Need Help Troubleshooting DV 8mm transfer into iMovie

mrlrodk

I'm a new PC to MAC convert and thus far have had a smooth transition. I love my MAC and have been using this site the past month to help answer many questions. Thanks again to all who contribute here. I originally posted this question on the General Discussion Board, but quickly thereafter realized I probably should have posted this on the Genius Bar. My apologies to the administrator for double posting. Anyway on to my first and, up to now, only problem with my MAC:



I have several old 8mm tapes that I want to transfer into iMovie. I purchased an 8mm Sony camcorder that has a DV output expressely for this purpose. I connected it to my iMac24 using a 4-pin(DV) to 6-Pin(400) Firewire cable. iMovie recognizes my camcorder but can't seem to import the footage. The import screen identifies the status of the camcorder(ie-pause,play,stopped)on the upper left of the preview screen, but cannot display the video from the tape. In other words, i see the video playing on my 8mm camcorder's viewscreen but not on the iMac import screen. All I see on the import screen, besides the status on the upper left, is a blue screen. However, when the camcorder is set to record mode I do see the preview images from the viewfinder of the camcorder on the preview screen of my iMac. I've tried iMovie in both automatic and manual import settings with no luck. Can anyone steer me in the right direction as to what to try next?



Note: I have been successful using the same connection from my miniDV camcorder to the iMac, using the same cable and ports, to transfer video from those miniDV tapes. Anyone have a clue as to what's causing this? I do not have Final Cut Express so I'm not sure if the same problem would occur if I tried that program. I'd hate to spend the $$ on FCE only to have the same thing happen. I'm a MAC newbie and would like to get used to iMovie before moving on to FCE.



Thanks in advance,

Luis

addabox

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrlrodk


I'm a new PC to MAC convert and thus far have had a smooth transition. I love my MAC and have been using this site the past month to help answer many questions. Thanks again to all who contribute here. I originally posted this question on the General Discussion Board, but quickly thereafter realized I probably should have posted this on the Genius Bar. My apologies to the administrator for double posting. Anyway on to my first and, up to now, only problem with my MAC:



I have several old 8mm tapes that I want to transfer into iMovie. I purchased an 8mm Sony camcorder that has a DV output expressely for this purpose. I connected it to my iMac24 using a 4-pin(DV) to 6-Pin(400) Firewire cable. iMovie recognizes my camcorder but can't seem to import the footage. The import screen identifies the status of the camcorder(ie-pause,play,stopped)on the upper left of the preview screen, but cannot display the video from the tape. In other words, i see the video playing on my 8mm camcorder's viewscreen but not on the iMac import screen. All I see on the import screen, besides the status on the upper left, is a blue screen. However, when the camcorder is set to record mode I do see the preview images from the viewfinder of the camcorder on the preview screen of my iMac. I've tried iMovie in both automatic and manual import settings with no luck. Can anyone steer me in the right direction as to what to try next?



Note: I have been successful using the same connection from my miniDV camcorder to the iMac, using the same cable and ports, to transfer video from those miniDV tapes. Anyone have a clue as to what's causing this? I do not have Final Cut Express so I'm not sure if the same problem would occur if I tried that program. I'd hate to spend the $$ on FCE only to have the same thing happen. I'm a MAC newbie and would like to get used to iMovie before moving on to FCE.



Thanks in advance,

Luis

Have you tried toggling the "Auto/Hi8" playback mode selector on the camera to "Hi8"?



Also, make sure the camera's TBC (Time Base Corrector) function is on, in case the tapes you are trying to play back are too wonky to track.

mrlrodk

Thank you so much for your response. I found the "Auto/Hi8" playback mode selector and have tried it in both settings(Hi8/8mm and Auto) with no luck.The TBC is set to "on" however. My camera is a Sony DCR-TRV480 that supports both Hi8 and 8mm playback. Not sure if it makes a difference but the tapes that i have are all 8mm(not Hi8).

addabox

Hmmmm......



Try hooking up the analogue video outs to a TV to make sure the camera is actually reading and outputting the 8mm material. If so, as far as I know anything that's playing back in the camera outputs to the firewire ("ilink", in Sony speak) connection--so unless there's some way to toggle firewire out on and off, iMovie really should be seeing it.



I think the default iMovie on an iMac 24 is the new one-- maybe you could try downloading iMovie 6 and give that a shot? Apple changed things up quite a bit in the latest version.

kmac1036

update: thought about this, have you just tried hitting the capture button while the cam plays? sometimes you don't get a preview but will still record and put the clips in imovie... just a thought. some cams aren't supported fully but can still get footage from them.



Is there controls to run the deck from imovie? I know you can run decks/cams from FCP, I thought I did it too with imovie as well (run the playback capture, etc.) I did this in college... Try turning the camera off or just putting it in playback mode? the controls from imovie should run it...

mrlrodk

I'm going to try hooking the camera to my TV via analog tomorrow to see if the movie comes across. As Addabox suggested that would confirm that the camera's DV output is working in the first place.



kmac, I tried playing and importing via imovie's controls with no luck. All i get is a couple of 1.9sec frames that are not viewable at all.The iMovie record meter remains fixed at 00.00.00 while importing as the movie plays just fine on the camera's lcd viewfinder.



We'll see what happens tomorrow with the tv.



Thanks again for the recommendations. Please let me know if you come up with any other ideas.

mrlrodk

You're not going to believe this latest developement. I read on macrumors and appleinsider that Apple had issued several updates yesterday, one of them being update 7.1.1 to iMovie. I ran the manual update just to get ahead of my scheduled automatic weekly updates. I read up about the updates on Apple's site, particularly the one that pertains to iMovie. It said that it addresses performance issues and some other minor problems. I figured let me try hooking up my camera to see if anything affected my lack of ability to import 8mm tapes. I was literally floored when my footage came on screen on my imac. It imported everything flawlessly. I'm in the process of converting the rest of my catalogue as I write this. The problem all along was with iMovie, not my camera. I am so happy. Because of this update, and my good turn of events, I suggest everyone who has had previous issues with iMovie try performing those tasks that were buggy or not working at all. I wish you all the same good fortune that I had. This made my day.