Panasonic HDC-SD9: The Answer Lies Within QuickTime 7.5

For the past few months, Panasonic HDC-SD9 owners have not been able to import videos from Panasonic HDC-SD9 correctly. The temporary solutions for Final Cut Pro 6.0.3 users was to install Perian 1.1 plugin.

AVCHD

With the release of QuickTime 7.5, Panasonic HDC-SD9 videos can now be imported using iMovie ’08, Final Cut Express 4, and Final Cut Pro 6.

It is recommended to update all the applications to the latest versions. QuickTime 7.5 is the most critical component to make this work.

I can only confirm this on the North American version of Panasonic HDC-SD9 (with 24p Cinema Mode). The European version (with 25p Cinema Mode) theoretically should now work with the Mac.

UPDATE:

Hans Eklundh left a comment and confirmed that the 25p PAL version (Europe) also works with QuickTime 7.5

Panasonic HDC-SD9 AVCHD Camcorder

Test results using 15-inch MacBook Pro Core Duo 2GHz 2GB RAM:

Mac OS X 10.4.11

QuickTime 7.4.5
iMovie 7.1
HA1920 24p – Video is faster than Audio
HA1920 – Crash during imports

QuickTime 7.5
iMovie 7.1
HA1920 24p – Video imported successfully; 37s -> 36s
HA1920 – Video imported successfully; 38s -> 38s

QuickTime 7.5
iMovie 7.1.2
HA1920 24p – Video imported successfully; 37s -> 37s
HA1920 – Video imported successfully; 38s -> 38s

Mac OS X 10.5.3

QuickTime 7.5
iMovie 7.1.1
HA1920 24p – Video imported successfully; 37s -> 36s
HA1920 – Video imported successfully; 38s -> 38s

QuickTime 7.5
iMovie 7.1.2
HA1920 24p – Video imported successfully; 37s -> 36s
HA1920 – Video imported successfully; 38s -> 38s

Get QuickTime 7.5 and iMovie 7.1.2 updates from Apple Software Update or through the Downloads site.