Problem with FireWire import into Final Cut Pro from Sony DCR-TRV120

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Problem with FireWire import into Final Cut Pro from Sony DCR-TRV120

I have a ca. 2000 Sony DCR-TRV120 camera that has recorded digital video to tape (Hi8/DV cartridges). It has an i.LINK port, which is what Sony calls FireWire. I am unable to import video from the camera through Final Cut Pro, iMovie or QuickTime Player. The camera does not show up as an import source in any of those.

My computer is an M1 MacBook Pro running Monterey 12.3.1. The camera shows up in System Information:

So, there is some communication. It is hooked up through an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, which has an Apple Thunderbolt 2 to FireWire 800 adapter plugged into it, which, in turn, has a FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 adapter plugged into it. The cable that connects the camera has a six-conductor FireWire 400 connector on it and a four-conductor FireWire 400 connector on the other. The latter is plugged into the i.LINK port of the camera. The camera has the A/V→DV OUT option turned to ON.

Why can I not import video from the camera?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Apr 25, 2022 3:12 PM

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Answer 1

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D. Hoffmann Author

Level 1

119 points

May 19, 2022 3:05 PM in response to Alchroma

Wonders never cease!

See this message from Apple:

This is Chris from Apple Pro Apps in Cupertino. Thank you for submitting valuable customer feedback.

This week, we released macOS Monterey 12.4 and Final Cut Pro 10.6.3 updates that should resolve your issue. At your earliest convenience, can you please install both updates, and reply back with your results?

As a precaution, you may want to back up the Final Cut Pro application and your libraries before updating. For more information, please visit:

Back up Final Cut Pro 10.1 or later

Learn about backing up your Final Cut Pro 10.1 or later application and libraries, and about archiving projects.

Back up Final Cut Pro 10.1 or later - Apple Support

Thank you,

Chris

I have not been able to test this, yet, but will hopefully be able to, tomorrow.

Thank you, Apple!

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Answer 2

D. Hoffmann Author

Level 1

119 points

May 21, 2022 2:47 PM in response to D. Hoffmann

It’s a mixed bag. I have tried to import a few Hi8 tapes, but FCP most of the time does not finish the import properly. It says “Processing” in the upper left-hand corner of the viewer for the video being imported, but does not come to completion with that. When I click on the close button I get an alert that the video is still being imported, and then I see an indefinite beachball.

A force-quit allows me to re-launch FCP, but now the FireWire import method is gone. Only a reboot brings it back. The reboot also takes a while and, once logged back in, I am greeted with the alert that says, “You shut down your computer because of a problem.” Well, it wasn’t a forced shutdown with the power button but by selection from the Apple menu. I always thought that dialog would come up only after a forced shutdown.

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Answer 3

May 22, 2022 9:18 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I have an "unnEUtered" Sony TRV320E camcorder from 2000 and importing DV recorded on good TDK Hi8 tapes has always been reliable in iMovie 1-6.

I have converted all those D8 tapes to original quality interlaced .dv files with iMovie 1-6 years ago so I might forget and delete them and also iDVD projects carefully exported to those clumsy video-DVDs soon because I recently bob-deinterlaced to 50 fps and exported them to HEVC with ffmpeg.

Sony D8 has an option to on-the-fly digitize old analog Hi8 tape to .dv to Firewire. I have only once used that option when I loaned the camcorder to a friend to digitize analog Hi8 tapes to iMovie. Then it worked OK.

But I would not trust later macOS and Macs for Firewire. I still have old (PPC PowerMac 8600/200 1998, PowerBook G4 2003), Intel Mac mini late 2009 for DV work, if necessary. My current Intel Mac mini 2018 seemed to limp along with iMovie 6 in Mojave when I tested it a few years ago with some Thunderbolt-FW adapters but I'd use that older gear if I still need to import DV or convert analog to DV.

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Answer 4

May 22, 2022 10:52 AM in response to D. Hoffmann

" I have tried to import a few Hi8 tapes, but FCP most of the time does not finish the import properly "

When you import are you letting the tape run to the end of the tape?

If you are then try stopping the import just before the tape gets to the point where the video signal on the tape gets to the end.

In other words try stopping the import just before getting to blank tape.

You could test the principle of this by importing just a couple of minutes of tape to see if you get the import successfully .

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Answer 5

D. Hoffmann Author

Level 1

119 points

May 23, 2022 8:58 AM in response to thesurreyfriends

thesurreyfriends wrote:

When you import are you letting the tape run to the end of the tape?

If you are then try stopping the import just before the tape gets to the point where the video signal on the tape gets to the end.

In other words try stopping the import just before getting to blank tape.

That worked! Thank you very much!

I had exactly let the tape run until it hit the hard stop at the end each time. Part of the problem is that the runtime of a 60-min Digital 8 tape is 120 min, when recorded in the Hi8 standard. It’s hard to keep an eye on the tape the whole time. This time, however, I set a timer.

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