HD YouTube Vid with iSight and iMovie ?

HD YouTube Vid with iMac built in cam and iMovie ?

Hello Guys

I have just recorded a video and I want to upload it to YouTube. I was hoping with iMacs being so Advanced .. I will be able to do the Video in 720 HD at least !

Is that in any way possible ? I tried following this guy's Tutorial. But when I go to Share and Export Movie .. the HD selection is greyed out.

I would greatly appreciate any help.

Thank You.

Anyone ? !

By the way I have changed the thread title for this post, it the old one still shows .. I don't know why !

What I meant was the webcam that is built into the iMac 27"

Thank You.

As far as I know, the built in iSights only record 640x480 video which is SD (standard definition). I couldn't find any mention on Apple's site what the specs are for iSight. It's as if they are hiding that information.

To get an HD export of SD material, use the "Export Using QuickTime..." option mentioned in that link. He mentions it after 2:40 on the time line. The HD YT option appeared for him earlier in the video because his project is HD.

Note that exporting SD to HD isn't recommended without good reason. You'll likely see pixelization which will not present your material in its best light.

I'm disappointed !

I expected such a highly priced machine to be able to record HD quality !!

So where do I go from here ? How Do I record HD on my iMac ?

Thanks

The easiest way is to go and buy an HD camcorder, record your bit, then import it into iMovie (or other editor), then do your edits. You don't have to get anything new, a used camcorder like a Canon HF100 or HF10 or if you prefer to record to tape (instead of recording to solid state media) the HV20 or HV40.

I honestly don't know of any laptops or devices that have built in HD webcams (not saying there aren't any; just don't know of any off hand aside from the possible very expensive high end gaming laptop). I know there are some external HD webcams made by Logitech and Microsoft (limited to 1280x720), but webcams were originally used for communicating with other people via streaming video and/or sending short video clips and HD video requires a lot of bandwidth to maintain real time if you want it to look good (and sending HD footage via email isn't very practical either as most peoples emails are limited to between 5 and 10 megs in a single message) so I'm sure it's a low priority for most computer manufacturers.

I only wanted it for YouTube.

With what you're saying above it is a lot of hassle !

I have a Canon 500D that is capable of recording 720 and 1080 HD, but it is too much work setting up the thing (tripod adjustments ..etc) and then uploading it (need to find the cable since I have not used that for ages).

Anyhow thanks for the help.

Ciwan

It's really not as bad as it sounds.

Yes, setting it up to aim at you just right might be a pain initially, but just as it might be a pain sitting just right to get a good angle with a webcam. Transferring it from your camera to your computer is easy, just get a cheap multi format card reader that connects to a usb port, take the card out of the camera and plunk it into the card reader. You should then have access to the video.

Get your self a Flip mino HD
Your going to be able to shoot a lot more video instead of sitting just in front of your Mac. I use the Flip and love it.