Simplest import of MicroMV to Macbook M1?
 

Hi DigitalFAQ community,

I wouldn't be asking if I hadn't already spent many hours watching YouTube videos and searching the Internet. I also searched this forum and relived user arguments from 10 years ago. So far I've been unsuccessful for my specific use case.

I have 50+ MicroMV tapes from 2002-2008. Some of the people in the videos are now old, so I feel a bit of urgency to share these. Most don't live close enough for a TV screening, so uploading is the only option.

I bought a MicroMV camera (DCR-IP5) off eBay and need to import the videos to my MacBook Pro (M1, 2021) so I can upload the videos to YouTube or Vimeo. I don't need to do any editing, just import entire 60-minute tapes.

I'm seeing there are digital converters (Canopus) into which I could plug the S-Video and RCA cables, and they'll provide a digital version of each film, but I'm reading varying accounts of whether it'll still work in 2024.

I've also seen people daisy-chain four different cables to go from the camera to a computer, which I'm prepared to do, but it's not usually to a Mac. And the software recommendations are all over the place.

Anyone have advice on how I can make this happen? Thank you in advance!

I don't think you're going to be able to do it on an M1 MacBook, unless you go the analogue route. And even then as you surmise it will probably still be painful, plus you get to recompress MPEG2 with DV.

While you can get the adapters to connect it digitally to the Mac (FireWire to Thunderbolt 2 (discontinued, available secondhand), then Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3) there was never much software that supported this format, especially on the Mac, and I doubt any of it will run even under Rosetta on an Apple Silicon Mac.

You are better off getting a contemporary computer, the most widely available with FireWire built-in and it sounds like one you would be more comfortable with is a 2010-2012 era MacBook Pro or Mac mini. With a period OS, probably Lion or Mountain Lion which you can probably install in recovery mode these should run iMovie '08 to iMovie '11 which according to Wikipedia will capture from a MicroMV device. You should be able to pick these up for similar or less than the cost of a Canopus ADVC, certainly once you also purchase the adapters you also need.

iMovie can clip the ends of the file and should be able to export the capture into a format a bit more friendly than an MPEG-2 Transport Stream, although perhaps that is supported by Youtube and Vimeo.

There is also some other contemporary software that can apparently capture from these devices on an old Mac- https://www.cuttingcords.com/home/20...ox-using-a-mac and you should be able to use ffmpeg to do format conversion. Reading some more about iMovie '08 to '11 since I posted this it seems they may not work so well, so I 'd probably try this software first and get the files off the capture Mac for any required processing elsewhere.

I'm not qualified on Windows machine, I am sure others here can point you in the right direction.

In addition to what was said above, Get a cheap laptop with firewire and use something like CapDVHS, I've never handled MicroMV but I know it is not DV, it is MPEG2 SD like the SD version of D-VHS or DVD.
Colin did a nice video about this format.

Thank you for this informative reply. I appreciate it and I'll look into your suggestions. I may even have an old Mac lying around (though maybe not quite that old).

At risk of asking too much of your time, if I went "the analog route," do you know how I'd do that? At this point I'm thinking it may be better to get a lower-quality version of my footage online than no footage online (if I give up in frustration).

Thank you again.

Not on Mac, neither Intel or M chips. Again, SD video capture was a Window world in the 00s/10s, and certain formats are Windows-only. To access the MPEG on the tape, you must use an old version of Pinnacle Studio.

@latreche34, I never had success with the MPEG2 transport software made for D-VHS decks.

FYI, Wikipedia is wrong on software.

Although I have a MicroMV camera, it's been more than 10 years since I last used it. I vaguely remember having issues with analog output to capture with my ATI AIW (or any capture card), and was forced to install and use Studio on XP.

Thanks! I watched that video, it was mostly informative, just didn't answer my particular questions. Thank you for the response.

Thank you for the info. This is what I mean –*there's so much conflicting info out there. Looks like I may have to go the old computer route.

Just take it step by step, First figure out how to dump the data from the tapes as is without any alteration, either old mac with movie maker or a PC with Sony shaker software or DVHSTool. Once the files are on the hard drive, then figure out how to strip the MPEG-2 files from raw files, this step should be easy, there is wide compatibility to decode the format.

MicroMV cameras output MPEG2-TS (Transport Stream) from their Firewire outputs. You can use various capture tools designed for DVHS decks. Once you have the files, they are fairly straight forward to work with. The bit rates are low enough that they can be direct stream copied onto DVD Video discs without having to re-compress.

There are people out there that offer transfer services for this format. vwestlife from youtube has an ebay listing offering his transfer services: https://www.ebay.com/itm/171796812967

Thanks! Funny, I've communicated with vwestlife on eBay (his handle is ecodiesel). He was reluctant to take on all of my tapes, but said he'd do 10 or so, but then I decided to try to do it myself. I might just go back to him. Didn't know he had a YouTube channel. I'll check it out. Thanks again.

Vwestlife in this video showing he uses DVHSTool to transfer the files and are playable on most modern devices as they are simple SD MPEG-2 files 12Mbps, Colin in the video I linked previously ended up with mmv files because he used Sony's proprietary movie shaker software, that's why.

There is nothing wrong if you decide to support him and send your tapes to him, Though there is a possibility of the tapes could get lost in the mail.

That's because he's charging peanuts, and will find himself a video slave for less than minimum wage. It's a trap that will end badly when people undercharge (and thus overwork).

Edit: Misread this post and thought MiniDV was being discussed, so the below likely is not relevant, apologies.

FWIW, I've had great luck capturing on an M2 MacBook Air with the dongles mentioned here. iMovie stills work well, as does DVRescue. However, my preferred path is detailed in this blog: https://leolabs.org/blog/capture-minidv-on-macos/

Last question
 

I'm not sure if you'll all see this, but here's my question.

Can I take the firewire-to-S-Video + RCA-out cables and plug them into a converter box and import them through USB-C to my MacBook? I'm getting mixed answers about that. Thanks!

Which devices, specifically?
Most of these methods "work" but the video looks awful.