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Firewire
- Thread starter Chuchichan
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I see. What are the main benefits of the earlier version of iMovie? Would it yield higher quality images?
I was able to generate an .mov file from a DV tape. The file size is about 25GB. Do you know what it would be that large? I did chose best quality. I thought that a complete DV tape would be about 13GB in size and that any file created from that import would be smaller in size.
Thanks...
I was able to generate an .mov file from a DV tape. The file size is about 25GB. Do you know what it would be that large? I did chose best quality. I thought that a complete DV tape would be about 13GB in size and that any file created from that import would be smaller in size.
Thanks...
It only makes clips on the Start/Stop record signal from the camcorder.
No.
That's about right.
That will be the "Best" setting, which uses Apple's ProRes format. Using "High" will make the size considerably less(8.2Gb down to 1.2 for one of my projects), and you won't really notice any difference.
[doublepost=1546899994][/doublepost]I see. I will try High then. How does the latest iMovie create clips then?
Do you think that the best resolution would be sufficient for converting a DV tape? Should I keep both the imported library and the mov clip I create?
I think I am ok with my current setup. The first DV tape I tried to convert yielded about 150 clips. I think there was a problem with the tape because there would be multiple clips for one "scene". The next tape I tried came out better. It provided about 30 clips for 40 minutes or so of footage.
I'm just curious how the later versions of iMovie create clips vs. the earlier ones which don't produce as many.
Also, for a general backup procedure, would you say that importing through the latest version of iMovie and then creating one clip at "High" quality would be good enough to rely on? If there's a better way to preserve the tapes, I can invest some in it because those 30 mini DV tapes do hold some valuable memories.
Thank you.
At random, it would seem.
The "High" setting should be fine in terms of resolution and file size.
That would be up to you, but there's no real need.
I'm pretty sure that the only way to get miniDV footage onto a Mac is by using iMovie.
I understand. I see that iMovie creates an mov file. It seems that my Sony Bravia TV does not recognize this from USB. It does recognize MP4 and MKV, so not sure why not MOV. Is there a way that iMovie can create a different file format type?
Yes. Thank you for pointing that out. The "high" option produced the mp4 file. The quality looks pretty good actually. One thing that I have been trying to figure out is why the clips come out of order after I move them down to create a movie. I am selecting all from the media and dragging and dropping them into the movie (lower half of the screen). It seems like I have to do this in order to create the file. Do you have any suggestions to get the clips to keep the oldest to newest order after I move them all?
Hmm...I don't add them all at the same time as I normally just select and add part of each clip in turn. I've just tried adding the whole lot at once, and as you say, they are all out of order.
Can't help you there, I'm afraid.
Can't help you there, I'm afraid.
I understand. I finally got the mp4 file to appear in proper chronological order, however I notice that while both files are "high" quality, one appears on the total area of my tv (widescreen) and one appears with bars on the side (full screen). The one that is in full screen might seem to be better quality, but it's hard to tell. The one that is out of chronological order is full screen, and I can't seem to get a full screen mp4 file created again. Any idea why I'm not able to get a full screen (possibly clearer) file created?
That sounds like the "Crop" settings for the clips in your Project. miniDV is a 4:3 format, which gives you the black bars as iMovie only produces wide screen(16:9) videos.
The Crop tool is above the viewer screen, to the right of the icon that looks like a painter's palette. If you select a clip in the Project Timeline, you can choose Fit, Crop to Fit or Ken Burns. For miniDV, Fit will give you the black bars either side and you will see 100% of what you filmed. Crop to Fit will zoom in so that the complete screen is filled with your video, but you will miss some around the edges. Ken Burns is mainly for still photos and gives that panning and zooming effect that Ken Burns developed for his American Civil War series.
In theory, the wide screen video will be of very slightly less quality because of the zooming in.
The Crop tool is above the viewer screen, to the right of the icon that looks like a painter's palette. If you select a clip in the Project Timeline, you can choose Fit, Crop to Fit or Ken Burns. For miniDV, Fit will give you the black bars either side and you will see 100% of what you filmed. Crop to Fit will zoom in so that the complete screen is filled with your video, but you will miss some around the edges. Ken Burns is mainly for still photos and gives that panning and zooming effect that Ken Burns developed for his American Civil War series.
In theory, the wide screen video will be of very slightly less quality because of the zooming in.
Thanks for these details. I think I like the "fit" look the best.
One things I noticed after playing around with a few tapes is that it appears the constant "jumpiness" when importing video just occurs on my laptop. When the video is importing, I don't see the jumps on the minidv camera screen.
Would this mean that I need a more powerful Mac to work on? I'm doing all this on a macbook air 11" (2012).
One things I noticed after playing around with a few tapes is that it appears the constant "jumpiness" when importing video just occurs on my laptop. When the video is importing, I don't see the jumps on the minidv camera screen.
Would this mean that I need a more powerful Mac to work on? I'm doing all this on a macbook air 11" (2012).
Thank you all for your assistance so far. I understand most of the process, but now just have a lingering question about hardware. I'm using a MacBook Air mid 2012, 1.7ghz inter core i5, 4GB DDR3, intel HD graphics 4000 1536 mb.
