Archive through February 10, 2005

 

Unregistered guest
hi i hav a jvc mini dv cam corder and i hav a usb port and i aslo hav da wires sp da prablem is dat how do i make a vcd using my mini dv wot software do i need n ya wen i connect my cam to my pc notin comes on so can u help plzz!!!
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 1251
Registered: Dec-03
read the whole thread and you will find something that pertains to your problem
 

Unregistered guest
Thanks Berny and Gunnar F!

you are very helpful. I read the entire thread and found what I was looking for!

thanks for your patience and repetition!
 

Blonde Girl
Unregistered guest
New to video editing!!!
System: Mac G4 w/FinalCut Pro 3 (not HD version yet) and JVC JY-HD10 high definition video camera that takes high definition filming on Mini DV tape. I can't connect to Mac to download filming to Mac due to no firewire port on the camera, only USB port.
Question: What less costly equipment do I need to connect to Mac to load the filming and still retain the HD quality image of the film? The JVC camera does have a JVC i.Link port but the Mac does not have this i.Link port.
Already saw JVC CU-VH1 HDV for recorder and play back but I can not afford it at this time.

Thanks a lot.
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 1307
Registered: Dec-03
I-Link is also called IEEE 1394 and Firewire. Depends on which company uses it. If it is a digital video camera it will have a DV port orfirewire output (usually), I haven't seen one without.
cheers
 

Blonde Girl
Unregistered guest
Thank you Berny. This helps alot. I am true blonde.
 

Unregistered guest
I have DCR-PC115E Can any one let me how to transfer video files from camcorder to pc , i m able to capture images from memory stick without any firewire card , i only use usb port...if firewire is compulsorry to capture vedio files....Please give step b y step procedure....
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 1330
Registered: Dec-03
have you consulted your manual?
 

gnash
Unregistered guest
to transfer from DV tape to PC; read this:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

especially:
"Requirements for video capture
You will also need a way to get your videos into your computer. This requires different capture hardware depending on the source of your video.

If you have a digital video (DV) camera, you'll need either an IEEE 1394 card or an analog video capture card. IEEE 1394 is recommended for the best quality results. Many new computers come with an IEEE 1394 card already installed. If not, there are a number of manufacturers that make a card that will work with your computer.

If you have an analog video camera or a VCR, you will need to have an analog video capture card."
 

New member
Username: Liphylil

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-04
I have a Sony Digital 8 handycam and i want to import that footage onto my powerbook. i have USB2 and i have firewire..how do i go about importing it? i want to edit the footage using premiere on my powerbook. any help would be greatful. you can also email me at kang@nyc.rr.com i really need this..i'd appreciate any help
 

Unregistered guest
Hiya Berny cam you tell me? ive read through all the threads and now realise I need IEEE 1394 card for my panasonic nv ds65 but the only cable that came with it was a usb cable for stills.would the firewire card come with the required cable or if not what am i looking for

thanks in advance
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 1494
Registered: Dec-03
Some units come with the firewire cable and some don't, you have to check the components that go with the unit you are purchasing. You should get a cable that has DV to IEEEE1394
 

Anonymous
 
I have a Sony DCR HC 30 that records to a Mini cassette. Is there equipment that lets me load in the Mini cassette and download to a VCR tape?
 

Anonymous
 
Add'l question. With the Sony DCR HC 30 Mini cassete, can I burn a DVD from it?
 

Unregistered guest
I have a Sony PC5 DV, and i have connected a fire wire card in my PC but unfortunatlly the connection is not showing when i click on camera icon do i need to load a driver for the fire wire card

regards
 

Unregistered guest
i have a PANASONIC GS-15 cam and i have a PINNACLE dv studio clip in my pc. kindly let me know hoe do i get the date and time also on to the pc on downloading as it shows in the tape when recorded i mean the real time recorded. plz help at the earliest as i am a dealer of PANASONIC cameras as well. thank you.
 

Unregistered guest
Hi Guys,

I have a Sony TRV22 handycam. I transfered vedio from handycam to PC using i-Link cable and Firewire port, but the size of the file on the PC is too huge, For 10minutes of vedio it will take more than 1GB. Please help me...Is there any software which compresses the data transfered from handycam to PC, so that a 70Min casettes data can be stored on a single 700MB CD.

Thanks,
Swamy
 

New member
Username: Rajbiswas76

Post Number: 1
Registered: Oct-04
I am using SONY-DCR-TRV22E. The Video taken during one of my trips is my most memorable treasure. I can watch the DV thru camera directly connected to TV is crystal clear and smooth.

But my problem is that when I am making a VCD (through PC using USB and Pixela s/w), I am not able to do download the video to my computer.

Please guide me how to do transfer the video from MiniDV to computer using DCR-TRV22 camcoder?
 

