Help with Sony handycam and new camera advice

[omalleyfamily]

Hi there. I'm close to running over my Sony Handycam with my car, but before I do, I figured I'd ask a couple of questions and see if someone could help me. I have a Sony DCR SR-40 HDD video camera and a white MacBook that I bought in the summer of 2007. Sorry, can't get more technical than that, but I just use the computer for basic internet use.

So here's my problem. I've been recording videos on this handycam for a year now. I bought it just before my son was born, and it's got everything from his first year of life on it. All I want to do is get the stupid videos off of the camera and on to a DVD. I don't even need them on the computer....just backed up so that I can watch them later if I want to. I tried grabbing the videos out of the folder (once the camera was connected to the macbook), throwing them on my desktop, and then putting them in the burn folder and burning them, but the videos I did that with (I just tried 2) were all choppy, and lost sound and movement every couple of seconds as it played on my kids' pc (it wouldn't play in my macbook).

I have the disc for the Imagemixer VCD2 software that says on the front that it's Mac Compatible for Mac OS X, which I'm guessing I've got, but the disc does nothing when I put it in, and when I try to open the folders, it asks me what I want to use to open them. I have no idea what to use, if I've even got anything that I can use.

I don't mind purchasing something that will convert the videos into something mac compatible....AS LONG AS I can later burn it to a dvd that will preserve the quality of the videos. They don't have to be awesome, but they can't be all choppy like they are now.

Once the videos are off, this stupid camera is going on ebay (or under the tire of my car), and I will need something to replace it. I'm just taking simple family videos. I have no need to edit anything....I'm just capturing memories. I don't want to spend more than $400. Can anyone make a suggestion for something that will EASILY work with my macbook, and that will EASILY be able to be backed up onto a dvd??

Thanks in advance!!
Serena

 

[jettoblack]

If you bought you Macbook in Summer of 2007 then it probably came with iLife '06 installed. You need to upgrade to iLife '08 for iMovie to support your camcorder (without using some other workaround).

Then all you need to do is open iMovie '08 on your Macbook and then connect the camcorder's USB cord. iMovie has video tutorials and help files to walk you through the process. Once you import your clips into iMovie, you can edit and arrange them if you like, or send the clips as-is to iDVD, which is where you make your DVD. That's about as simple as simple can be in the world of camcorders and computers.

The SR40 isn't a bad camera, but it wasn't designed to work with Macs out of the box (the specs say "Additional software required for use with Apple computers. ") It isn't the camera's fault that you didn't do your homework before you bought it. It's not like some other model of camcorder would magically read your mind and work for you without learning how to use it properly anyway.

 

[bearcatrp]

I have the Sony SR100 and used mpeg streamclip to convert the video. Its free and you have to buy a 20 dollar plugin from apple for the audio to work. You can also upgrade to iMovie 8 which supports these camcorders too.