[amkaplan]

The following link outlines how to deal easily with .TOD files. Was it overlooked?
<http://software.transdigital.co.jp/products/cbsev/tutorialeng/index.html>
Allan

[GretchenP]

I am upgrading from a 6 year old miniDV camcorder and really, really want to buy the Canon PowerShot TX1 - compact size and dual usage as a videocamera/still camera are my highest priorities. I read on another forum that this camera worked with iMovie with no problem, except there was another step you had to go through:
<<A note if you plan on using the movies in iMovie. You can't import directly into it, rather you can either use Image Capture or iPhoto to get them off of the camera and then drag it into an iMovie HD project (or for zero-conversion, save the project and quit, and dump the video file into the project's media folder, then reopen and drag it from the trash to the clip shelf).>>
I don't know much about this whole process, just enough to be dangerous... can anyone tell me if I will be able to use the TX1 with iMovie?
TIA!

[bjewett]

Thank you, thank you to the person who mentioned the fundamental 'problem' with hard disk recording cameras. It isn't the hard disk recording - as pointed out, if they just took the same MiniDV data stream (13 GB/hour) and pumped it to hard disk - and we've seen 80 GB disks in iPods, we're not talking large sizes - that would be great. But no, that isn't what we usually get.
Hard-disk recording camcorders (of the consumer variety) 'record' in MPEG2, the format used for DVDs that you play at home. MPEG2 was designed as a distribution (playback) medium, not a recording medium ... there are downsides. It compresses well - that is good. But if you take your now heavily compressed footage and try to edit it and recompress it when burning a DVD - well, the quality could suffer horribly. I wish hard disk recording camcorders doing this had a large red flag attached - use only if you don't want to edit, as many people don't. Otherwise, buy a tape-based system. One alternative uses recording to fast flash memory (eg P2 cards), which is still quite expensive. Those wanting miniDV recorded in its original (4:1:1 colorspace, 5:1 compression - compressed, but nothing like MPEG2) form but recorded to hard disk are out of luck unless they invest in something like Firestore or the like.
For more details, I suggest adamwilt.com or pixelmonger.com, but be ready for some blunt assessments.
Brian

[carolyn Cavaligos]

I've been reading through all this trying to figure out which way to go with these camcorders, now that iMovie 08 is out, does that solve all the problems with the hard drive camcorders? Carolyn

[Filburt]

bq. Two out of the three camcorders I’ve tested so far—the Sanyo Xacti HD1000 and the Panasonic HDC-HS9—aren’t working as they should.
What is the third camcorder that worked?

[ladyharley01]

As much as I love my Mac and would never go back to using a PC, I am disappointed that Apple hasn't come up with something that will allow OS X to download video files from HD camcorders. HD is the way to go IMO because there are no tapes to hassle with and to store. I own one and can't stand seeing these little tapes all over the place.
I am asking that Apple come up with a program that will be user friendly for those of us who stupidly purchased a HD camcorder. Referring to myself.