new to capturing...

[Red96TA]

I've noticed that alot of the talk is converting analog tapes to dvd, but haven't heard alot/any talk about converting the newer DV camcorders to dvd. After an hour search...zip.

I guess the bottom line is: do the DV camcorders get captured like the analog hi-8's, or is there a simplified process.


I'm looking at getting a DV camera in the next month and am looking for things I'll need...can someone clue me in? Cameras under $500, Capture cards? Software?

[Will Hay]

MiniDV footage isn't captured, it's transferred to your PC via a firewire cable and card.
It's a simple process, and doesn't suffer the same problems that conventional capturing does, such as audio/video sync issues, loss of frames etc.
Firewire is definetely the way to go.
I use Pinnacle Studio 8 in conjunction with my Sony MiniDV camcorder and Adaptec firewire card, but you may get software with your camcorder.

After an hour search...zip.

Try the new camcorder section on the forum
Will

[MrMungus]

I've noticed that alot of the talk is converting analog tapes to dvd, but haven't heard alot/any talk about converting the newer DV camcorders to dvd. After an hour search...zip.

I guess the bottom line is: do the DV camcorders get captured like the analog hi-8's, or is there a simplified process.


I'm looking at getting a DV camera in the next month and am looking for things I'll need...can someone clue me in? Cameras under $500, Capture cards? Software?

Part of the problem (I'm finding after getting back into this avocation) is that there are a number of ways to do capture, and a lot of different types of software you could use with the combination of hardware and software that is best for you depending on (a) what you already have (b) what you want to do (c) how long you want to take to do it and (d) how much money you want to spend.

For example, if you already have Firewire input on your computer, you're all set. You can connect the camcorder directly to the computer via Firewire and start capturing to DV AVI then convert that to MPEG-2 and burn to DVD.

Alternatively, you could get an MPEG-2 capture card and capture directly to MPEG-2 and skip the AVI > MPEG-2 conversion. This is unimportant to some but important to me, for example, because I'm trying to eliminate that step. But you might not want to spend the $ to get a new card, etc. etc.

But to answer your question more directly, here are some of the tools I use:

Capture to DV AVI: WinDV (free)
Simple edits: VirtualDub (free)
Complicated edits: Media Studio Pro 6
Convert to MPEG-2: TMPGEnc ($)
Author DVD: TMPGEnc ($)
Burn: Nero

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions, even the stupid ones like I post.