dv to dvd

[nerie]

Ok, please bear with me...

I have a friend that wants to burn dv from camcorder to dvd (he has the latest and greatest macintosh laptop). He says that once he burns dv to dvd (not sure if he is talking dvd-r, dvd-rw, or what type of dvd format), the dvd cannot be transfered back to hard drive for editing. Is this true? Sorry for the elementary terminology of this question...

The big picture...

Would it be possible to save the dv to dvd, and then at a later date do some editing on the given video? I know you wouldn't be able to edit the dvd, but could you transfer it back to the hard drive to do so?

Thanks!

[ZippyP.]

DVD's are mpeg2 and editting mpeg isn't very easy. It's best to edit then convert to DVD. Not that it can't be done, it's just not as good for editting.

[vandakeg]

You can save the DV .avi file as data on a DVD, but you will only be able to fit about 20 mins worth.... but if the DVD has already been authored, then it is in MPEG 2 form, and is MUCH more difficult to edit.

It's definitely not a good idea to edit MPEG 2... but if it is absolutely necessary, you can convert MPEG 2 to .avi, which would be much better to edit with.... but then you have to re-convert to MPEG2, and at that point, however, you will have lost a considerable amount of quality.