Need help with iMovie

If the video files you want to use are on a DVD, then you may have some problems. If the video was written as a movie (DVD Player opens when you insert the disc into the Mac) then you won't be able to just copy it off. If the video was burned as a regular .mov file or something else, you should be able to either drag it off of the disc to the desktop or import it all into iMovie.

If you are using MiniDV tapes with this Sony camcorder, iMovie should allow you to import directly from the camera, provided you have a FireWire port and cable. I have done this many times before, and like many programs and cameras, the only drawback is it imports in real time, so you'll have to wait/watch the clips as they are copied. If you're not using MiniDV tapes, have some other kind of camcorder, let us know. And what happened to the original video (before you put it on the DVD)? If that's gone, there may be some more issues. Provide us with more information, such as the type of Sony camera you have, what type of Mac you are using, what OS is on the Mac, and the version of iMovie. To find out about the Mac, click the Apple at the top-left of the screen. Select "About This Mac" to find the CPU type and OS version. For iMovie, click "iMovie" at the top of the screen as well, and click on "About iMovie". Software version should be listed. It helps to know this because iMovie is different from its predecessor, iMovie HD. Another way to differentiate between iMovie versions is the dock icon. Is it a blue icon or a yellow star? Let us know how you get on.

-BMF

As BMF has already stated, you should be able to import the video directly from the camera into iMovie.
Unfortunately, most of the literature for the Sony cameras is geared toward the Windows side, as is the software that they supply with the camera.

I have a feeling from what you said, that this is the type of camera that puts the video directly onto a DVD, a DVD that sits inside the camera.
This makes importing video more difficult than it needs to be.

We await further information on the camera.

P

Turn off Filevault before importing. When I hook my Sony Videocam to my Powerbook G4 using Firewire, the computer won't import videos properly unless Filevault is turned off. This takes quite a long time to decrypt if you have a lot of files. Then after you're done with iMovie, you have to wait quite a while when Filevault encrypts the files again. Bummer!