DV capture on Mac

[thuriel]

I captured a DV video from my miniDV camera with Quicktime on my MacBook. But it seems as if Quicktime messed it up and created some .mov out of it. When I try to convert it with ffmpegX (0.0.9x r2) the audio stream will not be encoded no matter what format I convert it to. VLC isn't even playing the audio of the .mov Quicktime built.

I am new to DV and Mac. Is there a free (or at least low priced) program to capture DV on a Mac?

thuriel

[Baldrick]

Tried iMovie and iDVD?

[thuriel]

I did already try iMovie. I want to A/D convert an old VHS tape. So the plan is to directly capture the DV stream wich the camera puts out. The problem with iMovie is, that when I click 'Import' to start the capturing, it immediantely starts playing the miniDV tape inside the camera instead of capturing the DV signal. So that disqualified iMovie

I did not see any option for capturing in iDVD. How can I capture with iDVD?

[edDV]

...it immediantely starts playing the miniDV tape inside the camera instead of capturing the DV signal. So that disqualified iMovie

Look for a preference option to turn off DV device control.

[thuriel]

There is no such option in my version of iMovie (6.0.3 (267.2)). I think that wouldn't solve the problem anyway. iMovie only shows a blue screen instead of the video footage from the analogue source. Is there no freeware that can handle DV capture ...or a tool of MacOS I didn't discover yet?

[Frobozz]

For freeware DV capture get Vidi.

[havema-1]

> problem with iMovie is, that when I click 'Import' to start the capturing, it immediantely starts playing the miniDV tape inside the camera instead of capturing the DV signal

You must remove the tape for this to work! I also have to configure the Sony TRV320 camcorder settings and toggle the camcorder's DISPLAY button to the right position.

But unfortunately some analog to DV passthrough converters don't work in iMovie HD 6.0.2 like they do in iMovie 4.0.1:

I used to be able to convert analog to DV in passthrough mode with iMovie 4.0.1 and my Sony TRV320. But iMovie HD 5-6 broke it for my camcorder model. It works for other models.

This is the main reason I still have iMovie 4.0.1 in my system: I digitize with it and post-process the project with iMovie HD 6.0.3.

Another good option would be to use BTV Pro instead of iMovie.

For more info see:

http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/iMovie_HD_6_bugs.html#analog_DV

[thuriel]

For freeware DV capture get Vidi.

When I try to start capturing with Vidi, I get this error message:

"Recording could not start
Recording could not start due to a problem.
(OK)"

Do you know this message? Do I have to do something bevor capturing?

You must remove the tape for this to work! I also have to configure the Sony TRV320 camcorder settings and toggle the camcorder's DISPLAY button to the right position.

I tried it with removing the tape. iMovie then said something like "No tape inserted". So it seems that my DV cam (Canon MV850i) is affected by the iMovie bug you're writing about.

This is the main reason I still have iMovie 4.0.1 in my system: I digitize with it and post-process the project with iMovie HD 6.0.3.

Where can I get iMovie 4.0.1 from?

Another good option would be to use BTV Pro instead of iMovie.

I installed BTV Pro but the .mov it produces has the same problems like the one built by Quicktime: It's soundtrack can't be played by VLC and it cannot be transcoded bei ffmpegX.

[thuriel]

When I try to start capturing with Vidi, I get this error message:

"Recording could not start
Recording could not start due to a problem.
(OK)"

I just changed the output directory from my home folder to Desktop. Suddenly it worked. The .dv file I get has sound in VLC and I can work with it in ffmpegX.

Thank you very much!

PS: The only thing I don't like, is that Vidi starts a server wich doesn't quit automatically when I quit the client ...and that it automatically adds the server to the login items. But at least I finally get a clean .dv file

[Frobozz]

Yes, I wish there was an option to prevent the login item being added with Vidi. Another option is to go to Apple's Developer site and download the latest FirewireSDK package. It includes a DV capturing application. It, too, is free.

[havema-1]

> Where can I get iMovie 4.0.1 from?

eBay etc...

> I installed BTV Pro but the .mov it produces has the same problems like the one built by Quicktime: It's soundtrack can't be played by VLC and it cannot be transcoded bei ffmpegX

I always capture as .dv (not .mov) because handling plain DV streams is more predictable (if they are correctly flagged as 4:3 or 16:9) and I have had no trouble post-processing .dv. Haven't much used VLC for .dv, though.

BTV Pro can capture as .dv, too.

[terryj]

iMovie 4.01 can also be re-installed from either :

1. an iLife '04 disc

2. System restore discs for iBook G4s, PPC G4 towers,
or eMacs where the main system disc states it is
OS X 10.3.5 or later.