Data Decay?

The Garage
#1

I have a lot of video recorded on a Canon Camcorder that uses mini DV tapes to record to. Up to now I have enjoyed editing the video (.dv format) on the two previous versions of iMovie, HD and 9.09. But my old computer died so I bought a new MB Air which came with iMovie 10.1.6. This new version doesn’t like the video produced by my old camcorder, refusing to show it in widescreen format, even though it was recorded in widescreen. It shows the 12x9 video compressed horizontally into 4x3, where everything is skinny. I haven’t been able to work out how to fix it yet. Apple Communities haven’t provided any solutions.

I have diligently made back ups of all my data over the years only to find that when the old computer died and is replaced with a current model all my back ups are useless because the new software won’t work with it. Wonderful! I have important video that I can’t access properly anymore. How does one protect oneself from this situation?

1 Like
#2

Have you tried exporting the data into another program to play it? Like VLC?

#3

If its dv format MPEG streamclip might help you re-export it. Although with the new OS QuickTime MPEG isn’t working with streamclip but dv might still work.

#4

The backup software won’t work? to allow you to import, or is this just the video not playing correctly?

#5

Firstly I should correct myself, I mean 16:9 aspect ratio. I had previously imported lots of video, in the form of .dv clips, from my camcorder into iMovie 9. I have not edited them into movies yet, I was waiting for a rainy day when I had nothing to do. In the meantime my old computer died so I bought a new MB Air. When I transferred all these unedited clips into the new computer from my back up disc I found iMovie 10 doesn’t display them correctly. The camcorder, when set to record in widescreen, export the clips in 4:3 aspect ratio, but with the picture compressed horizontally, so everything looks skinny. The old iMovie, when set to create a 16:9 project would automatically expand the clips so they looked correct. The new iMovie 10 doesn’t offer a choice of aspect ratio and just shows the clips in this compressed 4:3 state.
I have an old 2008 iMac running Snow Leopard so I will transfer the unedited clips across to that machine and edit and export the videos quick smart. That computer won’t last forever.
But I am left with a camcorder that is incompatible with my new computer. Unless I record future video in 4:3 and select ‘Crop to Fit’. That works.
Thanks for putting up with my ramble, I think I have worked out what to do.

#6

Ahhhh I see the problem, so it’s not that you don’t have the data it’s that the new version doesn’t want to deal with it the same way.

There used to be a setting (at some point in the past) that you had to set to Widescreen when importing the video but I don’t know if that still exists or not. I think I still have my miniDV camera around here somewhere…

… fast forward a little while and I’ve found it and plugged it in. Strangely none of the old DV tapes appear to be working (they are showing as blank and won’t take a recording… The batteries are also so dead they don’t even show up as plugged in. They are 12 years old and have spent most of that in a box somewhere. At least it can run from AC power.

In any case, there doesn’t appear to be a setting to set the aspect ratio for importing video :frowning: Although it’s also telling me that I can’t control the camera from the computer (which I always could before). Maybe these things just aren’t supported in modern OSs :frowning:

#7

FCP X has a free one month trial.
You can set up a Project to handle wide screen DV:

Al

#8

Don’t know if this helps… I think it was my Canon handcam that claimed to be a widescreen miniDV camera… with a widescreen LCD display… and showed widescreen when connected to a tv via its breakout cable… and presented as widescreen when captured into iMovie.

However - when I later captured the same footage into Final Cut Pro, what I found was that the footage in fact was 4:3! The camera was however convincing everything that it was connected to that the footage had to be clipped down to a 16:9 ratio - all except Final Cut Pro, that saw the real image… (There was no distortion - FCP was seeing material that was hidden from view via iMovie etc.)

#9

Yep, that is similar to what I am experiencing, except that in my case the camcorder exports the 12:9 clips as 4:3 but squeezed horizontally, so when the receiving software expands it out to 12:9 it looks fine. The problem is that iMovie 10 hasn’t been told to do this trick of expansion.
As to FCP, that is rather out of reach financially, so not an option.
I should buy myself a new camcorder that records to a card, or a new still camera with decent video capabilities, but as I have just bought a new computer, that will have to wait.

#10

Did I mention FREE trial for one month?
Enough time to do some test driving:

Al

#11

It looks far too complicated for me. I would need all of the 30 days just to get started.
Thanks anyway.

#12

If you search the net, you’ll find older versions of iMovie…

#13

That would be good, but will the old versions run on Mac OS 10.12.6? I did read somewhere there are some problems.
Thanks for the suggestion though.

#14

I see iMovie 9.0.9 can still be downloaded from the Apple website. What would happen to the current version if I downloaded the old version? I’m very interested in trying it, if it will work on OS 10.12.6…
I’ve done a bit of a search and it seems that iMovie 9 is not comfortable with Sierra, so I will look to see it there are affordable alternatives.