Record video with Quicktime player (Use the Station 05 in CMA 4.138)

 

 

 

This document will walk you through how to record a video using Quicktime Player on a Mac OS computer.

Use computer station #5 in CMA 4.138. It's all setup and connected to the dub rack that contains the legacy tape and disc playback units.

 

Make sure the DVCAM deck on the top rack of the dub rack is on - Light is green not red.
Make sure the same DVCAM deck is set to Video Input on the Input Select

The machines on the top 2 shelves are labeled DV RECORDER and OCEAN/MATRIX switcher.  These 2 machines should be on with their power-button lit green.  Turn them on if they are not already on.

The monitor on top of the rack should be on as well (green light).  If it is off, turn it on.

Locate your Source media player. Make sure the device is on (green light). Available media players are:

 

Input 1: DVD

Input 2: VHS

Input 3: DVCam

Input 4: Hi8

Put your Source media into your Source device and press Play.

 

On the OCEAN/MATRIX Input Selector, press the corresponding input button (for DVDs, this would be 1). 

Your media should appear on the TV monitor at the top of the rack. 

 
Make sure the Thunderbolt Cable is plugged into the back of the IMac

Open the Quicktime Player application under Macintosh HD > Applications > Quicktime Player. Use QuickTime Player not QuickTIme Player 7.

From the top left of the screen, select File > New Movie Recording (Command + Option + N).

Quicktime will open a new window.  The default input is the computer's camera. You will need to change this!!

Change the input by clicking the disclosure triangle (in picture at right)

Select the name of your device under the 'Camera' portion of the menu.  

Choose DV-VCR on the Camera and the Microphone


Quality should be set to High - You can try Maximum if you would like but can cause dropped frames.

If you do not have any options other than the built-in camera:

  • check to be sure your playback device is on
  • or check the connection between the playback device and your computer.  Typically this is the firewire input.

If your new recording window may appear blank.  Make sure you are outputting a signal to Quicktime Player through your playback machine. Press play on your device.

Make sure your source material is queued if necessary.  Play, fast forward or rewind to find where you would like to start digitizing your media.

If the intended use on the internet or for a presentation, leave the Quality at High.  This is the default setting.
 
If your source material is intended for further editing, you may want to improve the recording quality by selecting Quality > Maximum from the disclosure triangle in the toolbar.

 

Press the red record button and the play button on your source device when you are ready to begin recording.

 

 

The recording is real-time only.  Wait until you have recorded all of your material.

Press the black stop button after your recording has completed.

Save your Recording. The current title of the file is "Untitled"

 

Go to >File>Save and navigate to a location to save your QuickTime

Put the file name in the "Export as"

 

Then navigate to your hard drive and save the file by clicking "Save"

Check your file for Audio and Video quality

Double-click the icon to open up the recording in Quicktime Player and play it to verify that your recording worked properly.

Now you can move the recording to a different device if necessary such as an external hard drive, USB stick, or network share.

This movie is ready to import into an editing program, including in a presentation, or uploading to youtube.