No, I don't care for it either (I have a MiniDV camcorder and a lot of old family video tapes), but it might be that – or going the analog (low quality) route. Yes, Apple should have put out a Thunderbolt 3 to Firewire 800 adapter. You can use QuickTime Player to split your clips into smaller chunks.
It used to be common for docks to have Firewire ports (in the Thunderbolt 1/2 case), but that doesn't seem to be as true for either USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 docks. MiniDV video is still NTSC/PAL-resolution, so you won't get a HDTV or 4K quality video out of the transfer.įirewire adapters can be hard to find these days. I believe that Sony left off the power pins on the iLink ports on their camcorders, so you might need something like a cable with a four-pin Firewire 400 connector on the camcorder end, and a FireWire 800 connector on the computer/dock/adapter end. The number of pins on FireWire connectors varies. This would allow you to transfer the digital video on the MiniDV tapes directly to the computer without incurring digital-to-analog-to-digital quality losses. The best way to connect a MiniDV camcorder is using FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394, or iLink, on Sony gear). Also, what is the best interface to use to connect to my MacBook M1?
