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old video conversion to powerbook...

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I have my fancy new MacBook Pro and an old Panasonic PV-GS32 that records on MiniDV tapes. Using my USB cable connection, I would like to import all those old tapes into the mac, but iMovie doesn't seem to be able to see the camera / data. Is there a way to do this? Am I just an idiot?
Thanks for any help!
Colin
 
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Do you have a PowerBook or a MacBook, they are entirely different Apple computesr
 
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I do have a Retina MBP with Thunderbolt ports. So, I take it from your response that this is merely a hardware input issue? That in this situation I simply cannot transfer thru the USB port? And that this is not a software issue - iMovie will "like" the data when it comes in through the Thunderbolt port instead of the USB?

You can only import miniDV video onto your Mac by using a Firewire cable. If your MPB has a Firewire 800 port, you'll probably need one of these:
Firewire IEEE1394B 800 to 400 9 Pin to 4 Pin Cable Lead: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

If you have a Retina MBP with Thunderbolt, you'll need one of these as well:
Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter - Apple Store (UK)
 

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I simply cannot transfer thru the USB port?
That's right. USB handles data in a different way to Firewire, so you need Firewire for miniDV importing.

Just one thing though. Although I said that you'd need the Firewire/Thunderbolt adapter, I can't say for certain that it will work for minDV/iMovie.
 

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