TV with DVR & Internet: $84.90/mo
Community Newsletter: Q&A: 6/30/06 Helpful advice for converting camcorder video to DVD
- 6/29/06 5:28 PM
Adendom to earlier POST
by rick5446 - 6/30/06 3:27 PM In reply to: Some areas of concern by jimgilmerAnything from a 533MGz W/256K of memory up to the newest Computer to Date will handle anything I discussed.Also the Maximum HardDrive Sace needed is about 5GIG for the captured Video & 4.3GIG for the new folder.NOTE!!If your capture card allows U to capture [Mpeg2 or AVI]select Mpeg2.As AVI does take up more room until compressed
Video Editing... not for the faint of heart
by just_kelly - 6/30/06 6:17 AM In reply to: 6/30/06 Helpful advice for converting camcorder video to DVD by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My advice is to follow all the great posts that have already been done. Believe me, I spent a lot of time learning this same stuff the hard way.
Use a Firewire. This one upgrade over the USB2 cable gave me the video in clip form over one big long lump of a piece of video to work with in the editing. Saved me many hours of frustrations and bother. The Firewire is well worth it.
I have a Sony MiniDV Handycam and they give you a sorry piece of software called Picture Package. If you are interested in making your own video and having ANY conrtol over what music you use, the editing, or just the general look of your product, don't waste your time on Picture Package. It is VERY limited and not easy to use or understand.
I bought Adobe Premiere Elements and have been very happy with it. Video editing is great fun IF you invest into some decent tools to begin with. Listen to the experts and save yourself some aggravation.
For an inexpensive experience, you can't beat MovieMaker, but this software will not produce a DVD. It will make great movies that are played only on a computer, however. But it works like the others and served as a great practice tool and helped me to know what features I wanted when I shopped for DVD type software.
The big question I had during my first video was why there was such a lack of books on this topic. My local Barnes & Noble had lots of books on digital photography and working with photos, but only 2 books on working with video... and those only focused on shooting video tape, not enough on editing or equipment/software. If there are any writers out there who understand the needs of video editing... now is your time to produce some helpful resources for those of us who just want to have fun with editing and creating home videos.
My last bit of advice: Allow yourself plenty of time to do this. It is a hugely time consuming activity, one that is very gratifying in the end, but easier if you plan for many many hours of fun in making the DVD. Also, plan some of the music you wish to use ahead of time, this will help you film the event with a theme or plan in mind. I have made two 20-22 minute movies, both with many cuts and music changes, titles, some slow motion, etc., and I spent about 2 hours per minute of finished movie to make them. But, I loved every minute of it once I figured out how to do it... it's really a blast.
Fun stuff!
Lenniaj
Converting 8mm to computer
by sarahizzett2 - 11/24/08 7:13 AM In reply to: Video Editing... not for the faint of heart by just_kellyI have some old 8mm tapes from when my daughter was little. I wanted to copy them over to DVD, but I don't know how to get them onto my computer. What cables do I need to play my camcorder through my computer?
8 MM Camcorder converting to digital
by psteib - 6/30/06 6:52 AM In reply to: 6/30/06 Helpful advice for converting camcorder video to DVD by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have a 1992 vintage Sony Camcorder that I have since replaced but would like to convert the tapes to digital. Unfortunately, the 8 MM player on the camcorder has quit working. Is there anything out there I can purchase that will play the 8 MM tapes and which I can plug in a Firewire cable to send to my computer? The advice you gave in the original e-mail will help me with the rest.
Convert 8mm to Digital
by mabradle - 6/30/06 7:49 AM In reply to: 8 MM Camcorder converting to digital by psteibYou are in luck. Sony makes Camcorders with a Digital-8 format which is DV on special 8mm tape cassettes. The Digital-8 tape is backward compatible with 8mm. I have a Sony DCR-TRV510 camcorder which is obsolete now but I think they are still making new versions of Digital-8. A friend brought me an analog 8mm tape from his old Sony camcorder. I put the tape in my camcorder and copied it to my PC hard drive via Firewire. It did not separate the scenes by time code because there is no time code on analog 8mm but I was able to copy it to a DVD for him.
I hope this helps.
8MM video copied to a DVD
by jafragirl - 6/30/06 8:32 AM In reply to: Convert 8mm to Digital by mabradleI, too, have an older Sony 8mm video camera and would love to transfer to DVD. I have never done this and am unsure about the FireWire thing. If I don't have FireWire can I still do it? I have a Dell XPS M140 laptop and don't think I have a FireWire port. Not sure if it's something I can install. Anyway,any help is appreciated. I'm a novice at this.
Michelle
No, your case is different
by mabradle - 6/30/06 8:53 AM In reply to: 8MM video copied to a DVD by jafragirlThe question was what to buy to replace a broken analog 8mm camcorder to read analog 8mm tapes and transfer the video via Firewire. Your case is different in that you have a functioning 8mm camcorder and want to use Firewire. According to a CNET review your Dell XPS M140 does have Firewire. It will be labeled “1394”. However, your camcorder does not have a Firewire port.
