How do i connect to my mac computer to download videos

You will more then likely need a converter cord for it to work .Try taking them to walmart an see if they can match the cord needed or order from a computer store online like tigerdirect...Good Luck

does the camera have a usb connector?

As far as I know your imac should have a usb connector to connect the camera to.

The best way to download pictures from your camera to your computer involves removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader (either built-in to the computer or connected via USB or FireWire). This is likely to be faster than connecting the camera to the computer, and won't run down your camera's batteries.

Once the card is plugged in, it will appear to your computer as a removable drive. You can use the operating system's drag&drop facility to copy pictures from the card to the computer's hard drive, the same way you copy any other files. Or you can use any photo/video cataloging program, such as iPhoto for photos and iMovie for videos.

You will require a firewire cable to connect to the Mac. Usually a 4 to 6 pin cable, the newer Macs use a 9 pin version.
iMovie will do the job as will Final Cut.

This type of camera downloads video with a Firewire (Sony call this i.Link) connection. Some mini-DV and D8 cameras have a USB connection which is used for stills ONLY.

There is a Sony tutorial page for downloading video to computer at THIS LINK You will need to select Macintosh as the operating system (and press the Transfer to Mac button), then Mini-DV as the camera type, then select the type of connection. You are strongly recommended to use i.Link (which everyone else calls Firewire).

do u have windows or mac system? if mac,
Although MAC OS is NOT a supported operating system, the Sansa player can still be recognized if the Sansa player is only plugged in MSC mode.

MAC computers do NOT support MTP
A Sansa player in MTP mode when plugged into a MAC computer will NOT be detected or recognized.

MAC computers supports Sansa players in MSC mode
Sansa players can only be recognized by a MAC if the USB mode on the Sansa player is set to Auto Detect or MSC.
See answer ID 207 for instructions on how to put your Sansa player in MSC mode.

See answer ID 1141 for instructions on transferring music to your Sansa player using iTunes on a MAC computer.

I do not know MACs, but a standard 4-pin to 6-pin firewire (IEEE1394) is needed. On Windows XP, plug it in, run Windows Movemaker and you are good to go. By the way, a "DV cable" is a firewire cable.

If your MAC cannot "see" your camcorder, try another firewire device to see if your MAC is the culprit, or drag your camcorder and firewire cable to a friend's PC running Windows XP and see if it works.

I CAN HELP ON PARTS OF YOUR PROBLEM. FIRST, MOST CAMERAS DOWNLOAD IMAGES THAT ARE COMPATIBLE TO WINDOWS SYSTEMS, NOT MACS. FOR DOWNLOADING TO A MAC I'M AFRAID YOU'LL HAVE TO GO TO THE MAC WEBSITE. I'M A WINDOWS VISTA USER.
AS FAR AS THE HDMI PORT, THAT PORT IS AN OUTPUT PORT TO CONNECT TO A HIGH DEF. TV. YOU DO NOT WANT TO FORCE ANY CABLES INTO YOUR CAMERA ETC. CONSULT THE CANON WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ON DOWNLOADING TO MACS. A STANDARD USB CONNECTION SHOULD BE FINE TO DOWNLOAD. I HOPE THIS HELPS SOME. SORRY I'M NOT UP ON MACS, BUT I'VE BEEN WITH WINDOWS SINCE WIN3.1 OR EARLIER. GOOD LUCK!

If your computer has a SD card reader, you might be better off putting your memory card into your computer and just copying the data.

Have you made sure your iPhoto is up to date? Perhaps a new update caused this problem.. Maybe you should try an older version of the software. Also, you might want to try other software. (I think you are on a mac?), you might want to try the software that came with the camera, if it works on your computer.