You can make a simple test: try to capture in iMovie. That's the way to follow to capture HDV material into FCE HD.
#Hrd fx7 mac
Once the esc key is pressed, your mac will continue to process the captured material and the capture window should close. Hit the "ESC" key when you want to stop the capturing process. There is a lag time between what is played on your cam and what you can see on your mac screen, so use the camcorder screen to monitor the content. NOTES: there is no sound from your MAC upon capturing. Start your camcorder in *VCR mode*(the play button on camcorder or on remote) and click the capture now button into FCE HD. There are no capture settings or log clips info. Use command-8 to open the capture window. From this point, any new sequences and capture session will occur in Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60 (the format used to edit in HDV). Use "Easy Setup." command in Final Cut express menu, select HD in format tab, 29.97 in rate tab and HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60 (or AIC 1080i50 for FX7E model). Plug both devices with a firewire cable. Set the output format to automatic or 1080i (this is the type of signal that will be outputed by your camcorder upon capture via firewire). find the camera menu and set the recording format to HDV (it sould be 1080i60 (1080i50 for FX7E model)as it's the HDV format used by this model). Here's the steps to follow if you want to edit in HD (by the way the FX7 can shoot in HD mode or DV NTSC mode: wide or standard screen (or pal for european model). It's a must to use the correct setup in easy setup dialog to fit your shooted material on tape. I own and use the Sony FX1 (FX7 grand mother) with 10.5.8, and here how I capture HDV in FCE. Connect it to your Mac, turn it on and open Apple system profiler. May be a dumb question, but did you shoot in HDV mode? Buy SONY HDR-FX7 Gray 3 x 1/4' ClearVID CMOS Sensors 3.5' 211K Wide (16:9) Touch Panel LCD 20X Optical Zoom High Definition Handycam Camcorder with fast shipping and top-rated customer service.