Movi Authoring

[Steve Wheeler]

I have started Movie Authoring with Hitachi DVD CAM. Initailly with a PC which is too incompetent to do the job. The PLAN is to buy a MAC . BUT finding the software or hardware which will get me into the MAC from the Hitachi has been confusing . Any wisdom out there????

 

[robbieduncan]

Does the camera have a FireWire (may be marked iLink or DV terminal). If so you should be able to hook it straight up to any FireWire Mac and use iMovie to capture and edit the video. When you find your needs are not met by iMovie there is Final Cut Express (currently cheap with a new Mac in the UK at least) and above there Final Cut Pro.

Note that many cameras not listed by Apple as compatible work fine (I just got a Panasonic NV-GS1 from eBay this morning and it works whilst not being listed).

You don't say where you are but if you head over to an Apple Store or a reseller they can probably give you advice/let you try your camera out on a Mac.

 

[LethalWolfe]

The first problem you are going to encoutner is that camera records in MPEG-2 (the same format as DVDs) and most consumer editing programs are setup to handle MiniDV. I'm not sure if any Mac editing software will edit MEPG-2 natively. You might have to get the footage onto the Mac and then converter it to DV. Or you could buy a device that converts analog video into DV. You would plug the a/v outs of the camera into the converter and then plug the converter into a Mac/PC via Firewire.

I think using an external conveter (they run 250-300 USD) would be your best bet.


Lethal