Unable to import video from mini dv

[tadjani]

Greetings and happy holidays.

I am having some issues . I own a Canon mini dv MC ZR 70.

I want to import the video on the tape. I have a firewire running from the camera to my macbook. I have tried both final cut pro and iMovie but neither one will recognize my camera.

Any suggestions? I looked on this website for information and it seems a missing driver is not the issue as it is not required...

Both the camcorder and the mac are about 8-9 years old.

Thanks!

[rs-eos]

What model Macbook do you have? Do you know if you're using a Firewire 400 or 800 cable?

I was only successful with capturing miniDV footage several years ago.  Sony miniDV cam attached to a 2008 8-core Xeon Mac Pro via a Firewire 400 cable.  I cannot remember the software I used.  It could have been Final Cut Pro, but I'm wondering if I had used the old QuickTime Player (version 7) application?

You could try using QuickTime Player.  Perhaps your Mac also has the older QuickTime Player 7 application.  That might be in /Applications/Utilities.

The last time I tried to import miniDV footage, it failed.  The setup was the same Sony miniDV cam, but with a 2017 iMac Pro.  I had a FireWire 800 cable going from the cam, connected to a FireWire to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, and then from that adapter to a Thunderbolt 3 adapter finally connected to the iMac Pro.  Could not capture footage using Final Cut Pro, iMovie or QuickTime Player.  I really don't know where the fault was; but a guess is that it may not have liked the Firewire 800.  As I got all my crucial footage imported years earlier, I have since given up.

I also don't remember if I had tried using my 2012 12-Core Xeon Mac Pro to do any imports.  That Mac only had Firewire 800 ports.

[tadjani]

Hi RIcky.Thanks for your reply!

I am using an 800 9 pin to 400 4 pin.

It is a Macbook Pro, mid2012.

How might I try Quick Time player? It is version 10.5 which appears to be 3-4 years old.

I am looking in the File menu and there is a New Movie Recording, New Audio Recording, and New Screen Recording. Open File and Open Location. Then at the bottom, Export As..

Thanks again,

Thomas

[rs-eos]

version 10.5 is the latest version of QuickTime Player (I have that on my Mac with macOS 12.1).   About the only thing I can think of is to try the "New Movie Recording" option.  It will open up a window and probably will default to your webcam.   Next to the record button, there should be a downwards-pointing caret.  Clicking that should produce a list of all possible video sources.  Hopefully it will see your cam as an option.

Since I believe you may be on the newest OS as well, it's probably 64-bit only.  And thus even if you had the older QuickTime 7 application, it wouldn't run since that was only 32-bit software.

I still don't know if it may be the Firewire 800 causing the issues too; I was never able to get that setup working.

Best of luck!

[kvbarkley]

Does your MacBook have a built-in Firewire port?

Do you have the camera in VCR mode?

I actually got it to work on my new iMac24 and the FireWire->TB1 + TB1->TB3 adapter in iMovie. I was pleasantly surprised.

[tadjani]

I have a iMac24 as well, in addition to the old MacBook. So is that 2 Thunderbolt adapters plugged into each other?

[kvbarkley]

No, it is the Thunderbolt to Firewire and the Thunderbolt1 to Thunderbolt3 adapter. Just make sure to plug into the TB port and not the USB-C port if you have the 4 port model. I did have to fiddle for a bit.

But if the other computer has a built in Firewire, you can unplug it and take out the battery to reset the Firewire port. This has worked for some folks. It took me a while to remember this, it has been a while since it was necessary. 8^)

[tadjani]

Okay so I finally acquired the firewire. Hooked it up. Downloaded iMovie. Turned the mini-dv camcorder to VCR and played the footage. Nothing. Tried iPhoto. Nothing. Turned the camera off/on. Same for iMovie. Nothing. 

This is kind of unbelievable in addition to being infuriating/depressing. Why can't I transfer my mini-dv footage to my iMac? It should be so straightforward but apparently it is a massive lift...

• USB 2.0 to IEEE 1394 Mini 4pin FireWire DV Cable.

BLUEXIN USB 2.0 Male to IEEE 1394 Mini 4Pin Male iLink Firewire DV Adapter Cord Cable Compatible with Sony DV

[kvbarkley]

Because DV tapes are dying out.

Is your camera supported?

https://support.apple.com/guide/imovie/import-from-tape-based-cameras-mov6af9c94c1/mac