Audio & video software forum: Easiest way to transfer MiniDV footage to PC and edit it

His camera is not Mini-DV or it would have the necessary ports on it. His camera is most likely VHS-C or Hi-8.

Whoever is telling you there is "no way" to hook your old camera to your PC is mistaken. There are a few options available to perform this task. The EasyCap is one that comes to mind for me. It has composite and S-video inputs and connects to your computer via USB. I've never used one and don't know how well it works but it can be had with an older version of Ulead VideoStudio for 20 bucks <a href-"http://www.brilliantstore.com/computer_monitor_accessories_dekcell_cpa_1280.html">here</a>.....
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The video card on a PC is an output device not an input device. There are Video Capture cards available that would meet his needs though. And, as mentioned, a standalone DVD recorder would make DVD copies. These wouldn't be able to be edited but, with software, one could rip the DVDs to the PC and work on the files from there.

Hi Alex,

As a video editor myself using a computer with Vista Home Premium, I do the same thing you want to do. Firstly, and foremost, the easiest way to do this is with the IEEE standard 1394, or FireWire (Sony calls it iLink). Your camcorder, being a MiniDV format, should have a four pin FireWire port on it. Your computer also must have one for this to work. The one on the computer, (if you do in fact have a FireWire port) most likely will be a 4 pin, but could be a 6 pin instead. If you do not know what a FireWire cable is or looks like. Check this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewire

So after determining if you do have a FireWire port on your computer, you will need to buy a FireWire cable. These come in 6 pin to 4 pin, 4 pin to 4 pin, and 6 pin to 6 pin. I hope I have not lost you yet...I know it is very confusing to read...

In most cases, connecting a digital video camcorder to a computer (specifically any recent Windows/Mac desktop or a Mac Laptop), will require a 6 pin to a 4 pin. However, most windows based laptops that have a FireWire port will probably have a 4 pin port. So in your case, you will probably need to a buy a 4 pin to a 4 pin cable. These run anywhere from $20 to $50 depending on length.

When you connect the cable to your camcorder and computer, Autoplay should come up on the computer and should recognize the camera. Then it will give you options to capture the video to your hard drive. The best option to choose is to import to Windows Movie Maker.

However, if you do not have a FireWire port on your computer, you can try getting an analog to digital converter. This requires that your camcorder has an analog A/V out. Some really basic camcorders have A/V out, but others do not. So check before you buy.

The analog to digital converters are easy to find at electronic stores. Pinnacle, the company owned by Avid (one of the world's leading video editor software companies) makes a bunch of these with different features for each of them. These retail around $80 to $120. I have seen at least one version with its own FireWire port on it. These work by connecting the analog signal from the camcorder, by using composite cables, to the converter and then it converts the analog video into a digital signal that the computer can read. The video goes through the box and connects to the computer via USB, something your computer should have. The software included with the box helps you capture the video onto the computer. I think it also comes with Pinnacle's video editing software, Pinnacle Studio 12.

Now, video editing software is a different story. Windows Movie Maker 6.0 included with Windows Vista Home Premium, can do everything you want to make a DVD. The program itself can capture from digital video devices (FireWire devices and MiniDV), but it cannot capture from analog sources alone. Microsoft discontinued that support with version 6, but it was featured in earlier versions (such as 2.5 that was with Windows XP Professional).

After you finish editing with Windows Movie Maker, you can export the video and turn it into a DVD with Windows DVD Maker. This program is a very easy wizard that guides you through the process of making a DVD with the videos you want.

If you do not want to use the Windows Movie Maker/DVD Maker duo, or you cannot because of the analog capture problem, there are plenty of other free and good video editing software programs. I personally use Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0, but it costs about $100, and I know you probably want to spend as little money as possible. I understand completely. So after doing a little research while writing this, I came across Pinnacle Video Spin which is a free video editor. However, it does not make DVDs. But if you import the file that you make with Video Spin into Windows DVD Maker, you can make DVD from that.

