Download an owner's manual from Samsung to check for Mac compatibility.
Although the Mac operating system is the second-most commonly used computer platform behind Windows, few Samsung HD camcorders are compatible with the operating system. Even if your camcorder is compatible with Mac, you need to take certain steps to use the device with Mac applications.
Samsung SC-MX20
A document on Samsung's technical support website indicates that Samsung HD camcorders are not compatible with Mac computers as of October 2011. However, despite this edict, Apple indicates that there is one Samsung HD camcorder that you can use with a Mac. You can save videos that you shoot with Samsung's SC-MX20 camcorder to a Mac computer. However, you must perform installation steps before connecting the device to your system.
Required Installations
Before loading Samsung SC-MX20 videos to your Mac computer you must first install the most recent version of Apple's QuickTime video codec. To obtain the latest QuickTime release, open your Web browser and navigate to apple.com/quicktime/download. Then click the "Download Now" button and run the EXE installation file to install the application. Once QuickTime is installed, open your Mac's copy of the iMovie program. Click the "Apple" menu and click "Software Update," and then follow the on-screen instructions to update to the latest version of iMovie. Once these installations are complete, you're ready to download your Samsung camcorder's videos.
Import Movies
To import movies from your Samsung SC-MX20 to your computer, first plug the camcorder in to your Mac using the data cable that came with the device. Next, open the iMovie application. Click "File" and then click "Import Movies" to begin the import process. Then double-click your Samsung camcorder in the browser window, click the "VIDEO" folder and then click the "VIDEO100" subfolder. Doing so displays a list of the video clips stored on your computer. Select all video clips that you would like to import and then click the "Import" button to save the videos to your Mac's hard drive.
Check Samsung Support
The user manual that comes with each Samsung HD camcorder lists whether the device is Mac compatible. Although most current Samsung camcorders don't work on Mac as of October 2011, Mac compatibility may be added to future versions. You can check whether a new Samsung camcorder works with Mac by downloading the device's manual from Samsung support. Open your web browser and navigate to samsung.com/us/support/downloads. Choose "Camcorders" and "High Definition" in the first two drop-down menus, then choose the model that you want to research from the Model Name menu. Next, click the download icon under the File heading that corresponds to the most recent version of the user manual. Doing this will download the manual and display it on your screen. You can then search for the word "Mac" within the manual to find information about whether the camcorder works with Mac computers.
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