New member
Username: Susiek

Post Number: 1
Registered: Oct-04
Hello, Ive been looking through these posts and think iv got an idea how to get my videos on to the computer. Just a few things I'm not sure about. My JVC GRD200 came with a disc with imagemixer 1.1 on it but the computer cannot install it properly (probably dodgy!)...does anyone have a copy for Windows ME? And what will that enable me to do? Will I then be able to use it as a web cam? Is it right that the software I need to transfer videos are: a USB cable, a firewire cardbus and Microsoft movie maker (is there one for Windows ME?) Thank you ever so much for any help anyone can give x
 

Unregistered guest
PLEASE HELP,
I have a Sony DCR-HC 30 and for some reason Im able to have the software create a auto video but when I try to burn my own video on a vcd using the software sold with the camera it doesnt work. It goes through all of the steps that its suppose to and leads you to believe that you have made a vcd but once you try to play the vcd weather its in my pc dvd it just shows files and when I try to play it on my house dvd player it sayes incorrect or no disc...
WOULD SOME ONE PLEASE HELP ME ENJOY MAKING FAMILY VIDEOS!!!!
 

Anonymous
 
how to import videos to a pc from a mini camera
i have panasonic nv-ds60
 

Anonymous
 
how to import videos to a pc from a mini camera
i have panasonic nv-ds60
 

klbrab
Unregistered guest
I have everything I need to transfer video. I have the cable, adapter and software. The software controls my camera just fine. The problem comes when I can't see any preview footage,also when I look in the file where I told it to save it not there. What should I do?
Thanks
 

Ravi Abraham
Unregistered guest
Hi guys. Glad to know I ain't the only lost soul in this world of gadgets and devices !!!

I almost thought i was losing out on my grey cells until i came onto this page.

I need help. Could anybody tell me how to make video CD's from the Sony DC HC-40E DV tapes. I'll appreciate it if someone can e-mail me at ravi.abraham@rediffmail.com thanks folks. And all the best to all other dudes too. Cheers.
 

Joan M
Unregistered guest
What program or devise can I use to transfer my signs/organizational charts from monitor to video?
 

Raj
Unregistered guest
Have a Sony TRV-33 can someone help as I am not able to burn VCD direct from Cancorder Tape although I can download as record as clips.
 

the mad professor
Unregistered guest
It seems quite clear to me.

In order to transfer DV to a PC you MUST have the following;

1) Firewire interface in PC

2) DV to Firewire IEE 1394 cable

3) Sufficient disk space to hold The uncompressed DV video file.

4) A suitable video editing programme.

You CANNOT compress the DV "on the fly".

You HAVE to just transfer the whole DV video file to the PC.

So those with a small hard drive just forget it or upgrade your HD to a 160 Gigabyte or larger type drive!

Preferably have two disk drives in the PC and keep the second large one JUST for the DV files.


Chris
 

Unregistered guest
Hey all I have just purchased an MVX20i and I bought a firewire card (IEEE 1394) and the accompinied cable... All went well until I tried to connect the cable into the camera.. it just doesnt seem to fit... I dont know if its the right cable or not it looks like the right one, it is the right shape but the 'insides' dont match... Does anyone have any ideas?

Please send to alexm_999@hotmail.com or just add to this forum... thanks heaps....
 

KathleenU33
Unregistered guest
Hello. Boy, glad to see I'm not the only one confused (and tech support and best buy are no help!).

I just bought a Sony Handycam DCR HC-20 and am trying to capture the basketball video I have to make a highlights DVD for the team. When I captured it via USB cable into Nero it was jerky and bad quality. I was able to burn the DVD but it too was jerky and bad quality.

Question? The camera has a place for a Firewire cable. Do I need to install this on my computer (currently my HP does not have a Firewire input) and then will it stop being jerky and come out A-OK?

Please, please, please help me - the team awaits a cool DVD and I don't want to keep this camcorder if they sold me the wrong type.

Help please.
Kathleen Outlines3@aol.com (you can post the response here or email me) Thanks!!!!
 

the real fukker
Unregistered guest
fu*k all you bitc*es
 

Unregistered guest
i just got a sony DCR HC65 Mini DV handycam
all the trial software and using USB.
I am trying to upload my Mini DV to computer.
If i use sony supplied software that does not alow for manual movie editing everything works great. if i try to upload using anyother software all i get is a blue screen with no sound or picture.
any sugestions
 

New member
Username: Mind81

Post Number: 4
Registered: Dec-04
I see that transfering video from a DV camcorder to PC through USB is a common problem. I have the same problem, too. I've got a Sony DCR-HC30E and I've tried three different softwares (the one supplied by Sony included) but none of them yielded high quality video (intense frame dropping, resolution no better than 320*240). I guess that the problem is the USB connection rather than the software used.

