Transfer Mini DV videos to Mac

[Marcelagb33]

Is there any software I can use? I have a new Mac Book Pro, but my Mini DV videos will not play as they are not digitally readable files, I used to transfer them using software in real time play on a PC, which I do not have anymore.

 

[Alabalcho]

Are your videos on MiniDV tapes? If so, you will need a device which can play them (your old MiniDV recorder willl do), a computer with FireWire (IEE1394) interface (old XP-era Windows laptop will do, as well as old Mac), and software which can do that.

For a tape or two or ten, I would contract a professional service.

 

[Marcelagb33]

Are your videos on MiniDV tapes? If so, you will need a device which can play them (your old MiniDV recorder willl do), a computer with FireWire (IEE1394) interface (old XP-era Windows laptop will do, as well as old Mac), and software which can do that.

For a tape or two or ten, I would contract a professional service.

 

[Marcelagb33]

Thanks. I do have the camera to play back, and a Mac with a Fire Wire inlet. Mine is newer and has a Thunderbolt inlet, I am not sure if I use an adapter from FIre Wire to THunderbolt it will actually work. And also is there software I can use? for a Macbook Pro, I was able to do this in my old PC, but not on the Mac.Any more ideas? I've found a provider who can transfer them to DVD< but my intention is to directly transfer them to a pen drive.
Thanks again

 

[Alabalcho]

I am not a Mac person, so I cannot recommend any capture software, and I doubt there are usable Firewire-to-Thunderbold adapters. Probaby dusting off that old PC is good idea 😉

The service which can convert your tapes to a DVD should be able to give them as raw files for you to process.

 

[kenrivers]

Thanks. I do have the camera to play back, and a Mac with a Fire Wire inlet. Mine is newer and has a Thunderbolt inlet, I am not sure if I use an adapter from FIre Wire to THunderbolt it will actually work. And also is there software I can use? for a Macbook Pro, I was able to do this in my old PC, but not on the Mac.Any more ideas? I've found a provider who can transfer them to DVD< but my intention is to directly transfer them to a pen drive.
Thanks again

I have a MacBook Pro with a Thunderbolt port and use a Firewire adapter. It will work. You can use iMovie to import the video.

 

[Mitchell Robinson]

Hi there,

I work for a company in Australia that does old media format transfers just as you are asking. We use PC as there is some nice freeware called Scenalyzer that breaks up the footage we capture into scenes for easier editing. However, this is a PC only software.

If at all possible I would borrow a friends windows laptop or get your hands on a PC with Windows and use that free software. You will also need to purchase a capture card like one of these:

THIS THING HERE

Please keep in mind though that these cards are cheap and nasty. I personally haven't had any experience with them but they may work for what you want. Here at my place of work we use internal fire wire capture cards that range from $250-$1000ea.

If you want the best quality possible I would recommend sending it to a business like mine for a professional transfer. Obviously, you are more than welcome to ship it to Australia and we could do that for you, but there may be a business closer to home that offers the same service.

If you want to keep the capturing to a Mac then some of the professional NLE's (Non-linear editing) can Batch capture using these capture cards or from a device that outputs to fire wire. I know that Final Cut Pro 7 and Adobe Premier Pro can do this. Again, expensive if you dont own one.

Hope this helped!

- Mitch

 

[kenrivers]

You can the adapter you need at one of the links below:
http://www.amazon.com/elago-FireWire-Adapter-MacBook-computers/dp/B003L4P872/ref=pd_sim_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0B16A2QA72KKCFMZP9MR

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter

http://www.amazon.com/FireWire-Cable-IEEE-1394B-Firewire-PLATED/dp/B002U5MFX8/ref=pd_sim_e_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1GPN6EB0M38ZB867RJY0