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Connecting iMAC to Sony Camcorder

A

avirao


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Hi All

New to the forum - please forgive me if I ask questions already answered earlier.

Problem: I tried to connect my Sony DCR-72E (mpeg2) camcorder to the newly purchased iMAC via USB. I opened iMovie and clicked on the camera icon part way down on the left handside. A popup window displayed stating it was locating any devices connected with "Sony Camcorder" displayed in the bottom part of the pop up window.

However, after a while this pop up window disappears but the camera is not connected.

I do set the camcorder to "connect to computer" on the camcorder menu which displays "conecting please do not disconnect".

On my PC this operation is not a problem.

Could this be a MPEG2 issue?

Will it solve itself if I purchase Quicktime Pro (which has MPEG2 decoder built in)?

I need some assistance in making the connection.

Help!

Best regards

Avi
 
C

chas_m

Guest
Hi and welcome!

Yes, the problem is your Sony camera. MPEG-2 is not a standard editing format, so iMovie does not accept it. QuickTime Pro does NOT have the MPEG-2 component built in -- that's a separate purchase ($30) but does not require QT Pro (in other words, you can buy JUST the MPEG-2 component and forget about the pro part).

What will work is to buy the MPEG-2 component, then get the free MPEG Streamclip program. It will read, view and convert your MPEG-2 files into something iMovie can use -- you want to save them as DV format for best quality (be aware that DV files take up a LOT of space).

PS. A Mac is short for "Macintosh." It's not an acronym, thus it should not be capitalised.

To put it another way:
mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

Ditto for iPod. :)
 
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avirao


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chas_m

Thanks for information - really useful. Will try that method asap. One further query - if I convert a 2mb file (in mpg format) what size will it be in dv?

Thanks

Avi

PS thank you correcting me on the use of the word Mac
 

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