Lastly, one thing of note that I noticed. If you will be importing hours (instead of just minutes, or seconds) of video, then I recommend that you invest in an external hard drive. Because an hour of video could take up to 13 gigabytes in disk space, you can easily run out of disk space fast. CompUSA in my area, sells a 1 terabyte drive (yes, that's a 1000 gigabytes) for $179.99 and it even includes a FireWire port and cable, along with a USB port. For an external hard drive, especially one that is handling video, FireWire is highly recommended over USB because it is meant for video and it will not fry the hard drive after over use like USB would. There are also cheaper options too, like 320-750 gigabytes of storage with FireWire ports. These hard drives are made by Western Digital and Maxtor.

Well, I hope you did not spend an hour and/or get lost while reading this...I tried to keep it as short as possible and simple. However, a lot goes into the video capturing to DVD making process. I am only 15 and I love editing video and making DVDs too. Hopefully you will be able to make the DVDs you want to make! Have fun.

--Andrew A

Alex,

I'm confused in your answer. Capturing DV tape to AVI takes up 13 gigs. per hour of video. I'm not sure I understand why you are saying AVI will provide a smaller file size ... or did I just mis-read what you were saying?

Does your laptop have a firewire connection. If so Windows Movie Maker is the only program I have ever bothered to use.
Start it up and you can have it automatically download everything or do it manually.
You can publish it in various formats to you harddrive r I think to DVD.

Get a Mac. All the software comes with Mac can do wonders.

I have been doing video transfer and editing for years. The best and fastest way of transfering your videos is through the firewire cable. It doesn't matter whether it is laptop or desktop. I would suggest on investing on a good external hard drive like Western Digital My Book Essentials where you could save all your videos, pictures and music. It is pretty much plug and play via USB or Firewire. In my case, I save all my projects in an external hard drive which can be plugged into either one. You can view and make changes on your projects in your laptop or desktop as long as you have the Video Editing Software installed in both. There are a lot of good video editing softwares out right now. I have been using Roxio Easy Media Creator. I have been using it for years. Not only can I create my own video projects, I can also convert TV programs and movies to work with my 30GB Zune. If you are planning on editing your videos and adding special effects on them, it would be a good idea to cut them into scenes so you don't use up too much space when you drag and put them into your project panes especially if you are cutting some unwanted scenes. It is not a hard task to do. The only tools you need are READING and UNDERSTANDING. Hope this helps.

As a long time PC user I hate to admit it, but scram69 is right, MAC makes it easier than PC to do this unless you want to spend $1,500 or so on an OptiBase or Digital Rapids card for your desktop to do your capturing. Then, of course you have to have a DVD burning program once you've done the capture.

As i turn on my P C it produces some kind of acclialrating sound, as as you put feet on you accalarater, some times it also unbearable, kindly help

3 Things you can do . HP site and download their Free HP Solutons program. That is for your Mini-DV transfer. Or just tranfer using USB To hardrive. Go to Sony.com will help to. One really good program for editing is Cyberlink Mediashow 4. It is easy to use &you can get a 30 day trial to try before you buy. You can do slideshows & videos & add your own music track to it. It edits & has slide & video enhancements , save & then burn. IT plays on any DVD player or your PC. Check it out. You can download the free trial at CNET- download. Hopes this helps. From blackpants777.

Your best bet is to purchase the Pinnacle Studio Plus program from a place like Bestbuy. I use it to transfer and edit videos I shoot. Here is the basic procedure: output from your video camera via Firewire cable into the computer via Pinnacle Capture program and a firewire card. It has to be done in real time. Once captured, you can easily edit them with the Pinnacle program, trimming the shots, adding titles, photos, music, special effects like slow motion, etc. It is incredibly easy to use, you could get up and running in a few hours.

Output is easy as well, as AVI files, output to videotape (DV) and DVD creation.I tried Ulead, and others, but Pinnacle works the best by far.

A word of caution: it is better (and easier) to edit the DV footage first and THEN create the DVDs as the last step. I tried sub edits using DVDs as the source material, but the quality goes down with each step. When editing with DV, there is NO loss in quality.

