at last I have a new iMac - my first - it's 10 days old - but when I went to connect and import from my Sony HDR HC9, iMovie doesn't want to know - I can't afford Final Cut Pro and any way my work is about showing young people how to compose and film stories with entry level technology so any recommendations for an affordable, comprehensive editing suite would be very welcome - also, is it true that iMovie doesn't deliver HD outputs to DVD and has no timeline?
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Sony HDR HC9 - iMovie is not compatible
- Thread starter michaelamu
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firewire - problem is that I now know iMovie has no timeline and suspect it can't deliver High Def post edit so would like advice on an 'entry level' suite which will do the job of joining my camera to my Mac?
Your Sony should work with your Mac. Have you verified that your firewire port is working properly?
Apple ditched the old timeline approach when it went from iMovie HD to iMovie '08, and kept that change when it updated to iMovie '09. If you want to upgrade, the next Apple step is Final Cut Express.
I'm not sure what you mean that iMovie can't "deliver High Def post edit." If you are trying to burn a playable DVD with HD content, you can do that but you need Toast. iDVD won't do it. And obviously you'll be able to fit much less than when using mpeg-2.
many thanks MisterMe and spice weasel,.
I'm going to check out Final Cut Express, my firewire ports and Toast to see if I can get it all together - very reassuring to be able to get this qualified assistance :0))) - michael
I'm going to check out Final Cut Express, my firewire ports and Toast to see if I can get it all together - very reassuring to be able to get this qualified assistance :0))) - michael
Never could warm up to iMovie, especially after they made it "easier to use".
I did like Premier Elements, but had to run it in Windows and got tired of the repeated crashes. I finally bit the bullet and got Final Cut Express and have been satisfied. My only issue with FCE compared to Premiere Elements is that my main source of material was MPEG2, DVD from stuff we do at work and importing DVD into FCE isn't a one-step process. FFMPEG works fine for that, but a little more cumbersome. I've found Popcorn easier and faster to use for that.
I did like Premier Elements, but had to run it in Windows and got tired of the repeated crashes. I finally bit the bullet and got Final Cut Express and have been satisfied. My only issue with FCE compared to Premiere Elements is that my main source of material was MPEG2, DVD from stuff we do at work and importing DVD into FCE isn't a one-step process. FFMPEG works fine for that, but a little more cumbersome. I've found Popcorn easier and faster to use for that.
You can also try MPEG Streamclip to convert video_ts folders and vobs. It's free, and much more user friendly than ffmpegx.
Big thanks to everyone - I'm going for Final Cut Express - my major problem had been that iMovie did not work with the HDR HC9 and so for the last 8 days of my 13 days of Mac ownership I have been bugged by Mac support telling me that this camera is not compatible - something I had never encountered nor dreamed about - therefore I needed 'compatibility' to be guaranteed before spending even more money - don't ask why, but after connecting and capturing in iMovie from my non-HD Sony camcorder, I then tried the HDR once again - - lo and behold - it is perfect - I'm certain I changed no settings - it's just been lying on the desk in front of the Mac - but - also, I can now view the tutorials! I don't need to know why - your support got me through(!) - but I am going to ask Mac support why they blithely told me my camera wouldn't work because it is not listed as compatible? - again many thanks :0))))))))