I have tried to connect my Canon XM2 to my IMac via firewire, but it is not 'seen' by IMovie, FCE or FCP, so I can't capture anything. Thanks

As we known, Sony DCR series camcorder includes Sony DCR-SX, Sony DCR-SR, Sony DCR-HC, Sony DCR-DVD, Sony DCR-TRV, Sony DCR-VX, etc, and most of Sony DCR camcorders record video in SD MPEG-2 such as some Sony DCR-SX series, Sony DCR-SR series, Sony DCR-DVD series.

Some Popular Sony DCR Camcorder Series in the following:
Sony DCR-SR: SR40, SR42, SR60, SR68, SR82, SR87, SR100, SR200, SR300, SR45E,SR65E, SR87E, SR85E, SR220E, etc.
Sony DCR-SX: SX40, SX44, SX60, SX63, SX83, SX34E, SX40E, SX43E, SX46E, SX60E, etc.
Sony DCR-HC: HC35, HC26, HC28, HC62, HC40, HC21, HC52, HC24E, HC38E, HC54E, etc.
Sony DCR-DVD: DVD650, DVD108, DVD92, DVD850, DVD403, DVD505, DVD610E, DVD710E, etc.

Due to Sony DCR video cannot be directly imported to iMovie, Quicktime, iTunes, FCP, Adobe Premiere Pro and some other popular devices, if you want to import your Sony DCR Handycam SD video to Mac for enjoying or further editing with iMovie, FCP, FCE, etc, the first step for you to do is to convert these Sony SD video to MOV, MP4 for Mac, then you can import converted Sony DCR video to iMovie, Quicktime, iTunes, FCP on Mac for enjoying or editing.

To convert Sony DCR series video to Mac, Sony DCR Video Converter for Mac is the best software to transfer these Sony DCR SD MPEG-2 video, Sony AVCHD MTS, M2TS files, and some other camcorder videos to MOV, MP4, MPEG, 3GP, M4V, etc on Mac. Besides, you can also convert and import Sony DCR SD video to iPad, iPod, iPhones (including iPhone4), PSP, Blackberry, and other mobile players.

How to Convert Sony DCR video to Mac OS for further editing with iMovie, FCP, etc?

Step1: Add Sony DCR Video on Mac
Click "Add File" to upload your chosen Sony DCR video to Mac AVCHD Converter after you launched it.

Step2: Set Output Video Format for Mac
Click "Profile" to open the Profile drop-up list to select MOV, or MP4 as output video format for Mac OS, Quicktime, iMovie, FCP, FCE, etc.

Step3: Convert Sony DCR Video to Mac OS
Press the "Start" button to convert Sony DCR SD video or AVCHD MTS/M2TS files to Mac. After conversion finished, you can enjoy converted Sony DCR video on Mac or edit these videos with iMovie, FCP, FCE, iDVD, etc.

Related: How to Convert and Edit Canon VIXIA HF Series to Mac?
How to Convert and Edit Panasonic HDC Series to Mac OS?

Panasonic HDC camcorder family has a great number of High-Definition Camcorders that satisfy different people who want to record their interesting daily life, now, You can check the list of popular Panasonic HDC series camcorder as follows:

Panasonic HDC-SD Series: Panasonic HDC-SD9, HDC-SD10, HDC-SD60, HDC-SD100, HDC-SD200, HDC-SD700, etc.
Panasonic HDC-HS Series: Panasonic HDC-HS250, HDC-HS300, HDC-SD60, HDC-HS200, HDC HS100, HDC-HS700, etc.
Panasonic HDC-TM Series: Panasonic HDC-TM10, HDC-TM20, HDC-TM60, HDC-TM50, HDC-TM30, HDC-TM200, HDC-TM300, HDC-TM700, etc.

Most of Panasonic HDC Series Camcorders record video in AVCHD MTS/M2TS files, for example, Panasonic HDC-SD9 records 1080i 17Mbps video in M2TS files; Panasonic HDC-SD700, Panasonic HDC-HS700,

Panasonic HDC-TM700, these three types store videos in MTS format and all offer Full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution at 50 frames per second. For Mac users, if you cannot import Panasonic HDC video to Mac to enjoy, or cannot directly edit Panasonic AVCHD MTS/M2TS files in iMovie, FCP, FCE, you need to convert Panasonic HDC videos to MOV, MP4, 3GP, M4V, H.264 for Mac and then you can edit converted AVCHD MTS/M2TS video with iMovie, iTunes, FCP, FCE, etc.

