MiniDV to DVD to edit?

Question

I am planning to go to a Videography store to get my MiniDV to get transfered onto a DVD. They can only do it real-time Video DVD and the thing is that I want to be able to import onto my computer as a file to edit on Final Cut Pro. They said it should be possible of its a video DVD. is this true? I own a Mac Book Pro

Answer 1

If you already have Final Cut, why not connect your miniDV camcorder to the Macbook using a 6-pin to 4-pin Firewire cable?  You can then use Final Cut to capture your miniDV tapes under File > Log and Capture.

If you do not have Final Cut, you can still use iMovie (in iLife).  The setup is the same as above.  In iMovie, Choose File > Import Movie from Camcorder.  Once the video files are in the Macbook Pro, you will be able to view them in iMovie.  You can now edit the video in iMovie, or you can save the imported video files (in quicktime format) for later use in Final Cut.  Try opening the captured video files outside of iMovie.  If they open in Quicktime, then they are guaranteed to work in Final Cut.  To import the videos into Final Cut, go to File > Import Files and choose the files that iMovie imported.

The Videographer's technique might work, but you already spent all that money on Apple.  Why not use what Apple already gave you?

Answer 2

If you have a MiniDV recorder and a Mac, all you should need is a MiniDV/Firewire cord. This cord plugs into your video camera, and connects to your computer through Firewire.

This article explains everything:

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Hardware-...

All Macs now come standard with the IEEE-1394 port, so all you should have to do is import the footage directly into Final Cut, so there shouldn't be any need to convert it to DVD format first.