Many consumer-style video cameras now capture footage in high definition.
With high-definition video being the name of the game for most professional and many consumer video cameras, it's quite simple to import your HD footage into Apple's iMovie. Whether your camera is a Sony, Panasonic or another brand, importing HD footage is just as easy as importing regular DV footage. Keep in mind though that HD video takes up a lot more space on your computer -- sometimes two to four times as much as DV video -- so you'll need to ensure you have enough hard disk space to accommodate it.
Instructions
1. Connect your Sony video camera to the computer with a FireWire cable.
2. Open iMovie and click "iMovie" then "Preferences." Click "Video" from the popup menu that appears, then click "Full" or "Large" from the "Import HD video as" box. If you click Large, your video will be slightly compressed as it's imported to save space on your computer. According to Apple, the difference in the quality of your HD video will be minimal, yet save you lots of space on your computer.
3. Click "File" then "New Project." This will open up a popup window. Give the project a name, select the 16 to 9 aspect ratio, then click "Create."
4. Turn on your video camera and switch it to "VCR" or "playback" mode. As you turn on the camera, the iMovie import window should automatically appear. If it doesn't, click "File," then "Import from camera."
5. Use the rewind and fast forward buttons in the import window to cue the tape to the place you want to begin importing. Click "Capture" or "Import" in the import window to begin importing the video.
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