Mac Panasonic HDC Video Converter, a professional AVCHD Converter, is designed for converting videos collected from Camcorder Panasonic, Canon, Sony, etc to MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP, M4V, AVI, etc to Mac, then you can play AVCHD MTS/M2TS, videos on Mac, iPad, iPod, iPhone, PSP, Blackberry, and any other mobile phones.

How to convert and edit Panasonic HDC video to Mac?

Step1: Import Panasonic HDC Video to AVCHD Converter for Mac
Click "Add File" to upload your Panasonic HDC video to Mac AVCHD Converter after you launched it.

Step2: Set Output Video Format for Mac, iMovie, FCP
Click "Profile" to open the Profile drop-up list to select MOV, or MP4 as output video format for Mac OS, iMovie, iTunes, iDVD, FCP, FCE, etc.

Step3: Convert Panasonic HDC Video to Mac, iMovie
Click "Start" button to convert Panasonic AVCHD MTS/M2TS files for Mac. After conversion finished, you can enjoy converted MTS/M2TS files on Mac or edit these converted AVCHD video with iMovie, FCP, FCE, iDVD, etc as you like.

Put and Play Canon HF S21 HD 1920x1080 AVCHD MTS on iPad

Canon Vixia HF S21 is the new AVCHD camera in 2010 for capturing Hi Def 1920x1080. The 64GB internal flash drive enables long time video recording for more than 8 hours with Full HD 1920x1080 recording at FXP profile. It enables double slots for SD memory cards.
The video captured with Canon HF S21 is stored in AVCHD .mts file format with MPEG-4, AVC/H.264 as video codec, and Dolby Digital 2 channel (AC-3) as audio codec. If you get the with optional Canon SM-V1 5.1-Channel Surround Microphone, you can get Dolby Digital 5.1-channel for the audio.
To transfer Canon Vixia HFS21 AVCHD to computer hard drive:
You can use the bundled Pixela ImageMixer 3SE Video Editing Software, and it is easy to transfer Vixia HF S21 AVCHD movies onto computer hard drive with this software. If you are using Mac computer, you can also use iMovie to download videos to Apple hard drive. Just connect the camcorder to iMac/MacBook Pro with Mac OS X like Snow Leopard, and HF S21 could be recognized by iMovie for loading videos.
To put and play Canon HF S21 AVCHD videos on iPad:
Even though iMovie mentioned above could recognize Caonon HF S21 for loading videos, there are also problems for importing Canon HF S21 .mts to Final Cut Pro (FCP) or Final Cut Express (FCE), even iMovie. Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac is the recommended Mac Canon HF S21 MTS to iPad converter for you to easily edit Canon HF S21 videos and transfer edited video to iPad.
Below are the simple steps for transcoding Canon HF S21 to iPad.
Step 1. Load Canon HF S21 video to Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac.
After transferring Canon HF S21 AVCHD videos to Apple hard drive, run Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac as Canon MTS converter and click the "Add" button to load .mts videos.
Step 2. Edit Canon HF S21 MTS videos.
Select the video clip and click the "Edit" button to trim and crop videos, to flip video, adjust brightness and contrast.
Step 3. Choose iPad HD output format.
Click the "Format" option and choose iPad > iPad HD Video(*.mp4), and the Mac Canon MTS to iPad converter will convert AVCHD Hi Def 16x9 to 720p MP4 videos for iPad.

Step 4. Convert Canon HF S21 MTS to iPad.
Click the convert button under the preview window, and the conversion from Canon HF S21 MTS to MP4 for iPad starts immediately.
After the conversion, connect iPad to iMac/MacBook Pro and sync the editing videos to iPad. It is that easy to transferr edited video to iPad. Give it a try and enjoy AVCHD videos on iPad.

How to Export Movie from Final Cut Pro (FCP) to FLV?

