Is there a way to capture HDMI with a macbook pro?

Question

How to get live video from a camcorder that has an HDMI output, into the DV-in of a macbook pro... please, explain and provide sources.

Answer 1

If the camcorder has an HDMI output, it is most likely a high-def cam... There is no HDMI-to-firewire or HDMI-DV input conversion of which I am aware. The communications protocols are very different.

If the camera is miniDV tape based, use the camcorder's DV (firewire) port to connect to the Mac's firewire400 port. The video will import using iMovie or FinalCut. You will need a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire (IEEE1394, i.Link) cable.

If it is a hard drive or flash memory based camcorder, you would use USB. The files will copy (like you were using any other USB device). There is no reason to import at that stage because you are merely copying data files. This will be AVCHD encoded video (if it was recorded in high def). The AVCHD decode can only be done with the latest iMovie (with the 7.1 patch) that was bundled with iLife08. If you are using FinalCut, only the most current FinalCut versions can handle AVCHD encoded video. Some camcorders' video may not be able to be decoded. This is not an Apple issue - Sony Vegas can't handle Canon AVCHD... Adobe video apps can't handle Sony AVCHD encoded video.

If the camcorder is DVD based and a miniDVD disc is used, you will have several problems. First, the USB connection will not work to transfer the video. Second, the AVCHD compressed video on the DVD is so highly compressed that it will be very poor quality even if you are able to somehow decode it. It will be in a VOB file on the disk and you will need some sort of drawer loading DVD (like those from LaCie) to get to the files. I am not aware of any DVD rippers that can handle this type of video file. Never put a miniDVD disc in a slot loading drive - you will break the drive and scratch the disc. My suggestion - if at all possible is to return that DVD based camcorder and replace it with a miniDV tape based camcorder. They were a good idea, poorly executed by the manufacturers and AVCHD just made them worse. Getting video out may work using a box from Canopus, but that would be analog.

Since you did not tell us which camcorder you are using, it is difficult to provide you any more relevant information. May I suggest that you go to http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa and enter your camcorder model number and see what sort of hits you get. The discussions area at Apple is REALLY helpful.

Good luck.