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iMovie and Macbook (mac os 12.5.1) does not see my camcorder

I connected my mini-dv JVC camcorder from its firewire port to my Macbook.


Firewire 400 -> firewire 800 -> Thunderbolt 2 -> Thunderbolt 3 (USB C).


iMovie does not see my camcorder. Help?

Posted on Dec 23, 2022 1:03 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 23, 2022 1:39 PM

Most tape based cameras are recognized by iMovie, although possibly some are not. In any event, importing from mini DV tape can be hit or miss with iMovie 10. Nothing to do but try a few things and see if you can get it working.


Begin by restarting your Mac and opening iMovie, then quitting and reopening iMovie.


Often a non-recognition issue is caused by faulty cables or adapters. Sometimes cheap adapters can be problematic. So check your cables and make sure that everything is tightly connected. Disconnect the cable from the Mac and Camera, and then reconnect it. Also, you can try using a different cable.


Try turning the camera off and on again, and get the tape running before beginning the import. Sometimes that will trigger recognition. Make sure that the camera is set to the correct output mode, such as VTR or VCR, or possibly DV or HDV.


Instead of importing into iMovie you can try importing into QuickTimePlayer and see if there is camera recognition. Or you can try using the Image Capture app on your Mac to import to the Mac rather than iMovie.


If you are able to download from an SD card, or to a thumb drive, you can try doing that and then transfer the files to your Mac.


Hopefully one or move of the above will trigger recognition.


-- Rich



1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 23, 2022 1:39 PM in response to bgreenb

Most tape based cameras are recognized by iMovie, although possibly some are not. In any event, importing from mini DV tape can be hit or miss with iMovie 10. Nothing to do but try a few things and see if you can get it working.


Begin by restarting your Mac and opening iMovie, then quitting and reopening iMovie.


Often a non-recognition issue is caused by faulty cables or adapters. Sometimes cheap adapters can be problematic. So check your cables and make sure that everything is tightly connected. Disconnect the cable from the Mac and Camera, and then reconnect it. Also, you can try using a different cable.


Try turning the camera off and on again, and get the tape running before beginning the import. Sometimes that will trigger recognition. Make sure that the camera is set to the correct output mode, such as VTR or VCR, or possibly DV or HDV.


Instead of importing into iMovie you can try importing into QuickTimePlayer and see if there is camera recognition. Or you can try using the Image Capture app on your Mac to import to the Mac rather than iMovie.


If you are able to download from an SD card, or to a thumb drive, you can try doing that and then transfer the files to your Mac.


Hopefully one or move of the above will trigger recognition.


-- Rich



iMovie and Macbook (mac os 12.5.1) does not see my camcorder

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