0
freefallcrab

iMovie 11 from Sony CX

Recommended Posts

Feeling very pleased with myself today with a brand new Mac Book Pro, and shiny new-to-me (thanks Adreas) CX105E so I went and jumped my new camera setup (thanks Laszlo for the CamEye adapter - works just as advertised, excellent bit of kit).

Got home, played the jumps back on my TV - looked great. Plugged the Sony into my Mac and iMovie doesnt recognise the camera.

Now this is probably a DUH moment as I am a bit of a technophobe but I was suspicious that the USB method recommended in the manuals and on the forums would not deliver the data transfer rates necessary (I always used Firewire on the old PC cameras).

There must be a ton of camera flyers using CX100-type cameras and iMovie 11 - so any ideas? Surely I dont need extra software to make this work like suggested on some Apple forums. Is it easier to get the video onto the memory card and insert that into the Mac?

Silly me for thinking that this would be plug and play (yes, this is a bad workman blaming his tools! )


Use your wings Johnny....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Apple doesn't support MPEG formats.
So...
Plug in camera via USB; this is a file transfer, not a capture.
iMovie is fickle in what it will/won't read. Apple does now offer AVCHD support, but it usually fails if there are also MPEG files on the camcorder, and sometimes it'll fail if there is even an MPEG folder left on the card.

Here is Apple's knowledgebase article:
Symptoms
Some camcorders that record multiple formats require extra steps to import both formats into iMovie ’09. If you have recorded both AVCHD and MP4 (or iFrame) formats with certain camcorders, iMovie will only recognize the MP4/iFrame video clips in its 'Import' window.

Resolution
To view and import AVCHD clips from your multi-format camcorder in iMovie, MP4/iFrame footage should be imported, preferably backed up, and then deleted from your camcorder. After all MP4/iFrame clips have been deleted from your camcorder, disconnect the camcorder from your computer and then reconnect it back again. The AVCHD clips should appear in the iMovie Import window.

That said, there are many, many free converters available.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

... I was suspicious that the USB method recommended in the manuals and on the forums would not deliver the data transfer rates necessary (I always used Firewire on the old PC cameras).



It sounds like maybe you may be trying to play back in real time over USB? If so, that won't happen (with any computer). USB is used to transfer whole files from the camera to the computer. It is not used in this case to stream videos on playback the way Firewire used to work on cameras.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote



It sounds like maybe you may be trying to play back in real time over USB? If so, that won't happen (with any computer). USB is used to transfer whole files from the camera to the computer. It is not used in this case to stream videos on playback the way Firewire used to work on cameras.



This may be accurate for older systems that aren't optimized, but certainly not an issue for most systems. We stream/full rez playback/framerate from CX series/AVCHD 16-24Mbps camcorders all day, everyday. Even on older laptops. If it'll play from the MSPD or SD card in a port, it'll play from the USB port too. It's the same data.
It's a file xfer/stream. If the system USB resource is not sharing, it'll playback over WMV, VLC, or most other lightweight players straight from the camera over USB.

USB2.0=480Mbps (max)
Firewire 400/1394a=400Mbps (max)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Thanks guys, and thanks DSE for taking the time to explain in plain understandable English what I think I had read on other forums but not understood. What might have happened is when the camera came out of the box and I first hit record (great video of my knees under the desk) it was in SD and not HD mode. I might try and delete all those files and then try and transfer the remaining HD to iMovie via the USB (thanks for pointing out that it is a file transfer and not data capture, I hadnt appreciated that.

Looks like I got myself a little science project for this evening :)


Use your wings Johnny....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Got the transfer working, thanks DSE. Man, this version of iMovie is clunky compared to earlier versions - it took me another half hour of forum searching how to do a stills grab (menu item on earlier version, not so in v11). Better get used to it I guess....


Use your wings Johnny....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Having got my skydiving video into iMovie 11 and able to edit it, I thought I would post how I managed that in case someone else has the same problems and does a search of the forums. This is what works for me with a CX105E and iMovie 11 on a MacBook Pro:
Switch the camera on (I called the video up on the camera screen).
Open iMovie and start a new project.
Connect the camera to the computer using a USB socket on the computer and the output socket on the camera control panel that is available when the screen is open.
When prompted on the camera screen, tell it where the 'video' is (memory stick or internal memory).
IMovie will then 'read' available files and you can select which one you want to download.
And away you go :)
Hope this helps someone.


Use your wings Johnny....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It's been possible to import AVCHD into Mac for a while now; it just has to be transcoded. Mountain Lion will read the native files fine, but converts for editing.
The primary issue is that you can't put the stick in anything prior to Leopard and read/edit from the stick, everything needed conversion. Mountain Lion fixes some of that hassle, so if you haven't yet upgraded to Mt Lion and your hardware supports it...I'd recommend the upgrade.

All that said, thanks for sharing a concise flow on importing AVCHD to Mac!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0