Sony camcorder HDV tape to iMac with iLink ieee1394 cable

[Rossbo]

I would like to copy my HDV tapes from my Sony HDV 1080i camcorder to iMac using imovie with snow leopard OS. The camcorder only has an ilink ieee1394 connector, but the mac does not, only firewire and other ports. Can I use an adapter for the ilink cable or vice versa, without losing HDV quality?

[aedipuss]

firewire is ieee1394. they are the same thing. there are cables with 4 pin ends and 6 pin ends, you just need to match the cam and computer cable ends. 4pin to 4pin or 4pin to 6pin.

[edDV]

HDV should import fine over IEEE-1394 into iMovie.

They will give you a choice of 960x540p/29.97 downsize (a bit jerky) or 1920x1080i using the Apple intermediate Codec (a more beefy Mac required plus 40GB/hr. disk space for the intermediate file).

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/313447-Archiving-and-Working-with-AVCHD-on-a-Mac

[rumplestiltskin]

I've used AIC and can recommend it as it removes nothing from the original quality. You will, however, need lots of space. I'm not familiar with the format shot by the Sony; if it is AVCHD, iMovie (the latest version) should work with it without conversion. Bring over a clip or two and try it.

[edDV]

AIC works in iMovie 8 (latest update) or later from either HDV or AVCHD source.

[Rossbo]

Thanks for all the info. I dug up some more info from what you all said and it seems the mac uses the 1394b 800 connector which is larger than the 4 wire from my camcorder. And there are cables that match. This is a great forum.
Ross

[rumplestiltskin]

Plenty of choices for 4-pin to FW800 available. There's also the FW400-to-FW800 adapter which I find quite useful. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&index=blended&field-keywords=sonnet%20firewire%20adapt...&tag=smtfx1-20

Either of the first two items is what you want. It will permit you to use a standard FW400(6-pin)-to-FW(camcorder) cable (assuming you have one). I have plenty as many of my FW peripherals date back a number of years to G4 (and G3) Macs.