Does anybody know if USB is capable of transfering such kind and size of data or a FirWire connection is necessary?

<vando_pdx>
What do you mean "everything works great"? Did you manage to get high quality video (suitable for DVD)? If you did, I'd like like to know what software you used. Then, a solution might be found!
 

vando_pdx
Unregistered guest
i used the software supplied by sony with the camera. what i mean by worked great was that i got the picture and the sound on a computer and it apeared to be ok. where with the other software no picrue or sound. usb should work just fine. i read a bunch of revies where people using firewire had the same problem of low quality video.
 

Unregistered guest
i have the same problem as most people on here, i have just bought a 1394 firewire cable to transfer footage on a DV tape onto Pinacle Studio 8 software, i have realised that the 1394 cable fits into the PC, but does not fit into the camcorder that i have! My camcorder is a Cannon MV630i, and it came with the studio 8 software. The software says "cannot capture footage because your camera is not connected to your PC via a 1394 port". So the software supports the 1394 wire, but the camera does not! There is only a port in the camera for a USB cable and nowhere to plug in the 1394 cable into the camera!
How stupid is that?
I guess the only solution is to borrow my friends camera. :-(
 

Soren C
Unregistered guest
Woah! the 'real fukker' is so hard!! I wouldn't mess with him, he's so hard, he dares to write 'f*ck all you bi*ches' on an Internet messageboard. I'm shaking in my boots!!
 

JD 2
Unregistered guest
Everyone,

Here is the quick and easy answer (to everyone):

0. Read the instructions that came with your camcorder. Really. Now.

1. Connect your camera to the computer.

Options:

a. FIREWIRE (also called I.Link, IEEE 1394)

This works if you camera has a plug for
this. Almost all recent digital camcorders
do. For examples of what logo to look for
see http://www.1394ta.org/Events/candi_docs/logo_program_overview.html
Usually the port is behind a little door
or rubber cover, on the camcorder itself.
The plug itself is *almost* rectangular but has little dents in it. Here's a pic:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://image.compusa.com/prodimages/43/3b 913ffc-6295-4ebc-9ae8-bd786d7d6247.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.compusa.com/products /product_info.asp%3Fproduct_code%3D50136905%26pfp%3DBROWSE&h=200&w=200&sz=8&tbni d=4oEz5v2SsMMJ:&tbnh=99&tbnw=99&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfirewire%2Bcable%2B4- pin%2Bto%2B6-pin%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
Be careful, it looks a lot like a USB
cable, but is slightly different.

Your computer also needs a Firewire port.
It is probably bigger (6-pin) but may be
the same as the one on the camcorder
(for example on a laptop), in which case
you need a cable with two 'small' (4-pin)
connectors. If your computer does not
have that port, then you can buy a cheap
Firewire card for your computer, but
unless you're familiar with computers
it is not fun to open your computer case
and put it in. Consider getting a friend
or computer store to do it. It's not hard
so if you're confident, go ahead, but
the questions here are so basic that I
had to mention it.

OK, if you have the cable, a port on your
computer, a port on the camera, and a
cable to connect them, then you should be
all right.

To get the video from your camera into
the computer, you can use anything from
a free program (WinDV, get it at
http://windv.mourek.cz/ or
http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=WinDV)
or Windows Movie Maker (built into
Windows XP) to the packages made by Ulead
and Roxio. You can even use DVDSanta
(http://www.dvdsanta.com)

These products often have tutorials
and this one is very straighforward:
http://www.dvdsanta.com/howtoburndv.htm

One more thing, most times the computer
will automatically detect the camera.
But you may need to set your camera mode
to something like "DV OUT" or turn
"A/V -> DV OUT" on.


b. USB: You are probably familiar with this
already, but if you don't have Firewire
this may be the next best choice. Often
Cameras support USB but it may not be as
high quality as Firewire (more like a
webcam quality), still if you don't have
a choice it's worth a try.

Again you need to check both your cam
and the computer for the ports, usually
the computer will have a 'big' one
(rectangular slot with almost a piece of
plastic filling one side of the slot)
and the camera will have a 'small' one,
known as a 'B' connector, which looks
almost rectangular but one side is
narrower, I think it looks like a
stylized letter 'D'. Here's the logo
http://homepage.mac.com/jschrier/usb_menorah/usb_logo.gif
and this is what the cable looks like:
http://www.ctgcom.com/miniusb2.jpg

Once you connect the camera to the
computer, it should be recognized.
What you do now depends a lot on your
software. Unfortunately I don't know of
general software to do this. Your
camcorder probably came with a software
package that you can install to get the
video. See step 0. So you're on your
own here.

c. TV capture cards: If you have a good video
card, like an ATI All-in-Wonder, it may
support TV input. This tends to be lower
quality than the preceding methods but
is more universal. You can even use old
VHS camcorders.

