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Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
Although this could go under a million of sections in this forum besides this one.....

I have an eMac 1ghz, 512mb ram, 10.3.9, etc, and I'm trying to connect a Sony dcr-trv480 (digital 8 camcorder for those who don't know model numbers by heart). Either way, I am using iMovie (5.0.2) to get the video onto my computer, or trying to. I have it all hooked up via Firewire (4 to 6 pin cord) and the computer sees the camera (in iMovie, System Profiler, and iChat as a webcam, w00t). I click on play, no video in. I click on import, no video in. I press play on the camera, no video in. I used another camera a couple of months ago (panasonic mini dv pv9 or something, i can't remember) and it worked just fine. And it's not my camera or the cord because I hooked it up to my father's iMac G3 DV 400MHz and my brother's iMac G5 1.6GHz and they both got video in. I have also tried reinstalling iMovie, that didn't help. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 

skubish

macrumors 68030
Feb 2, 2005
2,663
0
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Church said:
Although this could go under a million of sections in this forum besides this one.....

I have an eMac 1ghz, 512mb ram, 10.3.9, etc, and I'm trying to connect a Sony dcr-trv480 (digital 8 camcorder for those who don't know model numbers by heart). Either way, I am using iMovie (5.0.2) to get the video onto my computer, or trying to. I have it all hooked up via Firewire (4 to 6 pin cord) and the computer sees the camera (in iMovie, System Profiler, and iChat as a webcam, w00t). I click on play, no video in. I click on import, no video in. I press play on the camera, no video in. I used another camera a couple of months ago (panasonic mini dv pv9 or something, i can't remember) and it worked just fine. And it's not my camera or the cord because I hooked it up to my father's iMac G3 DV 400MHz and my brother's iMac G5 1.6GHz and they both got video in. I have also tried reinstalling iMovie, that didn't help. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Did you try this:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/features/importing.html
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
Yes, still no cigar. (I've also tried it in a few other orders, but still, the computer will not capture the video but still recognizes the camera)
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
My problem is still unresolved. Any help, please, would be greatly appreciated.
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
In trying to solve my problem, I thought "I haven't fixed permissions for a while" and so I opened disc utility and tried, and of course something stupid happened where it would get maybe a quarter of the way to verifying/repairing the permissions and then said it couldn't communicate with disc utility something or other. So I said "great something is messed up." And so yesterday I reinstalled OSX and later that night I imported video from my girlfriend's camera since she had a video project due today. Of course it worked :D . Now this morning I am trying to import from my camera because I think it will work perfectly. HAHAHA! :p Still no dice. What's up with that? So, I'm unbearably confused because iMovie on my computer has a stigma against my camera and that's uncalled for. Should I call Apple? Sony? The Ghostbusters? :eek:

(As a sidenote, downloading firefox from getfirefox.com or whatever takes forever. 4.7kb/sec? I'm on freaking cable!)
 

HughJ

macrumors regular
Feb 21, 2006
224
0
Norwich UK
im unsure if this is related, but i had major issues connecting my DV Camera to my iMac FP i then downgraded my version of Quicktime (from 7.0.4 to 7.0.1) and all worked fine :D
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
FYI, I also went ahead a tested the video function in iChat, both on my and my brothers computer. I'm sure you can already guess what happened (no dice on mine, perfect on his). So the problem is in the computer, somewhere....

(Alright Hugh, I'll go ahead and try that)
((578kb/sec dl from apple, that's a far cry from that firefox one >8P))
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
HughJanus said:
there is a piece of software by ioxperts (http://www.ioxperts.com) that claims to work with many cams etc, maybe worth a try?

Thanks for the link, but it is of no use. I investigated and the drivers are not free, and furthermore, they're for webcams and "industrial" cameras, whatever those are. Either way, I looked at the compatibility list, and my camera is not on there. I do not believe it is a driver problem in OSX anyways since it is not OSX specifically that has a problem with my camera, as noted with my tests with my father's and brother's computers. It is something associated with my computer that has the problem with my camera, i.e. firmware or some other inhibitor, that is stopping the computer from capturing video from the camera.
 

Gokhan

macrumors 6502a
Oct 7, 2003
703
0
London
k

try using sony software my trv 33 works fine though with all software if not call sony or try on another mac
 

winterdude010

macrumors regular
Feb 24, 2006
194
1
New York
Computer??

Could it be the low amount of RAM on your computer? In the computer lab at my school, they had to upgrade RAM to make the school's camera's work right.
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
Gokhan said:
try using sony software my trv 33 works fine though with all software if not call sony or try on another mac

According to Sony's website, that camera has been EOL'd, and the supported OS's are Mac OS 8.5.1 to 9.1, so I assume the software included with your camera is old and is classic supported and I do not have it. The software that came with my camera is this "ImageMixer VCD2" and that's the only part for mac, and I installed it, and it's to make a picture cd or something stupid like that. Either way, it's not the software that is the problem for me, it's some firmware or something specific broken in the eMac that does not support my camera.

winterdude010 said:
Could it be the low amount of RAM on your computer? In the computer lab at my school, they had to upgrade RAM to make the school's camera's work right.

I don't think so, I have 512mb of ram, which is more than my brother and my father, and their computers work just fine with my camera. (256mb and 384mb respectively)
 

Gokhan

macrumors 6502a
Oct 7, 2003
703
0
London
k

yes thats right i can use sony software via classic and then transfer to imovie any footage i need if i wanted try getting hold of the software and try it for yours cause i am sure a buddy of mine has the same model and thats how he did it !
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
Gokhan said:
yes thats right i can use sony software via classic and then transfer to imovie any footage i need if i wanted try getting hold of the software and try it for yours cause i am sure a buddy of mine has the same model and thats how he did it !

Alright, well, I don't really need sony's software to do that, since I can capture the video on my brother's or father's computers in iMovie and just transfer them over the network in my home. That's not the solution I am looking for, but thank you for your input.

The question remains: How do I make my eMac capture video from a sony dcr-trv480 just like I can automatically from my brother's iMac G5 and my father's iMac G3 using iMovie or anything else?
 

Church

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 9, 2005
155
0
Alabama
Don't ask me how, but the problem is now resolved. My dad found something on a forum that said to play a few notes on the on-screen keyboard in GarageBand, quit out, and then go to iMovie. I did it, it works. The site said something about Core Audio, and I have Panther, so I don't know what that has to do with anything. Either way, if any other problems come up, I'll be back. Thanks everyone for your input.
 
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