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Note: this camcorder was first sold in Jan 2007. There may be newer versions available.
Canon HV20 High Definition Camcorder
Canon HV20 High Definition Camcorder
F
HQ Grade: F
A is outstanding and exceptional, rated in the top 10% of camcorders.
B means they are good, with some standout features.
C means they are mediocre, and probably more trouble than they are worth.
D & F mean they are absolutely awful or old. Avoid at all costs.
  • 5 out of 5
"Nothing is out there better than this video camera"
  • 4 out of 5
"Canon HV20 great for travel"
See rating based on 331 user reviews
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Question Possibly Answered (5 points for the best answer)
lala (lala1) 0 pts
January 28, 2008 5:09 AM
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I cant get my hv20 to tallk to my Mac? I am using final cut pro 4 does anyone know what setting it is I need to use?

I can connect and upload hd video footage to premier pro with no problem. however in final cut pro, even when I change the setting to hd it does nt even find my camera on the mac at all.
Any ideas how I can solve this? is there another program or application I have to download for canon hv20?
thanks
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Answers This question has replies but the author has not yet indicated whether it's answered after a long time. Can you answer the question, or post a clarifying follow-up?
by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58449 pts
January 29, 2008 2:25 PM
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Are you connecting via Firewire? If you have it hooked up via USB, the MAC won't see it unless you're in iPhoto as the USB port is for the still photo feature. It's a common error.
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A. 2 pts
March 3, 2008 8:30 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 1 people rated this answer not helpful
 
hi james.... which cables should i use so to domwnload video from my HV20 to my powerpc g5 running on 10.4?

thanks a lot for your help so i could buy this cable online asap ;)

A.
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by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58449 pts
March 3, 2008 1:46 PM
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Definitely FireWire . Unless you have a Blackmagic capture card, then HDMI. But you'd know if you did. So go firewire.
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A. 2 pts
March 3, 2008 5:22 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
ok...but which firewire...i am a real noob there...4/4?4/6?...thanks a lot to send me a link of what need to be bought if you know that for sure ;) thanks thanks ...

A.

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by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58449 pts
March 3, 2008 6:37 PM
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4-6 pin. that's standard. the FireWire 400 port is a 6-pin on a Mac. Any 4-pin/6-pin Firewire 400 should be fine. Also note that when you are importing high definition video (over Firewire 400), the bottleneck is not the Firewire connection, but at the CPU crunching the HDV information. Since the DV port is a Firewire 400 port, using the firewire 800 port on your iMac won't buy you anything - the limitation will be on the camcorder's side.
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A. 2 pts
March 4, 2008 3:04 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
what can i say...thanks a lot james ! ;)
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by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58449 pts
March 4, 2008 1:41 PM
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Happy to help, A. BTW, Lala, I hope we have been able to help you here. If you're happy with the answer you received, you can simply click on "Mark for best answer" bubble and it will place the question in the "Answered" category for all to see. Or, you can leave the question open for a little while longer and see what else gets posted.

Thanks for posting it and Good luck!
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Don 0 pts
December 10, 2008 4:59 AM
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My Canon HV20 is has only been recognized by my iMac on a few occasions. Somehow my iMac did detect my HV20 for a short while a few days ago, I captured about 20 minutes of video on to my hard drive; but the computer simply stopped recognizing my camera again. I made no changes. The firewire is working. I noticed when I was able to capture in iMovie, I was also able to capture in FCE. But now, neither program will recognize my HV20 and so far I'm unable to get it all working again. Help!!!
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kat (katskratch) 0 pts
February 16, 2009 6:51 PM
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Hi, Old to my Mac. New to the HV20. I've done as instructed in that I've plugged in (w/firewire) and turned on. No one sees anyone? Ideas? Plan on using IMovie unless you say otherwise.
Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Kat
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