To save space on the hard drive, I would often make a sub edit, output to videotape (DV) and record it onto the camera, then reimport the footage back to the computer for further editing. Why? In this way I can collect a "highlight reel" of footage I want, instead of the hours of original footage, and work with that.

By the way, the while there is a Pinnacle Studio, get the Pinnacle Studio Plus. The reason? The "Plus" allows picture in picture capabilities, having two images on the screen at once. A very worthwhile feature!

Good luck editing!

Peterphoto

Once you use a MAC for editing you will never try it again on a PC again due to all the plug-ins that have to coexist. My wife has a business and she wanted to take video of events and burn to DVD. I looked at a few systems (bought a Gateway with XP and returned it) on the PC side but decided on the MAC as it has applications the integrates together iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes and iDVD. If you want to do basic DVD's it is very easy to use and it WORKS. When I bought the MAC they offered Final Cut Express for $99.00 (approx reg price $299.00) which is a paired down version of their professional (Final Cut $999.00) software, I used it a few times for doing flashy editing but the basic iMovie works great. If you get stuck the Apple support team will assist with any OS, hardware and software issues, they will not say call Sonic or some other software/hardware company.
I have a friend that uses AVID (AVID use to have a free product) at work in Manhattan where he does professional DV editing, he bought a SONY PC and likes the software because it is bug free and easy to use.
Good luck and by the way I have the MAC for 6 years and no problems or crashes or virus issues.

Hello Alex,

The best procedure is to purchase an EXTERNAL high capacity hard drive (e.g. 500 GB to 1 TB) and copy your source tapes to that drive. You will need software that does not alter the source footage in any way -- in other words you will be creating pure .AVI files that are an exact replication of your source material. The external drive can be connected using a Firewire or a USB2 connection.

You will also need software to edit your footage. I'm not a big fan of any of Microsoft's video editing software. You'll get great value from Pinnacle Studio Ultimate or Adobe Premiere Elements. They're relatively easy to learn and let you create menu-driven DVDs for set-top DVD players.

It's too bad you chose Windows Vista for your laptop. Windows XP (SP3) is superior because it delivers faster performance and is more compatable with the various video editing software packages on the market. Your 2GB of RAM will barely serve your needs with Vista, but with XP you'd have plenty to spare!

Video editing puts a lot of demands on your computer. It's never a good idea to copy footage to your C: system drive. When editing, the computer must access the Windows operating system which is on the C: drive. If you have video clips on that drive, the computer must now "buffer" video data and system access on the SAME drive. This typically leads to reduced throughput resulting in dropped frames, system lockups and total user frustration.

One final note. When you create a DVD for set-top playback, the footage is highly compressed and converted to MPEG2 video. However, it will look great because you started with "pure" source footage that was an exact copy of your MiniDV tapes. Many people make the mistake of creating DVDs on the fly by recording from the camcorder directly to the DVD drive in their computer. This process completely destroys the integrity of the source footage because the data is highly compressed to the MPEG format in order for the computer and DVD recorder to maintain an uniterrupted data stream. Furthermore, there are fewer video editing applications that let you edit MPEG clips. Never work in this manner.

I made the mistake of buying a Vista machine in March (Dell XPS desktop). I hate it. Like nearly everything Microsoft has ever done, they released it with about a gillion bugs still in it. I'm now dual booting to Linux (Ubuntu Hardy distro). The only thing that keeps me from switching completely: You guessed it; Video Editing. If I can find a Video Editing program and a DVD authoring program I like in Linux, I'll leave WinDoze and never look back.

In it's defense, the performance I'm getting in Ulead VideoStudeo is much better than my old XP machine (after I spent 60 bucks on the "upgrade" version to actually be compatible with Vista).

The single biggest thing I hate about Vista (aside from Windows Explorer crashing once or twice DAILY since day one): The dreaded green bar syndrome in (you guessed it again) my media folders...