Typically you will use either an S-Video
output from your camera to the video card
or will use the video-out cable of your
camcorder and connect it to your video
card instead of to a TV.

This is all specific to your video card,
the software that came with it, and the
camcorder you have. But there are some
good tutorials on the web, and I don't
think most people here are interested.


Best of luck folks!
 

Unregistered guest
JD 2, you wne t through a lot of trouble to address a lt of unanswered questions. Thanks.
 

Rick Jamess Ghost
Unregistered guest
Can someone delete the entire thread, except that one good post at the end?? This is worthless. Also, I have one question, is there a DV drive available yet? I've seen this sony/FAST drive, but $3000 is unreasonable. I just watched Blade/Trinity, and they had one in the movie. I'll have to see it again to catch the name on the outside of the drive.
 

Barb04
Unregistered guest
I read through all the posts and here's my question: Can I use an S-Video cable to transfer video from my Samsung MiniDV Camcorder (SC-D103) to my PC (Dell Dimemsion 4600)? I have a port on the back of my computer...
 

Unregistered guest
I have a question. Do you have to play (watch) the whole video from beginning to end in order to transfer it to your computer?
 

Anonymous
 
what is all boils down to is firewire sucks if its not going to be plug and play like everything else that has usb. look how many people are having trouble with this. its ridiculous. for your pc to recognize your cam, you need to turn them both off. turn on your camera and them your computer. your computer should recognize it then. if it doesnt, spike your camera on the ground like you just scored the winning touchdown in the superbowl.
 

Aussie 123
Unregistered guest
Some good stuff here...

I used my USB cable with my Sony TRV-22 to transfer my video (Only some scenes, not the whole video).

Disappointed with the video quality, I was recommended a Firewire Card.

Sad to say, I see no improvement in Quality.

I have the capture set at the highest quality.

1 - Should the "USB Streaming" option be "On" when using the 1394 cable?

2 - Are there any options in what file formats to save in - other then MPEG1?

3 - Should I try to get a refund on my Firewire Card?
 

Aussie 123
Unregistered guest
Have spoken to the Sony Dealer.

It seems that the Pixela Imagemaker software is basically crap for video as it is only low resolution.

Have used Microsoft MovieMaker - use setting "Other - DV-AVI option (25 MBPs) - and it is is brilliant.

Conclusion - get your firewire card, 1394 cable, and some decent downloading software. However, be warned: a 30 second clip is 111MB.
 

New member
Username: Primostall

Post Number: 1
Registered: Dec-04
HELP PLEASE

I have a Panasonic miniDV camera the blue kind with least amout of options and i am also trying to connect it to my computer and it has worked before but now for some reason it says class not registerd and the an unknown error has occured. Please help.

you can email my to george_chiesa@yahoo.com
 

Anonymous
 
Please help, I have a panasonic gs 120 and a firewire connection and a forewire compatible computer. I have tried to transfer film from camera to computer and it does not work. I think I need a driver. Where can I download one from for free. Thanks for any help, Chris
 

Anonymous
 
Please help, I have a panasonic gs 120 and a firewire connection and a forewire compatible computer. I have tried to transfer film from camera to computer and it does not work. I think I need a driver. Where can I download one from for free. Thanks for any help, Chris
 

Anonymous
 
HELP

I tried WinDV and that does not work it says run time error and when i use Movie Maker it says class not registerd. Is it my computer?? or my camera??
 

Camcorder newbie
Unregistered guest
ANSWER!!!! Go to a computer store and ask an expert! Until then you can help me w/ my question, I have a Panasonic PV-GS50-K and I was wondering if it was possible to copy short clips from the MiniDV tape to the SD card?
 

someone who needs help!
Unregistered guest
i have a mini dv camera and the software i have is sony picture package. how do i transfere the video from the tape to my computer.

Also can someone tell me where i can buy a firewire cable and a firewire connection for my computer.i find that usb 2.0 is too slow
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2317
Registered: Dec-03
Got to radio shack, circuit city or best buy, or any place that sell computers.
 

Dirtbiker
Unregistered guest
My Computer Won't detect my Canon DV Camera
 

torturedsoul
Unregistered guest
i`ve read every post here and have`nt found an answer to my question.I can transfer footage from my canon zr80 dv cam to my computer via firewire,have managed to edit and save in various formats with ulead videostudio 7.however i cant figure out how to burn to dvd in order to watch on home dvd player.The video saved with the best quality(dv)is too large to fit on a dvd.So do i have to go with the video that does not exceed the dvd`s storage capacity.Does it matter what format the video is to be able to burn and watch on home dvd player,and how do you do that?
 

torturedsoul
Unregistered guest
nevermind,i figured it out.once you have the video files(any format,.avi,.mpg.wmv,etc.) you want to put on dvd.use winavi video converter.It will convert from one format to another of your choice,and it is extremely easy to use!
 

