Bought a DV camcorder, don't know how! What do I do next?

[coffeecup-sf]

Hi bought a JVC GR-DVM75 camera.

(A direct link to camera manufacturers page is here):
http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026200&page=2

It says that the camera has MPEG-4 capability. What does this mean? Does mpeg-4 mean it's only for the flashcard, or FROM the DV video tapes?

The camera has USB out, "i.Link" and IEEE1394 as well, although I don't know much about them. I used the USB out to computer already and it appears that USB out is only for the snapshot transfer of the "digital still camera", but it didn't of course transfer video footage from the camera.

How can I transfer that nice video footage from the camera's video tape onto the computer somehow? Is it a simple setup, or? Thanks.

[thecoalman]

The camera has USB out, "i.Link" and IEEE1394 as well, although I don't know much about them.

How can I transfer that nice video footage from the camera's video tape onto the computer somehow? Is it a simple setup, or? Thanks.

I-link, IEEE 1394 and firewire are all the same.

Connect to your computer with firewire, set the cam to VCR, open up any capture program and capture the footage.

It really is as easy as that, transferring footage from a digital cam is similar to copying a file from one folder to another on your HD. The only difference is you need a system that is capable of writing the data fast enough to HD which is just about any newer system.

If you don't have capture program look in the tools section or use MS Movie Maker for transferring it. Which progrsm you use makes no difference in the quality as long as your capturing in DV-AVI.

[upshot]

Yes, the mpeg-4 is only to the flash memory. It's just a fun thing IMO - kinda looks like old 8mm...

Exactly... the usb is only for the flash memory and the firewire is to trasfer DV....

If your system has a firewire input the transfer is easy. Pick up DVIO (free), plug it in, transfer...

[coffeecup-sf]

Thanks for the replies.

Oh no, I just looked through my MOBO manual as well as site link, and it appears my model doesn't have IEEE1394 ready. Does anyone know if that means the motherboard is completely incapable of using it, or if I would be able to buy some connector or something?

The mobo is:
Gigabyte GA-7N400-L
Here's mobo main page link:
http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7N400-L.htm
Here's the "specs" list for board details:
http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-7N400-L.htm

In any event apparently there's no rear port for IEEE1394, and on the section of the motherboard that there should be some wiring, it appears that it is soldered off. However the board is only about a year old, well after 1394 came out.

Still yet, does anyone think it would be possible to buy like a PCI card to make it compatible?

[upshot]

there is a boatload of pci firewire cards to choose from....

[coffeecup-sf]

oh ok, cool. but I wanted to make sure, is firewire a seperate chip on the motherboard, meaning that for the mobo to process IEEE1394 it needs a seperate processor for it? Or is IEEE1394 just lumped in with the main CPU as well? thanks.

[Richard_G]

Only a few motherboards have IEEE 1394 built in, you'll need to get an IEEE 1394 card (also referred to as a Firewire card) that plugs into a spare pci socket on your motherboard. I could suggest a few sources but as I'm in UK they probably won't be a lot of good to you but you shouldn't be looking at spending more than $20 or so.

[coffeecup-sf]

ok thanks for the info guys. I am currently overseas, in a non-english speaking country, so it's not easy to come by. appreciated!!.

[tmh]

ebay yourself a fiewire PCI card for $10-25 or, if you're buying any editing sotware anyhow, you can usually find a package deal (firewire card and sofware). Many hreads here discuss which are "good" and "bad", alhough many say it makes litle dif. Very easy to install also.

your best bet from here is to wait until you have the firewire port before asking too many more questions because you'll need to DO each step to really learn it anyways.

GL

[thecoalman]

Many hreads here discuss which are "good" and "bad", alhough many say it makes litle dif. Very easy to install also.

The difference is that some cams will only work with firewire cards with TI chips, I forget which brand cam.

[monkeyking]

Don't forget to buy a firewire cable - probably a 4 pin to 6 pin cable. They're $20 in the local stores - so I bought one off ebay for 99 cents, plus $4 shipping. Ha ha, but it works.

I had to buy a firewire card too. Paid $14 at a local store. Would have been about the same after shipping if I had gone ebay.

And you will want good software to edit your digital video files and burn them to DVD. Was there a freebie software offer included with your camera?

And you will need a lot of spare disk space to capture your video and edit it. I went out and got a 60G drive for $50US.

Spending money. It never ends.