DSLR clips not visibile on mac? at DVinfo.net

Clive McLaughlin · June 22nd, 2013, 10:08 AM

Hi folks, i wonder if any of you can help.

I stepped in and filmed a wedding for another company last weekend.

I have th footage still on cards, and mirrored on two hard drives and and external drive. I gave the external drive to the guy and the folder shows as empty. He was a little concerned. But I've looked at the drive and the other drives. The clips are all def there and working.

Clips were taken on my Canon 550D.

Its just a codec issue surely? But I'd have though this guyw ould be savvy enough to figure that out. Then again, its not that the files won't play, its that they arnt apparantly there.

Is it a drive format problem?

James Manford · June 22nd, 2013, 10:10 AM

Doesn't sound good.

If they were physically on the drive and didn't play it would definitely be a codec issue. I would of suggested using VLC Media Player, Windows media player & quicktime as well as dropping the clips in to the timeline on your chosen editing software to test it out.

But the fact you say it's invisible on the drive!?

If you right click > properties - does it show that the drive is full with data? have you enabled the viewing for hidden files?

James Manford · June 22nd, 2013, 10:13 AM

A quick google search bought up this extract ... don't know if this is relevant to you as i'm a PC user so not familiar with MAC.

"The 550D is a very nice camera but the way it records video (H.264) is not compatible with FCE. You will need to convert the video to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec with MPEG Streamclip in order to use it in FCE."

Clive McLaughlin · June 22nd, 2013, 11:05 AM

I'm not convinced its a codec thing simply because the files dont show up as icons at all. Its just a blank folder. The same drive put back in my PC shows them all. I'm trying to get him to put them on a relative or friend's PC to see that they are all there and working. I need my drive back!

Nigel Barker · June 22nd, 2013, 11:10 AM

Do I gather that the other guy has a Mac but you don't? How was the external drive formatted? If he can't see the files then it's not a CODEC issue. You need to tell us what version & what OS each of you have. Presumably it was a USB drive?

John Nantz · June 22nd, 2013, 11:35 AM

Nigel - I'll second your comment "How was the external drive formatted?"

How the drive is formatted could make a difference.

Clive McLaughlin · June 22nd, 2013, 11:41 AM

Yea he's mac (not sure what version) I'm on Windows 8, and its a USB drive. If he brings over a mac friendly drive will he be able to retrieve them off my PC?

Adrian Tan · June 22nd, 2013, 05:22 PM

Clive, ask him to bring over an empty drive and format it to FAT32 or exFAT on your PC (which should be compatible with both PC and Mac). Apparently, exFAT is not supported on older Macs, so FAT32 is more universal. There's a free Verbatim tool to format to FAT32.

Whether you can read his Mac formatted drive without doing anything to it -- you may need software like MacDrive. Depends how it's formatted.

June 22nd, 2013, 10:08 AM	#1
Clive McLaughlin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Belfast Posts: 823	DSLR clips not visibile on mac? Hi folks, i wonder if any of you can help. I stepped in and filmed a wedding for another company last weekend. I have th footage still on cards, and mirrored on two hard drives and and external drive. I gave the external drive to the guy and the folder shows as empty. He was a little concerned. But I've looked at the drive and the other drives. The clips are all def there and working. Clips were taken on my Canon 550D. Its just a codec issue surely? But I'd have though this guyw ould be savvy enough to figure that out. Then again, its not that the files won't play, its that they arnt apparantly there. Is it a drive format problem?

June 22nd, 2013, 10:10 AM	#2
James Manford Trustee Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,393	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? Doesn't sound good. If they were physically on the drive and didn't play it would definitely be a codec issue. I would of suggested using VLC Media Player, Windows media player & quicktime as well as dropping the clips in to the timeline on your chosen editing software to test it out. But the fact you say it's invisible on the drive!? If you right click > properties - does it show that the drive is full with data? have you enabled the viewing for hidden files?

June 22nd, 2013, 10:13 AM	#3
James Manford Trustee Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,393	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? A quick google search bought up this extract ... don't know if this is relevant to you as i'm a PC user so not familiar with MAC. "The 550D is a very nice camera but the way it records video (H.264) is not compatible with FCE. You will need to convert the video to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec with MPEG Streamclip in order to use it in FCE."

June 22nd, 2013, 11:05 AM	#4
Clive McLaughlin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Belfast Posts: 823	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? I'm not convinced its a codec thing simply because the files dont show up as icons at all. Its just a blank folder. The same drive put back in my PC shows them all. I'm trying to get him to put them on a relative or friend's PC to see that they are all there and working. I need my drive back!

June 22nd, 2013, 11:10 AM	#5
Nigel Barker Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Posts: 3,531	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? Do I gather that the other guy has a Mac but you don't? How was the external drive formatted? If he can't see the files then it's not a CODEC issue. You need to tell us what version & what OS each of you have. Presumably it was a USB drive?

June 22nd, 2013, 11:35 AM	#6
John Nantz Trustee Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 1,254	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? Nigel - I'll second your comment "How was the external drive formatted?" How the drive is formatted could make a difference.

June 22nd, 2013, 11:41 AM	#7
Clive McLaughlin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Belfast Posts: 823	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? Yea he's mac (not sure what version) I'm on Windows 8, and its a USB drive. If he brings over a mac friendly drive will he be able to retrieve them off my PC?

June 22nd, 2013, 05:22 PM	#8
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: DSLR clips not visibile on mac? Clive, ask him to bring over an empty drive and format it to FAT32 or exFAT on your PC (which should be compatible with both PC and Mac). Apparently, exFAT is not supported on older Macs, so FAT32 is more universal. There's a free Verbatim tool to format to FAT32. Whether you can read his Mac formatted drive without doing anything to it -- you may need software like MacDrive. Depends how it's formatted.