QuickTime DV capture eats up captured footage upon stopping import

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QuickTime DV capture eats up captured footage upon stopping import

I've been digitizing old videotapes for my college's TV studio, as I've said before. Right now I am working on their library of Video8 and Hi-8 tapes, playing them back in a Sony Digital8 camcorder and capturing them using QuickTime Player, which is currently the only software on the studio's iMacs capable of a good DV IEEE-1394/FireWire video capture (the current iMovie has issues with sound from DV sources). But lately after I finish capturing, pushing the "stop" button, I get a "buffering" wheel, and then I see only a small amount of the tape I had imported has been saved! For example, I may capture a 50-minute program, but when stopping the import QuickTime Player takes a big bite out of the first 40 minutes, leaving only the last ten minutes intact, and then I have to start all over and pray it doesn't happen again.

Anyone else have this problem?

Posted on May 30, 2025 9:11 AM

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Answer 1

May 30, 2025 11:11 AM in response to wiley209

wiley209 wrote:

M3 iMacs (each with 24 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD) with a FireWire-to-Thunderbolt daisy chain, running Mac OS 15 Sequoia and exporting to a USB-C SSD.

Then you could use Final Cut Pro for the import, if you can afford it.

DV import to Sonoma still works - Apple Community

Is there a point in using QuickTime Playe… - Apple Community

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Answer 2

May 30, 2025 9:41 AM in response to wiley209

Which Mac and does it natively support Firewire, which macOS, which QuickTime Player version, where are you exporting to?

Make sure not to import to iCloud Documents & Desktop if that setting is enabled because exporting and uploading straight to cloud is not recommended.

Does the college have old iMovie 1-6 versions which were good to import DV?

Notice that the old 32-bit (up to Mojave) QuickTime Player 7 was much better than the new versions because it allowed lossless DV import while the new version forces imports as progressive instead interlaced.

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Answer 3

wiley209 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 30, 2025 10:14 AM in response to Matti Haveri

We're using M3 iMacs (each with 24 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD) with a FireWire-to-Thunderbolt daisy chain, running Mac OS 15 Sequoia and exporting to a USB-C SSD.

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