You have two choices: 1) Buy a new Digital-8 camcorder or 2) buy an analog to digital video capture module. These are advertised from $50 to $200 so are cheaper than a new camcorder. Most use USB 2.0 rather than Firewire but performance is good. They usually come bundled with some kind of video editing / DVD authoring software.
If you go the more expensive route and buy a new camcorder, you will be amazed at how much the video quality has improved over your old analog camcorder.
I agree!
by vwmark - 6/30/06 12:00 PM In reply to: No, your case is different by mabradleI have years' worth of Hi8 mm video tapes (analog) that I do not want to have decaying, or getting snagged on players. Trust me--it is worth the several hundred dollars to get yourself a newer Digital8 camcorder. This will play back old 8mm and Hi8 analog tapes. The Sony camcorders come with Firewire ports on them. I connect the camcorder to my Toshiba DVD recorder and make DVDs of my old tapes. Then I copy the DVDs for safety. I still save my old original Hi8 tapes, but I never again have to think about aging equipment with which to play them back, or snarls or wrinkles in the tape, etc.
Invest now! Before it is too late. You will be glad you did.
Thankx!
by jafragirl - 6/30/06 12:54 PM In reply to: No, your case is different by mabradleThank you for your help!!
Where do I find the module
by jafragirl - 6/30/06 1:04 PM In reply to: No, your case is different by mabradleI've checked a couple of sites on-line (e-bay and newegg.com) and they don't have the analog to digital video capture module. Where do I need to look?
Thanks!
A to D video convert
by mabradle - 6/30/06 1:53 PM In reply to: Where do I find the module by jafragirlMaybe someone else can answer this for you. I have never used an A to D module because I just use my Digital-8 camcorder. I have seen several models of something called Dazzle. I have no idea how well it works. You may want to go to VideoHelp.com. They have a wealth of information about video and DVD authoring.
Read "I Agree" by vwmark. He makes a strong case for buying a new Digital-8 if you have very many old analog tapes. Dazzle is a lot cheaper. I just don't know how well it works. The folks at VideoHelp may have reviews of various products which you can research for yourself.
Good Luck.
Analog to Digital
by dwainwood - 6/30/06 2:18 PM In reply to: A to D video convert by mabradleA versatile video card to get would be a ATI All-in-Wonder Card that would take your analog inputs via composite video or S-Video and convert to digital plus it has the added benefit of a TV Tuner.
use ATI vivo card instead of all in wonder for analog
by synmag - 7/6/06 12:42 PM In reply to: Analog to Digital by dwainwoodThe all in wonder card's connection cable will degrade his video quality. It's an extra cable with an extra connection which makes a difference with analog video. Before I started using FireWire I had a vivo card which I paired with ATI's stand alone TV Wonder card later. The captures throught the graphics card's video in was much better quality than the capture through the TV Wonder port.
A to D convert - another option
by mabradle - 6/30/06 2:32 PM In reply to: Where do I find the module by jafragirlI just found a CNET review of Pinnacle Systems Studio MovieBox. It is for VHS tape but the same idea will work for 8mm. Look up their article "Transfer your VHS tapes to DVD" at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10163_7-5705957-1.html?tag=txt
Pinnacle has a good reputation.
Converting Analog to DVD format is trickier than you think
by mcwong2000 - 7/1/06 6:04 PM In reply to: A to D convert - another option by mabradleI've had nothing but trouble trying to convert my Hi-8 Sony tapes and burn them to a DVD. I used Pinnacle Studio with a breakout box, and ADS Tech DVDExpress converter box, and I get the images into the system but neither will burn a DVD -- the "write to dvd" feature is disabled and there is no info in the docs or on either vendor's sites to explain what is going on.
And of course no reviewers, even at CNET, seem aware of this problem -- they all use digital camcorders, which are already in a compatible format.
Finally in desperation I bought a second-hand HP DVD Movie Writer dc5000, which is a standalone DVD burner with input ports for analog camcorders, and USB input to the computer, and software -- the software isn't sophisticated in the editing department, but all it does is take your tape and in pretty much one step sucks it in, converts it to the right MPEG format, and burns it out onto its built-in DVD burner.
Mostly, it works. I've been slowly working my way through my videotape library, just to be able to get this stuff onto DVDs (all family movies, you understand). I figure at some later point I can copy it off the DVDs into the computer and edit them down and burn them back out. At least, I hope I can. But at least I;m getting the data off the aging videotapes.
PS I welcomed the suggestion made by others that one get a current-model digital SONY to read and input the old analog tapes -- I hadn't realized they were backward compatible, thanks for that tip.
Mac McCarthy, Castro Valley, CA
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
