5.1: Importing tapes from devices

LifeFlix v3.6 has an import workflow to archive the footage from your tape devices. A successful connection must be established between LifeFlix v3.6 and your device to begin the import process. 

Please read our articles DV Device setup or Hi8 and Video8 device setup to learn about the setup process. 

If you click the “Import” button without having established a connection to your device, you will get prompted with a warning. 

Note: If you have a camcorder device that is failing to connect, please contact our support team and provide your macOS version, Mac device model, and tape device model in the ticket details.

The following are steps for importing footage:

1. Click “Import”. This will launch the Import interface. 

• Fill out the tape name and description you want associated with your captured footage.

• Select any of the import options.
  • • Rewind Tape Before Import: This will automatically use your device’s rewind function to rewind your tape to the very beginning. 
    • Compress to save space: Tapes can vary in length and at times can be long. The longer a tape, the more storage space it will use. Enabling this setting will lower the quality of your tape so that it uses less storage space. 
    • Convert to HD On Import: Enabling this setting automatically upscales your captured footage to HD. You will always have the ability to convert your scenes to HD after import.  

• Click “Cancel” to close the menu. Click “Import” to begin capturing your footage.

• Your tape will automatically play from your device once the import begins. Your tape will automatically rewind to the next available time break if “Rewind Tape Before Import” was enabled. Your footage will automatically begin once this finishes. 
• Click “Stop” to end your capture.

• Click “Resume” to resume capture from the moment you last ended your capture. Be sure to not manually rewind your tape if you plan to use this option. 

Important! Every tape recording is different, along with the pairing of a tape device, this will create unique combinations which cause a variety of time code break behavior. This may lead to footage being dropped or your capture ending early. Please read our FAQ article Why does my footage stop capturing randomly when importing? to learn about different troubleshooting techniques to correct this.