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MiniD3

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 9, 2013
733
264
Australia
Hi Guys,
I have been doing a favour for some relations converting their old memories from tape to DVD, (22 of them), delivered, now they give me another 14!
Anyway,
along the way I have had a couple of tapes that will not import?
same camera,
when I click import, the video plays on the import screen but there is a message in the top right of the frame "No data from camera"?

Any idea what is wrong, my sister in law took one of the tapes to a commercial outlet and they made a DVD for her from the same tape but it won't import in iMovie, just plays the movie without recording and get the message "no data from device"
....Gary
 

MiniD3

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 9, 2013
733
264
Australia
Thank you Bill,

iMac 27"
late 2013
OSX
32GB ram
750GB SSD
Using iMovie

Camera, very old Sony Handycam Digital 8

Out of the, now 56 tapes, maybe 1/2 doz won't import
As you can see most import, just a very few won't but still play OK
....Gary
 

MiniD3

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 9, 2013
733
264
Australia
Some heads_up

I think I may have found the culprit,
The very old video camera is not showing the video cam on its own flip out screen even though it is playing?
Going to try an borrow an old video cam try and eliminate this possibility
....Gary
 

mrat93

macrumors 68020
Dec 30, 2006
2,247
2,879
I think I may have found the culprit,
The very old video camera is not showing the video cam on its own flip out screen even though it is playing?
Going to try an borrow an old video cam try and eliminate this possibility
....Gary

Any update? I'm having the same issue. Started when I upgraded to the latest iMovie. Still not working on the latest update.
 

handyz

macrumors newbie
Aug 30, 2014
4
0
The best software I found to import Hi8 tapes using Sony TRV460, Firewire 800, MB Pro, OSX 10.9.4, is iMovie HD 6. Tried Debut, Adobe Elements, etc. All gave me very poor image quality compared with the preview in iMovie 10. iMovie HD 6 allows full control of the camcorder and captures video with amazing quality.
 

gremcc

macrumors newbie
Dec 28, 2014
1
0
Same Problem little different situation

I have a new Macbook Pro, about 3 months old. I'm using a Sony TRV350 Camcorder. I have several Hi8 tapes that I'm trying to convert. Thus far, only one of my Sony MP120 tape was accepted. The others have an error message "No Data from Device." This makes no sense to me. Ive read the blog. But, have not found a solution. Please help.
 

handyz

macrumors newbie
Aug 30, 2014
4
0
@gremcc

You should have specified the software that you are using to import video. If it is iMovie later than 6, it will not import analog video. You have to use iMovie HD6 or QuickTime 7 Pro or something else. I like iMovie HD6. You can find it and download on the web. To start it in Yosemite, you have to find the executable in the package and double click on it: there are instructions on the web also.

----------

http://blog.iharder.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/iMovie-HD-6.dmg

----------

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6606012
 

baldy88

macrumors newbie
Jan 22, 2015
2
0
Thanks for posting this up. I'm running into the exact same issue. I have some 8mm recorded in the 90's that when connected to iMovie it shows "No Data From Device". I can control the camera just fine through iMovie and video shows just fine. It just won't import.

Running it on Firewire to Thunderbolt2 cable with adapter on a 2014 Mac Mini. The camera is not the original device it was recorded on but supports 8 or Hi8 and Digital 8.

Anyone have any experience with http://www.wondershare.com/ A guy at our office was saying that he used it, but I'm always suspect to advice from some of my end users. I will download the trial tonight and see if it will actually capture. I'm willing to pay for a piece of software that will capture analog over the firewire connection. I don't care if it is a manual capture.

Thanks in advance for any tips on software that will capture this.
 

baldy88

macrumors newbie
Jan 22, 2015
2
0
Answered my own questions

Well I figured out it was as easy as using Quick Time X to import the analog video on the Mac Mini. Then using iMovie to edit the clips since I'm not doing anything fancy with them.

That was much easier than I had anticipated. The only downside is that you have to stick around and watch for the end of tape to stop the recording. Oh well.
 

rei101

macrumors 6502a
Dec 24, 2011
976
1
Well I figured out it was as easy as using Quick Time X to import the analog video on the Mac Mini. Then using iMovie to edit the clips since I'm not doing anything fancy with them.

That was much easier than I had anticipated. The only downside is that you have to stick around and watch for the end of tape to stop the recording. Oh well.

Usually, I do not know iMovie. But with a software like Final Cut Pro, you can make an in/out point when capturing and the software will capture itself without needing to stay there and watch. Is called batch capture.
 

handyz

macrumors newbie
Aug 30, 2014
4
0
One of the advantages iMovieHD6 is that you can quickly compose a movie, send it to iDVD and create a DVD image that can be easily played. Also, don't have to mess with QuickTime export settings - it will use MPEG2. But I am not an expert and there are, probably, better ways.
 

handyz

macrumors newbie
Aug 30, 2014
4
0
Unfortunately, iMovie 11 cannot import analog video. It makes the iMovie HD6 the last one that can do both: import analog video and share via iDVD.
 

pertusis1

macrumors 6502
Jul 25, 2010
455
161
Texas
I ran into exactly the same problem. I was using a DCR-TRV520 to import into FCPX. The tapes were originally recorded a variety of other cameras that have long since died. At first, I was puzzled by the fact that some tapes would import directly into FCPX without any problem, but others showed the 'no data from device' message.

We have about 50 tapes that I was trying to convert. Some of them were recorded on an old Hi8 (analog) camera, and others were recorded on a digital 8 camera. The digital 8 tapes work fine. The Hi8 tapes show 'no data' even though I can watch the video on my computer.

If you just want to convert the Hi8 tapes to DVDs, get Toast 11, which does a fine job at the conversion.

If you want to be able to edit the video, I found that Quicktime 7 Pro (can be punched from the Apple website, not the App store) does a good job of pulling the video from the camera into a .mov file. From there, you can do whatever you want with it. iMovie (any version), FCPX, and almost any other movie editing software you can find should be able to use .mov. I used FCPX, and was very satisfied with the quality of the final product.
 
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