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Importing to iMovie from Sony Handycam

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I am currently using a Mac tower G4 system 10.4.9. I recently got a Sony Handycam DCR-HC36. I would like to import from the camera onto my computer to be able to burn DVD's. The computer is having trouble recognizing and importing the movies. Based on the system preferences, the computer knows that the Sony Handycam is attached with the iLink cable. iMovie is not able to view or import this movie. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated on fixing this problem.
 
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Hi, Ziggy. Is your Sony handycam they type of camcorder that records to its own hard drive?
 
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The Sony Handycam DCR-HC36 is a miniDV camcorder. So it records onto small tapes.
 
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I did this yesterday for the first time too. It wouldn't see it when I used a usb cable but hen I went to firewire and set the cam to vcr and hit import....there it was. Imported no prob from my Sony digital8 handycam.
 
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I tried it many times with the iLink Firewire cable. iMovie does not realize the camera is attached to import the movie.
 
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mate, im sorry to tell you that Sony camcorders are NOT compatible with OS X. trust me, i've been there. i Had the Sony HD-URX7 or something, and a Sony mini handycam. they just dont work. and if they do, the files are unstable and can corrupt easily. youre best bet is to get a new camcorder
 
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Hmm, I have tried two older Sony camcorders and they've both worked fine. But neither of them had USB connections, so maybe it's only later models that have those that have issues.
 
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Two days ago I purchased a MacBook Pro and it came with iMovie 08. I was able to connect my DCR-HC36 twice via FireWire 800 to my mac. It downloaded video for about 7 mins each time before the connection between the camcorder and mac would no longer be recognized. As this was a problem I had had with my old dell desktop and same camcorder, I thought it was the camcorder.

I called Sony and they were of no help. They don't have any drivers or updates for DCR-HC36 camcorder and the mac/iMovie 08. They suggested that my FireWire 800 cable may be the issue.

I just spent 2 hours with a Genius at the Apple Store. Turns out that my FireWire 800 cable did seem to be causing problems. Using a FireWire 400, the camcorder and mac were continuously able to recognize each other. However, we discovered that with the FireWire 400 cable iMovie 08 crashed while importing the video and had to "unexpectedly close".

I had to leave, but they said to look through forums and discussion boards for any patches or fixes. I'm curious to know if anyone had this happen with older versions of iMovie as the Sony support mentioned they didn't have any support iMovie 08 - but didn't mention anything about previous versions.

Obviously, I'd like to not have to buy a new camcorder as I just purchased this one. So, helpful and detailed replies are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
 
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Two days ago I purchased a MacBook Pro and it came with iMovie 08. I was able to connect my DCR-HC36 twice via FireWire 800 to my mac. It downloaded video for about 7 mins each time before the connection between the camcorder and mac would no longer be recognized. As this was a problem I had had with my old dell desktop and same camcorder, I thought it was the camcorder.

I called Sony and they were of no help. They don't have any drivers or updates for DCR-HC36 camcorder and the mac/iMovie 08. They suggested that my FireWire 800 cable may be the issue.

I just spent 2 hours with a Genius at the Apple Store. Turns out that my FireWire 800 cable did seem to be causing problems. Using a FireWire 400, the camcorder and mac were continuously able to recognize each other. However, we discovered that with the FireWire 400 cable iMovie 08 crashed while importing the video and had to "unexpectedly close".

I had to leave, but they said to look through forums and discussion boards for any patches or fixes. I'm curious to know if anyone had this happen with older versions of iMovie as the Sony support mentioned they didn't have any support iMovie 08 - but didn't mention anything about previous versions.

Obviously, I'd like to not have to buy a new camcorder as I just purchased this one. So, helpful and detailed replies are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
Can you import with iMovie 06 and the Firewire 400 cable?
 

Del


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mate, im sorry to tell you that Sony camcorders are NOT compatible with OS X. trust me, i've been there. i Had the Sony HD-URX7 or something, and a Sony mini handycam. they just dont work. and if they do, the files are unstable and can corrupt easily. youre best bet is to get a new camcorder

Wrong - My Sony camcorder imports via firewire 400 to my MacBook not a problem at all!!
 
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A quick look at the manual shows that there are different ways to set the camera up for a computer. Well kind of. They talk about their own software. Anyway the point is to look into that feature.
 
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mate, im sorry to tell you that Sony camcorders are NOT compatible with OS X.
BS. I've had a couple hooked up to Macs.

Recently I helped a friend prove there was nothing wrong with his Sony HD camera by hooking it up to my Mac laptop. Being HD it had a couple of settings and depending on if we wanted DV 4:3 or HD transmitted, we had to set the camera up correctly. It worked perfectly once we understood how to set the camera up properly.
 
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I do not have a version of iMovie 06 available. My computer is two days old and came with 08 already loaded. Perhaps I could go back to the Apple store to see if they could try it there.

I will also look at the manual again, maybe I missed some different setting the first time.

I also received a reply from Sony this morning - they said that Sony camcorders are supported via firewire but not USB on Macs. I think someone else might have posted this as well, but here's the link to the article they sent me: http://www.iq.sony.com/srvs/autoresponse.asp?id=213310

I'll post my results - thanks for all the suggestions!
 
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Thanks! I'll check it out... This won't replace iMovie 08, just offer an alternate program, correct?
 
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My sony minidv cam works perfectly with imovie 06 and 08.
 
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RESULTS: Thanks to Aptmunich!

iMovie HD 6.0.4 for iLife '08 and a firewire 400 cable successfully allow video import from a Sony DCR-HC36 MiniDV camcorder.

Just an FYI to any other mac newbies - files imported via iMovie HD won't open in iMovie '08. My personal opinion is that '08 is more intuitive and user friendly than HD for video editing.

Thanks again to everyone that weighed in.
 
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Just an FYI to any other mac newbies - files imported via iMovie HD won't open in iMovie '08.
Can you not use the "File-->Import iMovie HD Project..." option?
 
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Hee Hee - I'm still learning all the fabulousness that is mac... I will try that. Thanks heaps!
 

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