Unregistered guest
How do I Transfer film with my Digital handycam to my Computer. Iv tried useing a usb but it said software not found.
 

New member
Username: Alaska_dude

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
I just got a Panasonic GS120 and I wanted to transfer my video to my computer. I later read in the manual that you can only transfer video over the firewire on the GS200 model. Is there another way to get the video from the tape (hopefully using the camera) to my computer so I can edit it?
 

Anonymous
 
I have Panasonic GS 15 Digital Video Camera i want to transfer the movie from mini DV to my pc can i need any software/hardware pls help me
 

Anonymous
 
I believe most cams need a firewire to transfer from dv cam to pc but some use usb 2.0.so,obviously you need whatever one your cam requires,check user manual.then you need some software to transfer it.There are many to choose from,typically one is bundled with your cam.
 

Unregistered guest
Hi all,

I have the job of creating a showreel for a tv network. The only problem is, that im not sure how to Record my edited work from my computer Back to my mini DV.

How can i do this?

Thanks for your help.
 

Unregistered guest
Hi All,

I have a sony dv camcorder, i downloaded movie from the camera to PC using USB Cable. i was using windows movie maker software. then i copied to CD that movie.but my problem is copied CD i played, but the picture clarity was very poor. if i am using firewire for copying from cam to pc instead of usb i can solve this problem????
this problem is cable problem or software problem?
PLEASE HELP ME..
ANYBODY CAN HELP ME,,,MY MAIL ID- ayubrahim@hotmail.com

 

Shahid_rr2000
Unregistered guest
Hi,
Thanks for all your help guys, Ive managed to transfer 30 second clips from my Panasonic camcorder to my laptop. But, the file sizes are Huge, 30 second clip take up 70MB on MPEG2 and 45MB on MPEG1. Any idea on why the files are so large ? Could it be the firewire cable ?
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2464
Registered: Dec-03
Because movies carry a lot of information and they are unlike mp3s or jpegs. It is just the way it is. Even compressed, movie files are big. It has nothing to do with the firewire cable.
 

annoyed customer
Unregistered guest
I have a DCR-PC105e and want to get 10mins of footage onto my computer, i dont care about quality. I am not using firewire for several reasons which i CANNOT get into. I have to use USB. When i installed the drivers they didnt do anything. I installed imagemixer it didnt work. AAAAAAHHHH. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY??
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2467
Registered: Dec-03
Because you are not using firewire.
 

Unregistered guest
Can any one please let me know how or from where to download "Windows Movie Maker". Even after updating my WinXP SP2 I don't see this software on my notebook..
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2475
Registered: Dec-03
go to the microsoft website.
 

Unregistered guest
My Samsung mini cam won't install. XP says it's not approved by microsoft. Any suggestions?
 

Ram
Unregistered guest

have a DCR-HS40 Sony camcorder. Along with camcorder I got a Picture Package menu. How can I transfer data from cassette to my PC?
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2498
Registered: Dec-03
pete,
When the prompt comes up, ignore it and click "continue anyway". The install should then continue.
 

Thomas L Belgium
Unregistered guest
To the panasonic guys with problems sending movies from cam to PC:

Only possible way to send DV trough firewire is via Panasonic software Motion DV Studio
 

Unregistered guest
Hi
Please send me drivers for My panasonic Digital Video camera (NV-GS55) so that I can download Videos and pictures into my Pc and Edit them.Thank you in advance
 

Sasha
Unregistered guest
Just want to say a great big THANK YOU to Berny (and all the others with helpful information). I just got a Sony Handycam and was totally lost... until I read this thread! Thank you so much!
 

Unregistered guest
Hey wassup buddys from the camera world,lol,I need some help,I own a Jvc GR-SXM24<~~~(MODEL)This camera does not have a fire wire port so I can edit and import my videos in to the CPU.Please help if you can.I also want to know where can I find original owners manuals.Thanx
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2521
Registered: Dec-03
you have to go analog.
You need a video capture card.
How old is this camera?
 

Unregistered guest
i have panasonic NV-GS15 camecorder this camera not supporting my msn and yahoo messenger.i already check others program in windows this camera is working properly but with msn and yahoo messenger not support. plzz help gsadiqk@hotmail.com
 

New member
Username: Tombenley

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
i hav a canon zr 80.which software should i use to transfer my video from my camcorder to my laptop.i also donno anything about the firewalls.
please help.
thanx
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2569
Registered: Dec-03
ulead, pinnacle, adobe premier...take your pick.

