MacOS – How to import mini-DV content onto a Mac

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I have a number of old mini-DV tapes that I would like to import into my Macbook.

  • I want an app to read the contents of these tapes
  • It should be able to produce a single MP4 combining all of the clips on the tape
  • It should be able to produce multiple MP4 files of the separate clips on the tape.

I tried using iMovie one time and found it to be overkill for what I need. It imported the contents of my tape as multiple .dv files and then I have to create a project. I don't want to deal with that. I want to not need to manage things and import the content of tapes and store it on the filesystem so that I can watch the content on Macs/Windows/Linux/multiple-platforms.

What software meets these requirements?

Best Answer

Connect your camcorder and use iMovie HD to import the tape, then export using Share>Quicktime. It will create one file out of the tape.

Edit: In response to Sajee's comment below.

Choose Share>Quicktime>Compress movie for: Full Quality. As implied, there won't be any loss of quality.

Share>Quicktime>Compress movie for: Full Quality