Need settings for importing/exporting from imovie

[Character]

I have a big desire to export iMovie project that generates files but of poor quality compared to my source file: the files read by Quicktime export once made, are so strongly "jerky". My configuration is: iMac 2GHz / Leopard / iMovie'08. My source video files are small files imported by iPhoto from my digital camera Sony and the Motion-JPEG format at 30 fps 16:9. I need to best settings for importing/exporting from imovie. Please help.

[Raine]

Make sure your DV camera is connected to the FireWire port on your computer is turned on. Many digital video cameras have both a USB and a FireWire connection (also called iLink or IEEE 1394). The USB digital video cameras are generally designed for downloading images, not video content. Use the Firewire connection when working with iMovie. If your camera does not have a FireWire port, it will not work with iMovie.

[Sam.D]

If your camera is connected via FireWire and is turned on, some of the following tips should help restore the connection of the camera.
# Shut down and restart the camera.
# Disconnect the FireWire cable from the computer and reconnect it. Do the same thing at the camera. If the camera is connected via a FireWire hub, try connecting directly to the computer.
# Make sure the tape that is in the camera works correctly. Eject and reinsert the tape to make sure it is secure. Try several tapes.
# Try disconnecting any other FireWire devices connected to your computer. If disconnecting an iSight camera seems to solve the problem, verify that you made the iSight update 1.0.2 or later.
# Quit and reopen iMovie.
# Restart the computer.
# Try another FireWire or try the camera with another computer with iMovie.

[ZeDaX]

Some cameras let you record at different speeds. Make sure the camera is set to the highest speed (SP) before connecting to your computer, even if your footage was recorded at a slower speed. For some camera models, the speed adjustment can affect communication of the camera with the computer. Check your camera's documentation for more information and try out some recording samples at different speeds to make sure that the recording speed is compatible.

[ThoMas321]

Make sure your camera or device is designed to send digital video data when communicating with a computer. Some video cameras record data on the memory of the camera, a card inserted in the camera or on a CD or DVD recordable. iMovie is designed to work with digital video format transmitted over FireWire. If your camera does not support sending digital video data via a FireWire connection to the computer or does not have FireWire, iMovie does not detect the camera.

[Appaji]

Its depending on the format in which the footage was captured on your camera, it is possible that you can still use it in iMovie. If you can copy the film from the camera to the hard drive of your computer, you may be able to import it. The menu File Choose Import and select the file copied from the camera. Consult the documentation that came with your camera to find out more about downloading video content on the computer.

[Kallol]

If you use an HD camera and the import stops immediately when you try to import from camera into iMovie, quickly scroll the tape a few seconds and try importing again. If you saved a sequence already present on the tape, but in a different format, this may stop the import. This problem may occur if there is a portion of sequence in the other format at the beginning of the tape.