Read the manual...it will help a lot.
 

New member
Username: Mrchris

Lake Wales, Florida USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
I have a Sony DCR-TRV260. The picture package software doesn't work well and windows movie maker in xp home just locks up. I've been using the supplied usb cable and from what I've read that's not the cable to use. The IEEE 1394 firewire sounds like the trick.
1> Will that connect to my camera and PC?
2> Will the ulead media pro 7 software work better?
3> Can I burn DVD's on my PC with this camera?
Thanks for the help...
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2584
Registered: Dec-03
It is good that you are reading and you are correct...USB is not the cable to use.

1> If you have a DV output on your camera, you need to get a DV to IEEE1394(fireiwre or iLink, same thing) cable. Look in to a computer shop, you'll find it there.

2> Yes

3> Yes, provided you have a DVD burner(you'll be surprised at what some people assume)
 

Unregistered guest
Hello everybody,
I have an old Sony Handycam Video 8 CCD-TR66 NTSC and I would like to transfer my old homevideos to a dvd. What do I need to do? Please help?
 

New member
Username: Mrchris

Lake Wales, Florida USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-05
Hey Bernie thanks for the help yesterday. I have another question if you don't mind. I can get the firewire about anywhere (Staples has one for about $15) but can you tell me if it's configured to fit in my Sony DCR-TRV260? Will it fit into the port marked DV on the camera? That's the same spot I connect the supplied USB cable to...
Thanks Again
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2597
Registered: Dec-03
The best thing to do is bring your camcorder when you shop for the cables. DV Out is standard, it does not look anything like a USB port. It looks like a tiny rectangle with a dent on top with 4 small holes in the middle. The other end should have a firewire plug.
 

Anonymous
 
I have a Samsung SCD86 digital camcorder. How can I transfer the video onto my computer, with a USB cable (or video in)?

Thanks, any help will be appreciated.
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2640
Registered: Dec-03
Do you have a manual?
 

thedorkside
Unregistered guest
Hi guys! I'm glad to have found out this board. And cheers to Berny for being dependable, and also to kitts and JD2!

Like anyone else in this litany, I want to transfer vids. I guess this hasn't been asked before: TV card instead of firewire? Do both cards produce the same quality? Which is better? If firewire is, how is it better? I'd like a TV card so I could not only do the miniDV thing but also transfer VHS and also record TV programs, but if the output doesn't come up to firewire's standard, then I'd scrap the idea.

Will Adobe Premiere work with a TV card?

Also, I did some research and found out that these TV cards only have one audio port. Does that mean that the sound will only be linear and not stereo?

Aside from the pins, are there any more compatibility issues between the miniDV and the firewire card and/or cable?

What's your take on these peripherals? DZ100 firewire card, Winpass TV card, VGear Firewire card, VGear TV card and PixelView TV cards?

When all this is ok, how do i compress the captured video--to MPEG1 or MPEG2? I just wanna make vcds, not dvds. Or is MPEG2 for vcds too?

Last thought, maybe Sony named their software Pixela because the images churned out are pixelated, lol.
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2673
Registered: Dec-03
thedorkside,
I have a TV card but I do not use it so I can't advice on that. I know that it is an analog input and it has a tuner. I have tried the analog video input(composite) and it is not the same as a firewire, great for transferring VHS but not miniDV.

I have not seen any of compatibility issues with firewire and DV outputs. Firewire was intended for video stream as it was the fastest at the time of inception.

Do not compress captured video...do the compression when you encode and write to the disc.
 

thedorkside
Unregistered guest
Thanks for the advice, Berny. I'll look into that myself.
 

Unregistered guest
Hi There Every1, My name is Kivanc ATMACA from Turkey,

I read all the posts here, and must confess the only solution to my problem of transfering DV casette data to my PC was via a TV card, just as some1 here suggested. After almost trying everything, I was frustrated that I needed to buy another software, or card, or cable. But instead, all I needed to use was the S-video or AV Output slot of my Panasonic NVGS11 camcorder and the corresponding slots of the TV card. As far as I know, all up-to-date camcorders have some TV output. So you don't need nothing else, except a stupid 4/6-pin S-video or a AV cable, and a TV card. Jus' try this if you can b4 buying any more stuff. I got perfect results.

Bye and good luck. katmaca@yahoo.com
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
Wow, lots of interesting posts here.

I have been doing video on my PC for 4 years now and here is the sum total of my accumulated knowledge, that may help some recent correspondents. I'm probably repeating advice given elsewhere here.

