its specifications and features. The miniDV manufacturers have the similar pages for their products. If the information provided by the people who know what they are talking about is not enough, then you can come to forums like this one. But, you need to do your research before you buy. The takeaway message is that there is no excuse for not knowing the capabilities and limitations of a miniDVD camcorder.
  • Reply 5 of 11
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    There are miniDV camcorders that are in 16:9. HDV camcorders are too. I thought some DVD writer camcorders were 4:3 too, what you have to do is look for them.



    For the consumer space, miniDV and DVD recording have their own strengths, miniDV is much easier to edit, natively too, but DVD is much more flexible in allowing you to play as-is.



    DVDxDV would probably be the simplest way to go if you still want to stick to DVD writing.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    you might be ashamed of me but here is how i got those 3 minidics into a new minidisk--

    someone said to load them to a thumb drive then burn them to my macbook superdrive, or my lacie external, well that didn't work....why i can't even guess.



    so what i did was since one disk could only be seen by playing with my camcorder i sent it to my VCR by recording it then played it back and using a new minidisc and a tripod i shot it off my big screen TV ........ did that for all the discs and removed the minidisc and WILL NOT FINALIZE TILL IT'S FULL.



    it's a lot easier to work with mini dv that way you don't lose quality and you can use imovie, but since i'm pretty good about using snipetts for my family recording i think one minidisc on LP (60min) will work for a year. then i can copy it to a dvd later and send to family



    also read as i was researching that apple superdrives can't do multisession......then why bother with dvd-/+rw???



    just think this dvd format is not mac like--minidv is.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    How arrogant you all are. Person buys the latest in mobile video technology only to discover the people who make the easiest pc in the world to use don't support it! But everyone knows iMovie doesn't support DVD format. Right! Like my mother would know that. Get out of you ivory towers and recognise that technology companies mislead people about ease of use and compatibility.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by carygson View Post


    How arrogant you all are. Person buys the latest in mobile video technology only to discover the people who make the easiest pc in the world to use don't support it! But everyone knows iMovie doesn't support DVD format. Right! Like my mother would know that. Get out of you ivory towers and recognise that technology companies mislead people about ease of use and compatibility.



    That's nice, but your rant is about a year out of date, this thread is over a year old too. iMovie 08 imports from DVD camcorders.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by niceemily View Post


    i also met this problem, but mine is Sony DCR-DVD92.

    one of my friends offered me a step by step guide on how to solve it. and he also said it is applied to solve any dvd/mini dvd to imovie issue



    really very nice i hope it helps



    Or, you know, you could stop necroing old threads that are now meaningless because iMovie imports natively.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Or, you know, you could stop necroing old threads that are now meaningless because iMovie imports natively.



    Which iMovie version is that? Because my 8.0.6 wants to eat .mov only, requiring me to convert everything all the time if I want to use iMovie. Which I rarely do, consequently. Just too much of a PITA.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    You should to see specifications. The reason is that when I use my camera, I use snipets very clear and self-editing. Unlike other things, just to keep rolling every moment of boredom. If I do that, to record the disc format, in order to have an hour then I can copy from my external to my MacBook mini disc recorder recorder.
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