I wasn't able to quickly find a lot of information re the Canon V400E except that it apparently is an analog 8mm format camcorder so far I can't find manufactured date.

Do you have the original tape that your dvd was made from?

Was the dvd created using a Mac or a PC?

Can your friend share what program was used to create this dvd? It's possible that the dvd was created with software that creates files that are not compatible with the Mac. If you could provide the file type including the ending extension (like .vob or .mpg or .avi) that would be very helpful.

So far as in future working with other tapes from this camcorder you will need some sort of adapter that will plug into the composite outputs of the camcorder and plug into a input port on the Mac with software open that will "recognize" the camcorder and control the transfer of the tape images to a supported video file type on your Mac. I assume you are in Europe so that analog file type would be under the PAL standard and probably some sort of mpeg.

I'm posting here instead of sending you a direct email as I hope smarter heads than mine will read our exchange and step in to help.

Please keep us posted - your issues shouldn't be too difficult to solve.