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General discussion

MAC compatible camcorders

Mar 9, 2011 10:19PM PST

Are there any camcorders that are easily compatible with the MAC? Have an IMac, and IBOOK, running on OS10.6.6 Just purchased a Canon Vixia HF S20, but may return if not easily compatible. In checking several customer review sites as well as Apple support, have found no one to clearly answer. Whatever is most compatible I will purchase. Any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

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Almost all such things are compatible BUT
Mar 9, 2011 10:28PM PST

But many want to avoid having to add software to support the video encoding of the camcorders today. So can you take some time to note what you mean by compatibility? That is, is this a software issue or a hardware one?
Bob

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MAC compatible camcorders
Mar 9, 2011 11:25PM PST

I would like to put the necessary software into my Mac, plug in the camcorder, and view my video. Clearly I'm a newbie - but if my simple expectations are not reasonable do let me know. So the next question might be "Is there a camcorder, and applicable software available that might work easiest and more simply with the Mac?" Foolishly, I was hoping to just plug it in and view (assuming that the correct software was installed). Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks

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That's better
Mar 10, 2011 1:47AM PST

Let's add that using a SD card reader is acceptable too. If we extend to just that, then most if not all units on the market are compatible once you figure out the software required.
Bob

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Mac Compatible Camcorders
Sep 24, 2011 4:16AM PDT

I think I know what this person means by the earlier <span>post as I have the similar question also.
I have an Imac, All of the or I should say at HHgregg, 90% of the camcorders have a tag on them stating that you need Windowsvista or higher (some do say Windows XP still) but none of them state that Mac is alright. When I bought a camcorder last year it had a load of stuff for editing but I could not use that feature on it because it was only for Windows Vista and Up. I could view the movies with Imovie but I could not use the on camera editing features. I had to have a PC in order to do that.
These were just some of the problems that I had with camcorders that are not 100% compatible with Imac.
And by the way, this goes out to all Mac lovers.. You Suck! The only reason that you preach that Mac and Imac are # 1 is because you don't want to be the only ones suckered into buying one. (How does that saying go! Oh Yea... Misery Loves Company! And boy as a Mac User I am absolutely miserable! I have never had a computer that made me feel like my IQ dropped at least 80 points! Just because Mac developers are dicks and can't make the computers as easy to use as PC's NEVER BUY MAC! They are expensive to buy new and hard (nearly impossible) to resale them!

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The reason the "tag"
Sep 24, 2011 2:54PM PDT

on the boxes of the camcorders indicate Windows compatibility is because of the software the camcorder manufacturers include in the box with the camcorder. Whether is it a poor excuse for an editor (less useful than MovieMaker) or a USB driver, they are sometimes required foe Windows. However, they are neither needed nor useful for Macintosh so no "tag" is needed.

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The Reason: The Tag
Oct 8, 2011 7:34AM PDT

Thanks for your response,
I finally got the answer I needed. Although I can go and purchase a camcorder from HHgreg or Bestbuy and bring it home to test it out, if for some reason it doesn't work they will tag another 15-25 % of the camcorder's price to restock it if I return the camcorder. It would be awesome if the sales people of these items were somewhat educated on these issues.
Hopefully when I work on our Imac a little more, I will get the "hang" of it, before I end up hanging myself out of frustration! It's all my fault, not the Imac. The reason is simple enough, I am still using a PC brain on a Mac system. I just need to make my brain Mac compatible and all will be fine.

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Camera Compatability
Oct 10, 2011 12:07AM PDT

Honestly, most cameras these days, especially those that are prosumer in nature are compatabile with Macs. Some of the best editing software out there can only be used by macs.

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Personally, I would
Oct 10, 2011 1:34AM PDT

suggest staying away from hard disc drive consumer camcorders. They have some limitations related to high altitude and high vibration environments and problems recording video.