Dumping to an External HD

[Rahsten]

How do I go about dumping my HDV or DV footage to my External HD? I'm using a Sony HDRHC7 connected by Firewire to my MacBook. My External HD is connected to the MacBook by USB. I only have 7-8 GB free on my MacBook so I'd like to do all the editing in iMovie from my External HD? Is that even possible? I couldn't find a preference for anything like that in iMovie.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT:

Also, using iMovie I can't seem to import my footage in a smaller size. When I start a new project I select DV (I'm always filming in HDV though). However, from what I can tell it doesn't seem to make a difference regarding file size if I select DV, DV Widescreen or HDV 1080i when given the choice while creating a new project. I imported the same 20 seconds in ezch of those 'settings' and they all were the same size, about 230MB for the 20 seconds....how do I import as the smaller SD format?

 

[Erendiox]

How do I go about dumping my HDV or DV footage to my External HD? I'm using a Sony HDRHC7 connected by Firewire to my MacBook. My External HD is connected to the MacBook by USB. I only have 7-8 GB free on my MacBook so I'd like to do all the editing in iMovie from my External HD? Is that even possible? I couldn't find a preference for anything like that in iMovie.

What you need to do is when you create your project file, save it in your external HD. The project file is a package that contains all of your imported footage, thus, to import your footage onto your external, move your project onto your external.

Also, using iMovie I can't seem to import my footage in a smaller size. When I start a new project I select DV (I'm always filming in HDV though). However, from what I can tell it doesn't seem to make a difference regarding file size if I select DV, DV Widescreen or HDV 1080i when given the choice while creating a new project. I imported the same 20 seconds in ezch of those 'settings' and they all were the same size, about 230MB for the 20 seconds....how do I import as the smaller SD format?

You can't import into a smaller size. When you pick DV or DV widescreen, that's the DESTINATION format, as in, when you export your project, it will finalize into that format. Other programs will have options to import into different formats, but i'm pretty sure iMovie will only import into the source's native format.

Cheers

 

[Rahsten]

What you need to do is when you create your project file, save it in your external HD. The project file is a package that contains all of your imported footage, thus, to import your footage onto your external, move your project onto your external.

oh my...

i...feel...so...silly.

Thank you for pointing out what should've been so obvious to me. Why on Earth did doing that not occur to me....

Thanks.

Does FCP allow us to import into different formats?

 

[Erendiox]

Does FCP allow us to import into different formats?

In certain ways yes. With HDV, for example, you can opt to use the apple intermediate codec which basically decompresses the HDV codec and makes the files much less processor intensive to read, resulting in smoother playback. The resulting files, however, are several times larger than regular HDV files, so it's a tradeoff between hard drive space and cpu. The thing is, there's really no option that I know of to capture to a lesser format, like HDV to DV, at least, not on the fly. That would require a real time conversion which most computers couldn't ever handle. You CAN capture HDV and then convert down to DV separately. You just can't do it straight to DV. It has to be capture to HDV, then take a second step down to DV.

Cheers

 

[Rahsten]

ok, thanks a lot for clearing that up for me. now i can stop looking for a function that isn't there!

 

[LethalWolfe]

As an FYI, iMovie and Final Cut Express cannot natively edit HDV and always transcode it into AIC. Most HDV cameras have a down-convert feature built in and can spit out either HDV or DV over the FW port depending on what you have selected.


Lethal

 

[Rahsten]

Yeah Lethal I found something like that on my HC7 where under iLink option it says if you turn it ON the HDV recorded format will become DV imported to your computer HDV--->DV(at least according to the instruction manual). But when I start a project in iMovie and begin importing from my camera nothing happens in iMovie, just a blue screen and the counter doesn't even move, however the Viewfinder on the camera plays through.

When I turn the iLink option OFF I can see the HDV recorded footage on both iMovie and the VF, opposed to what the instructions say. The instructions I'm following ARE for Windows XP mind you...so I guess I'm to assume they don't apply to Mac? If so, if on my Mac I want to import my HDV recorded format to the computer in DV format how should I set up my Menu settings on my HC7?

I think I need a really good and detailed tutorial for importing and editing. Does anyone know any tutorial-ish web sites to help out a newbie like me?

 

[LethalWolfe]

I don't use iMovie nor have I used the HC7, but I have used FCP in conjunction w/Sony's Z1U HDV camera and had no problems using the down-convert feature (which of course helps not a bit here).

My first suggestion would be to make sure you are trying to use the HDV-->DV feature of your camera w/a DV project in iMovie. If iMovie was set to "HDV" then it wouldn't see the DV signal coming out of your camera.


Lethal

 

[Rahsten]

My first suggestion would be to make sure you are trying to use the HDV-->DV feature of your camera w/a DV project in iMovie. If iMovie was set to "HDV" then it wouldn't see the DV signal coming out of your camera.

I am doing it with a DV project. So, I'm really not sure why I only see a Blue screen in iMovie while i can see the video in the VF and it says DVout i.LINK as well. When I turn off the iLINKs HDV--->DV feature is the only time I can manage to get the footage to appear in iMovie, but it only comes out as HDVout in that case.

I've tried every possible combination between iMovie project setting and HC7 Menu settings and so far I can only get iMovie to import HDV from HDV...however the instructions state that on Windows you can import your HDV in DV format... i'm just not sure if it holds true for my mac setup

I remember Multimedia saying that I would be able to dump my HD footage onto my Mac in SD format with the HC7, now that I bought the HC7 I'd ove to figure out how to do that in iMovie. Or am I going to have to get FC? In that case should I go Pro or Express? What's the difference, which would be best for a rookie like me?

Thanks again!