1) If you have a DV camcorder, use Firewire to transfer video into your PC. It is the only way to go. The transfer is virtually lossless, i.e. NO reduction in quality. Note that the file format is .avi. In avi files, each frame is already compressed to reduce the bandwidth for areas that have similar content. There is no compression by comparison between frames. I transfer video from DV cam to PC without losing any frames and my PC is only 667 MHz. Firewire PCI cards are cheap.

2) Other ports that may exist on your DV cam (e.g USB) are strictly for transferring digital still shots - probably poor quality - or short movie clips. If you have a decent digicam, these ports are effectively useless.

3) Once you have the avi file transferred onto your PC, there are a number of programmes you can use to do editing. Ulead Video Studio (sometimes to be found free on the cover of PC Mag) is a good one. I use MGI Videowave 3 and it works fine. These programmes can render the avi file into various formats, including MPEG for DVD. Files that are rendered into MPEG can be quickly and easily incorporated into DVDs.

4) To make DVDs, you will need DVD authoring software. If you buy a DVD burner, it is very likely that some free software for DVD authoring will be included. Some manufacturers include Ulead Movie factory which is probably the best and can also be bought separately. I bought and use Ulead Movie factory.

5) Using an analog capture card (TV card etc) to transfer files from a DV cam to a PC is like using the sound card to record a CD. It works OK, but why would you suffer the loss of quality of going via analogue when you can rip it direct?

Good luck everybody

 

Unregistered guest
i have a panasonic nvgs11b
i have a usb adapter and a s-video lead for it is there any way of uploading videos to my computer please help (i have XP)
i dont come on this much so if you can solve my questian please e-mail me !!!
thanks Oscar.
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
Oscar, while the Panasonic web page for this camera (http://www.panasonic.co.uk/camcorders/nvgs11b/index.htm in the UK) hints that it might be possible to transfer video through USB ("DV Studio for USB" in the "CD-ROM section), I doubt that this is a correct interpretation. More likely, the USB is used to transfer still photos, and for the webcam function. The S-video lead will be for playing back videos on your TV. The web page specifies a DV in/out (known as firewire, or IEEE 1394) which is almost certainly the only way to transfer video to your PC. Firewire cards are availale cheaply for both desktop and laptop machines. They normally come with both the DV cable and video editing software (mine did and that was 4 years ago). XP also has basic video editing software which might allow you to save money when purchasing the firewire card.

Hope that helps.
 

Unregistered guest
I recently purchased a Panasonic nv-gs11, And a firewire add on card. I am finding that the captured video (windows movie maker) is not as good a quality as recording direct to VHS. I am burning directly to to a VCD using Nero. Why the bad quality? Is this normal?
Thanks Troy
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
Troy, any modern DV camcorder will have picture quality far, far higher than even the best S-VHS system, by any measurement you can define. So your camera is unlikely to be the source of your problem. Furthermore, so long as you are not dropping frames when you transfer the video to your PC, the quality will be exactly the same (near as makes no odds) once it is inside the PC. The software you are using to capture video from the DV camcorder should alert you if you ARE dropping frames, by the way. So it's probably safe to assume that these areas are OK.

If your PC is quite old, it may be jerky playing back the "raw" DV info (an .avi file) as the data rate is very high. For PC playback, a compressed file format with a smaller screen size may even look better on some systems. For example, on my rather old PC, the Indeo CODEC with a 384 pixel-size picture works best.

VCD quality is not all that great even under ideal conditions, I would say roughly equivalent to VHS. But if your VCD finshed product is very poor, it's worth experimenting with the available CODECs to see which ones work best, and at what setting. You can normally trim the quality setting on the CODEC when you are "rendering", i.e. converting the raw DV file into something else such as MPEG. It might also be worth separating the rendering and burning so you can check the quality on your PC, but be aware of the fact that some formats are specifically tailored for TV playback and may look lousy on your PC but great on the TV. For example, in MPEG, if you examine a single frame you may see some quite strange effects.

Of course, if video quality is your objective, then the only sensible thing to do is to burn your videos onto DVD. DVDs have 8 times the capacity of CDs and it really shows when you compare the quality!

Hope that helps
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
Daniela, regarding your problem with digitising old NTSC Video 8 tapes:

I have just gone through a very similar issue (compact VHS to DVD). You don't mention whether your target system is PAL or NTSC by the way.

NTSC Video 8 to PAL DVD

You need a format converter. I used an Aiwa VHS multi-standard player belonging to a friend. It played back the NTSC camcorder tape and output it in PAL. It would also have been possible to make the NTSC source line-in rather than a tape. I used my DV camcorder to record the PAL output through its analogue input. From there, normal processes can be used to convert to DVD via firewire. The result was surprisingly good.