I'm noticing that when I do imports, I get a "crackling" sound or sometimes no sound. Would it be better if I use a more powerful machine to do the import and file creation? Or would it be better to get the latest machine that had a built-in firewire port (thus bypassing the adapter)?
Also, I'm not sure if the files just became degraded and this is just the way they are, but they've always been stored in room temperature and not abused or watched too often.
Thanks in advance for any help with this aspect of the project.
I'm noticing that when I do imports, I get a "crackling" sound or sometimes no sound. Would it be better if I use a more powerful machine to do the import and file creation? Or would it be better to get the latest machine that had a built-in firewire port (thus bypassing the adapter)?
Also, I'm not sure if the files just became degraded and this is just the way they are, but they've always been stored in room temperature and not abused or watched too often.
Thanks in advance for any help with this aspect of the project.
Is that during the import, or when you play the imported video in iMovie? By no sound, do you mean that sound on the recorded video is absent after import?
iMovie doesn't have any settings that would cause/affect that.
Your MBA is quite powerful enough for that.
Todays Macs don't have Firewire ports, so you are still going to need an adaptor.
Could be a poor connection: camera to firewire, firewire to adaptor, adaptor to Mac. Consider a different Firewire and/or adaptor.
I'm using iMovie to do the import. I heard the "crackling/static" even when just playing the video in iMovie (before the import). Sometimes the sound drops out. I have the official Thunderbolt to firewire adapter and the cable to go to the camcorder.
It could also be the camera. I might try to borrow another miniDV camera. I will test connecting the camera to the TV again.
If the other camera does the same thing, then I know it's either the tapes or the cables? That's why I was thinking that getting possibly getting the latest Mac with built-in firewire would be better than going with an adapter?
It could also be the camera. I might try to borrow another miniDV camera. I will test connecting the camera to the TV again.
If the other camera does the same thing, then I know it's either the tapes or the cables? That's why I was thinking that getting possibly getting the latest Mac with built-in firewire would be better than going with an adapter?
If playing back the tapes on TWO cameras results in "crackling/static" on BOTH, then I would suspect either:
- problems with the source data
or
- problems with the tape media itself (how OLD is it?)
I'm wondering if a professional service could eke out better results?
Just how badly do you want this stuff to be on the Mac?
- problems with the source data
or
- problems with the tape media itself (how OLD is it?)
I'm wondering if a professional service could eke out better results?
Just how badly do you want this stuff to be on the Mac?
Right. In this case the source data and tape media are the same...the miniDV tapes. My tapes are about 13-14 years old. They have been treated well and not viewed often since they were recorded on.
If the problem is not with the tape or camera, and rather the firewire cable and/or adapter, do you think using a computer with built-in firewire is better than a Macbook Air (mid-2012)?
If the problem is not with the tape or camera, and rather the firewire cable and/or adapter, do you think using a computer with built-in firewire is better than a Macbook Air (mid-2012)?
If you're looking for the "classic" iMovie, you can find it here: http://www.blip3.com/home.html (scroll to the bottom of the page). Still works for me on High Sierra.
G
It sounds like the problem is with the tapes. They can deteriorate over time. Just be aware that there can be problems trying to play/import using a different camcorder.
I think I can safely say that using a Mac with a FireWire port will make no difference.
It sounds like the problem is with the tapes. They can deteriorate over time. Just be aware that there can be problems trying to play/import using a different camcorder.
I think I can safely say that using a Mac with a FireWire port will make no difference.
[doublepost=1551733038][/doublepost]Hi Everyone,
I appreciate all of your replies very much. Just an update to what I've been doing. Since my last post, I purchased a JVC-HR-DVS2 mini-dv/vhs combo deck. I'm able to export to my macbook air from it. However, I notice that within iMovie there is an issue with the sound. It seems that some of the clips have sound and some don't after I create the MP4 file.
The DV tape that I'm testing with imported to my mac with about 60 clips and if I play the movie in iMovie from the imported video data before creating an MP4 file, I can hear the sound on all clips. So it seems that this would be an iMovie issue. Am I doing something wrong in my iMovie settings perhaps? I checked out the various options and don't see anything that could possibly be preventing sound from coming through on some clips.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you might be able to provide...
I've noticed that the latest versions of iMovie only recognize DV video with 16-bit audio recorded. Note that many miniDV camcorders offered the option to record in 12-bit audio, so you could add a "voiceover" track later (in wonderful 4-bit audio.)
I did some testing, and on my Sony and Canon miniDV camcorders, neither one will import to iMovie 10 properly in 12-bit audio mode. Some won't have audio at all, some will do as you see, apparently work, but not export properly. If your JVC deck has an option to convert all audio to 16-bit, use that.
I did some testing, and on my Sony and Canon miniDV camcorders, neither one will import to iMovie 10 properly in 12-bit audio mode. Some won't have audio at all, some will do as you see, apparently work, but not export properly. If your JVC deck has an option to convert all audio to 16-bit, use that.
I understand. I did check that in the JVC menus, but I just see 12 bit options. I I’ll double check that to confirm.
Do you know what version of iMovie I need to be running? I don’t mind purchasing it. I tried a couple of links to download it on my Mac, but that didn’t work. I believe I’m running Mojave and have access to high Sierra as well.