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Just a question about formats...

H

Hazzastar


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I'm about to buy a camcorder that is supposedly "not mac compatible". However it takes an SD card and records in .mov

Now if the .mov format isn't compatible with iMovie etc, if I just convert it to DV using a converter will this work? Or will the device just not show up on the mac? In which case I could just use a memory card reader right? which gets me wondering actually, how much quality is lost in the process.


Cheers for your help.
 
Buzzard2010

Buzzard2010


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iMovie will accept the following formats:

DV
DV Widescreen
HDV 1080i (25 and 30 fps)
HDV 720p (25 and 30 fps)
MPEG 4 Simple Profile
iSight

Now any kind of conversion will end up taking some quality away, but if you converted it to HDV 1080i or 720p it will be minimum. You can use a USB card reader to read the card, transfer the file, convert then import to imovie.
What they usually mean by not Mac compatible is that they haven't developed the drivers and software to be able to plug the camcorder straight into your mac and your mac be able to recognise the hardware.
Hope this helps.

- Simon
 
MightyGem

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It will also depend on the codec that is used to produce the .mov file. Some are more compressed than others which will change the quality.
 
xstep

xstep


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Hazzastar said:
I'm about to buy a camcorder that is supposedly "not mac compatible".
Click to expand...

You should mention the camera model in case someone here has experience with it.
 

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