NTSC Video 8 to NTSC DVD

This is really just an analogue capture issue. You can either connect the Video 8 system to a modern NTSC DV camcorder with analogue input (then transfer >> PC >> DVD via Firewire), or you could purchase an NTSC compatible video capture card such as Leadtek so that your PC becomes a digital recorder. Either way you finish up with an .avi file for processing into DVD.

By the way, don't throw away the DV tapes that you use, especially if they contain precious memories. Native DV remains higher quality than DVD and it is still much too early to judge whether tape or DVD will store longer. Remember that a computer file can become unreadbale through a single error, whereas a DV tape stores each frame separately, so you could literally cut a piece out of the tape and still recover the rest.

Hope that helps.
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
Troy, further to my earlier post, if you wish to try a different encoder to Nero, TMPGEnc freeware is worth a try. Visit http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_main.html for details. This allows you to convert avi to mpg so that Nero doesn't need to perform any further rendering.

I should probably also add that VCD always uses MPEG-1 at a data rate of 1150 kbit/s, so the only thing that can affect the quality of a finished VCD (from the same avi starting point) is the quality/accuracy of the encoder.

This web site gives more info about VCDs: http://www.videohelp.com/vcd
 

seano
Unregistered guest
For all the people that are looking for software for video editing, i disagree totally with the idea of using Windows Movie Maker II from Microsoft or Ulead software they're not really any good for video editin other than makin basic avi's. If you really want to go into video editing and make some pretty good movies the best package on the pc to get is adobe premiere and on a mac final cut pro both of them are amazing pieces of software, adobe photoshop is the best for photo editing and an also adobe after effects allows u to put effects onto your videos and is compatible with both premiere (pc) and final cut pro (mac) and both can be imported using a fire wire from your dv camera you shouldn't have any problems with video quality unless the quality settings on your camera are low as these programs are industry standard. http://www.adobe.com/ http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71301/wo/8n5FFWn GR6lf2owB8vo1XuTHBCN/0.0.11.1.0.6.11.1.0.0.1
 

Anonymous
 
Anyone know where I can get Movier Maker 2 for Windows 2000? Went on Microsoft's site but they don't appear to have it anymore.

many thanks!
John
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
John, the previous version of Moviemaker (2.0) can be downloaded from here: http://www.download.com/Windows-Movie-Maker/3000-2194-10187903.html

However, this download site also specifies XP as a system requirement. I found another website reference to Moviemaker 2 at the beta stage where again XP was stated as a requirement. Can you find any other Win 2K users of this software and confirm the version they are using?

Hope that helps
 

Troy Martin
Unregistered guest
grromit, I have now purchased a dvd burner as you advised (much to the discust of my mastercard). There is quite a big difference between dvd & vcd. I still have one problem though. The picture on playback is good, but on capture the picture blurs with movement. I think it might be something to do with the fact I can't turn the preview screen off while capturing. I am using windvd which is burning great but I am picking this up before this stage. I have also tried ulean & I cant turn the preview screen off. Windows movie maker allows you to do this but there are other limitantions & have found it probably isnt the best for dvd. What do you think?
Troy.
 

gromit
Unregistered guest
Troy, when the DV camera is filming, individual frames may show blurring when the subject moves. This is just the same as still photography. The extent of blurring depends on the speed of movement and the shutter speed. When you play back the movie on a TV, the blurring is not normally visible because your eye/brain blend one frame into the next. Some actions on your PC, possibly including capture, may not allow every frame in a video to be displayed, especially if the PC is a bit old. If some frames are missed, the blurring effect of indivual frames may be more noticeable. The most important thing is to make sure that you do not drop frames during the transfer. With a modern PC, that is not normally a problem

If you are not dropping frames during transfer but do experience blurring when viewing the "finished product", it might be worth experimenting with shutter speeds on your DV camera, although I have never needed to change mine from "auto". Also, make sure your DVD production programme (or whatever you are using to convert from avi to mpg) is set to highest quality.

As I don't run XP, I have never tried Windows Movie Maker, but I can easily believe that it would not match dedicated packages such as Ulead. Of course, if you are REALLY serious about producing videos, and your Mastercard is still in a very good mood, then the "Adobe" advice given by Seano above is valid. But other, cheaper packages should be sufficient to give basic video quality. As I mentioned before, I run MGI Videowave 3 for capture/editing, and Ulead Movie Factory for DVD production. Both are sufficient for my relatively modest project aims, although I AM fussy about picture quality.

Hope that helps.
 

JohnY
Unregistered guest
Gromit. Thanks much for the link. However, it is for XP unfortunately so it won't install.

I've got an Elura 50. I don't know what's happened to the software for transfering video to the computer so thought this might help as it was mentioned in posts here. I did go to the canon site and download the twain driver but don't know if that allows one to grab video already recorded and dump it on the computer. If there's something else I can do, I'd appreciate any help.

Many thanks!
John
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