How do I import .DV file formats into PP?

[Mike123454321]

I have many videos which were recorded on a Sony Hi8 digital video camera (2004).  I looked in the supported file formats for PP and Media Encoder and .DV is shown as a supported format but I am unable to select the .DV files to import them into PP CC.  I then attempted to convert the files in Media Encoder CC but I was unable to select the formats.  It's as though that .DV format is not supported.

Any tips on how to accomplish this would be much appreciated.

Tks.

[R Neil Haugen]

Do you have these videos already in digital form on a drive in your computer, or still on the tapes from the camera?

Neil

[Mike123454321]

Yes.  The files are already captured from the camera and stored on my hard drive in .dv format.

[John T Smith]

DV is a wrapper, what is inside YOUR wrapper - Exactly what is INSIDE the video you are editing?

Report back with the codec details of your file, use the programs below... A screen shot works well to SHOW people what you are doing - For Windows Internet Explorer press the PRINT SCREEN button on your keyboard, and then do CTRL-V to paste the screen print from the clipboard into a forum message

Free programs to get file information for PC/Mac http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download

- when you analyze your file in MediaInfo and post a screen shot in the forum, do so in TREE view

[Mike123454321]

Screen shot of the DV container is attached.

[Jim_Simon]

DV encoded video works, but as .avi or .mov files.  If memory serves, the .dv format isn't supported.  You might need to recapture.

[Ann Bens · Accepted solution]

Is this mac or pc?

This must have been some sort of capture device:

Hi8/D8 captures in mov (mac) or avi (pc) in Premiere.

Try changing the extention.

Streamclip or Handbrake

This might still work on pc

Homepage of DVdate

[Mike123454321]

Windows 10 PC.

[Mike123454321]

Handbrake seems to be doing the trick.  I'm exporting from .DV to .MP4 with handbrake and Premire seems to be recognizing the files.  Back to work.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[Mike123454321]

I'm trying "Handbrake" now to convert from .DV to .MP4 format and it seems to be converting fine.  It's not complete yet but it makes me wonder as to why a free shareware program like Handbrake can do something that a commercial grade program like Media Encoder cannot do? 

[R Neil Haugen]

There are many things that are useful to the users of PrPro that it's not really necessary for the engineers to make. Such as all the plugins to do this or that by Red Giant and others. If someone else can make something with a wider use than just in PrPro, but can be useful, at that point, I'd rather have the engineering budget spent on things PrPro must do.

So ... PrPro engineers & managers look at the formats/codecs in heaviest use by their primary market segment. They build the capability to use those within the program. Other formats/codecs can normally and easily be converted by 3rd party and even free-ware products ... and at that point, why spend the time?

Whether I'm batching through ME or Handbrake, doesn't really matter to me. Just as long as I get the jobs done.

Neil

[Jim_Simon]

Premiere Pro captures DV tapes as an .avi or .mov file, so those are the formats it's programmed to work with.  Had you captured using Premiere Pro, you'd have had no issue.

[Stan Jones]

convert from .DV to .MP4 format  

Depending on your settings, you may get an unnecessary loss of quality going to mp4, even if you keep the bitrate high.

You really want a lossless repackaging with an avi extension.

But let us know what quality you get.

[Ann Bens]

You can convert with Handbrake to a lossless file, but it will be huge.

Streamclip might be a better option it has dv-avi.

[lightsandsounds]

"You really want a lossless repackaging with an avi extension."

Can you elaborate on this please?  I'm having the exact same issue.  I used a free converter trial (iSkysoft iMedia Converter Deluxe) to try and figure this out, but my test file converts to about 1/10 the .dv file size so I'm afraid I'm losing quality.  I am 0% worried about file size, I just want the best quality possible (I captured a giant pile of Hi-8 tapes in iMovie cuz PP would stop capturing every time there was a break in the footage.  I did this years ago). I'm totally fine with massive files sizes (the .dv files are about 26GB each and I'm okay with that).  Storage is cheap.

[Stan Jones]

Re lossless, I was referring to an option that keeps the already captured video stream and just modifies the container. That may not be possible. In other cases, lossless (intermediate) refers to formats like dnxhd that will not lose anything in editing.

Do you have a .dv sample you can share?

[arrjay1234]

I have the same issue. I don't want to capture in Premiere Pro because the capture stops every couple of minutes (this is a known issue for Premiere Pro). As an alternative, I used Vidi, a free application to capture my miniDV tapes, however, the only output option is a .dv file. Then, the problem, as mentioned in this thread, is that you cannot import a .dv file into Premiere Pro. I have yet to find a program that will losslessly convert .dv files to .avi or .mov files (I have tried Avidemux, MPEG Streamclip, and Canopus DV File Converter, however, none of them supported the .dv files generated by Vidi). I also tried LifeFlix to capture, however, it imparted some glitchy artifacts on the video. Does anyone know a way to capture video on Mac without the capture stopping every few minutes in .mov or .avi format? Thanks!

[markusb8767966]

i also use Vidi... its funny that CS6 has worked fine with .dv files 😉 since some cc Version down the line support for it seems to be dropped... and at top adobe may be stopped let me install CS6? now i have tons of captured VHS tapes and cant edit it...

[Stan Jones]

With a CC subscription, you can install CS6.

[JulianHorn]

Thanks Stan!

I can confirm that PP CS6 (I already had it installed via my CC subscription because of Encore CS6) handles .dv files quickly and easily! I was using Miro Video Converter to convert the .dv to mp4 - which it does very well but just adds another process to the task.

I have a lot of material which I import using an old Panasonic NV-GS4 camcorder. I am using iMove 9 to import it into my Mac as PP CC19 keeps stalling on import and also is not able to control rewind etc.

As a bonus iMovie 9 generates simple .dv files in folders under the event name making the whole process as simple as it can be.

PP6 then imports then with no problems at all.

Sometimes the old ways are the simplest

[Ann Bens]

JulianHorn  wrote

Thanks Stan!

I can confirm that PP CS6 (I already had it installed via my CC subscription because of Encore CS6) handles .dv files quickly and

Beware CS6 is no longer available with CC subscription.

[HitCity]

Thanks for the update - but I am a bit crushed after getting my hopes up reading this thread 😉 I, too, am seeking to impor a ton of .dv footage into PP for editing. Are there any other alternatives than the touted fix of PP CS6? Any tips on how to losslessly convert .dv to something that PP can deal with? Thanks so much.......

[default2pfnq17jb0s6]

Duplicate it in Quicktime and it changes into a .MOV file, then you can drag it into PP. It worked for me 

[OneNN]

Most simple solution: Rename the .dv file to .avi. Premiere Pro should accept the file