DVD to iMovie/iDVD Transfer?

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 12 May 2004 7:22 pm

I have a DVD that I'm trying to edit down as a promo. It was originally shot on Hi8 consumer format and was then transferred to DVD from there. I can't seem to figure out how to transfer it into iMovie or iDVD to edit it.

The online help only shows how to download from a digital camcorder - something I don't have. Surely there's a way to load from a DVD. Any ideas???[This message was edited by Chris Bauer on 12 May 2004 at 08:23 PM.]

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 12 May 2004 7:44 pm

Chris,

I'm a Mac user, too. I've made a number of DVD-Rs from Hi8 and miniDV tapes, but never gone the other way (pulled from my homemade DVD-Rs to iMovie). I can copy my own DVD-Rs, of course, because they are not copy protected, but re-expanding their MPEG files to AVI is a different story. You may want to go to the Apple discussion area for iMovie and read up, or ask (you'll need to register to post).

http://discussions.info.apple.com/WebX?14@7.E62Lad4mlm1.0@.ee6bcd9

------------------
Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?[This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 13 May 2004 at 08:15 AM.]

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 12 May 2004 7:56 pm

Thanks Bill. I posted there and will hope someone knows how. (I can't believe the transfer is tough to do but I sure haven't been able to unlock the secret of how to do it on my own!)

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 13 May 2004 7:58 am

There is a software package that will do just that for OSX.
www.dvdxdv.com

It's not perfect but it's cheap. ($25)
You can try it for free to see if you like it.

My main complaint is you can't preview Video AND Audio, just one or the other.
This forces me to transfer the entire DVD into iMovie, then edit from there.

I don't know of anything better, if someone does please let me know. For now DVDXDV works for me.

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 13 May 2004 2:31 pm

Thanks. I might give it a try although the preview issue seems a bit daunting...

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 13 May 2004 6:51 pm

Hmmmmm - Okay. I downoaded a trial of DVDxDV and I can open the video in Quicktime (although to my anoyance there is now a DVDxDV banner across it) but can't seem to find how to export it into iMovie. Anyone???

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 13 May 2004 6:55 pm

You Import the Quicktime File into iMovie.

In iMovie - File > Import

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 14 May 2004 4:43 am

Thanks. That's what I figured but I can't seem to make it work. (!!!???). I posted on the Apple forum and was told that I needed QT Pro to do this successfully. I've now downloaded it (QTPro) but have simply been too pooped to try again to do the import. (Is there some obvious thing I'm overlooking?)

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 14 May 2004 7:49 am

I've done it without problems.
I forgot to mention that I have QT Pro.

I can't duplicate it now because I let my copy of DVDXDV expire.

I gotta get around to buying it.

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 14 May 2004 6:46 pm

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

First I had to transfer it from QT to iDVD and then from iDVD to iMovie. Then, after approximately 40 minutes of transfer time, in the last minute it says that it cannot decode the transfer.

I'm still thinking I'm missing something simple here. Any ideas???

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 14 May 2004 6:57 pm

Read the DVDXDV website help and FAQ.
Then email any unanswered questions to them.

If they want to sell the program they should help make sure you can use it.

I look forward to your report.

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 19 May 2004 5:46 am

Chris,
Here's a discussion I just came across that might be of interest: http://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/t215613.html

They mention some other software that does the same job.

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 19 May 2004 1:28 pm

Thanks. I'll try to digest it all. Apparently there are also some AppleScript workarounds but - simple as the Mac is - scripts are an area where I'm still pretty gun-shy.

Since I still have the source Hi8 Digital cassette, my next move is to try to find someone who can loan me a digital Hi8 camcorder so that I can load the footage directly into iMovie.[This message was edited by Chris Bauer on 19 May 2004 at 02:29 PM.]