After editing your own movies on Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express, you may want to put them on your website for presenting your introduction or promoting your services/products. For users with the older version of FCP, FCE or iMovie, it is easy to export FLV by choosing File > Export > Using QuickTime Conversion. However, if you could not find Flash FLV as output format from FCP/FCE/iMovie, you may need a FCP to FLV converter to get Flash videos.
Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac is the best FCP to FLV converter for you to handle videos on iMac/MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard or Leopard. The Mac FCP to FLV converter supports loading .3gp, .m4v, .avi, .dv, .flc, .mp4 videos from FCP/FCE/iMovie and converts FCP movies to FLV as short film. Below are the steps to export Final Cut Pro movie to FLV with Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac.
Step 1. Load Final Cut Pro movies to Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac.
After exporting movies from Final Cut Pro, run Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac as the Mac FCP to FLV converter, and click the "Add" button to load FCP short films for conversion.
Step 2. Choose FLV output format.
Click the "Format" option and choose Flash Video > FLV-Flash Video Format(*.flv) as output format. This format is compatible to most machines.

Step 3. Transcode FCP movies to FLV.
Click the "Convert" button under the preview window, and the Mac FCP to FLV converter starts converting Final Cut Pro movies to FLV for playing on webpage.
Tips:
1. After converting Final Cut Pro movies to FLV, you need Flash players to navigate the video playback on webpage. You can use free web players like JW player, Moyea PlayBox player and Flow player to present your short films on website.
2. You can set the video resolution of the FLV videos by clicking the "Settings" before conversion.
3. The above step-by-step guide with Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac also works for the movies exported from Final Cut Express and iMovie. In other words, you can also convert FCE movies to FLV, iMovie videos to FLV on Mac OS X.

Transfer/Edit Sony HDR-TG3 1080i AVCHD Videos on Windows/Mac

Sony Handycam HDR-TG3E is a super small camera with full HD recording on Memory Stick in 2008. It includes 4GB and 10x optical zoom for capturing 1920x1080 and 1440x1080 videos. However, this camera does not include progressive recording mode, which indicates that the HD videos are 1080i. Even though it is compact camera, the audio is recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1ch. You can also take 2.3Mp stills while you are recording video footage.
Sony HDR-TG3E features:
- 1920x1080i HD video recording
- 4 megapixel still photo recording
- Dual Rec simultaneous 2.3 megapixel still photo during video recording
- Handy face detection
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
- ClearVid CMOS Sensor and Exmor derived technology
Videos from Sony HDR-TG3E:
Movie Format:
- High Definition: AVCHD (1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080) in .mts filename extension
- Standard Definition: MPEG2 in .mpg filename extension
Movie Quality:
- HD: FH (1920x1080i, 16Mbps) / HQ (9Mbps) / SP (7Mbps) / LP (5Mbps)
- SD: HQ (9Mbps) / SP (6Mbps) / LP (3Mbps)

Transfer & Edit Sony HDR-TG3 AVCHD videos:
For Windows users:
Install the Picture Motion Browser (PMB) from the bundled CD in box, and connect Sony HDR TG3 to PC via USB cable. Use Sony PMB to download HD .mts videos from camcorder to PC.
For Mac users:
You can capture and transfer Sony HDR-TG3 1080i videos to iMac/MacBook Pro via iMovie after connecting camera to computer with USB cable. However, you may face problem when trying to log and transfer AVCHD videos from Sony Handycam HDR-TG3E to Final Cut Express (FCE) 4 or Final Cut Pro (FCP) 5. After transferring HD .mts videos from camera to computer hard drive, just run Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac as the Mac Sony HDR-TG3 MTS converter to deinterlace .mts videos and convert .mts to .mov for FCE and FCP, if you want to edit HD videos.
Alternative way to transfer HDR TG3 videos for Mac and PC:
Just connect HDR TG3 pocket camera to computer via the USB cable, and the HDR TG3 will display as a hard drive on computer. Navigate to the HDR TG3 hard drive to access the memory stick.
Tips: Sony Handycam HDR-TG3E is the model for Europe, and Sony Handycam HDR-TG1 is the model for US.