sony mini dv

[milly1219]

Hi , I need some help not sure to post here or dvd authoring . I recently video taped a wedding for a friend with a sony DCRHC21 . I captured the info with windows movie maker using usb , I don't have a firewire connection. As I now know I can't burn DVD's with this software nor can I with the sony software only vcd's . I do have pinnacle dvc 80 but I can only capture analog with the cables I'm using . I now have the movie saved on my hard drive I believe as a wma ? (not sure) it says video clip when I check the properties. My question is , is there some freeware I can use to convert the movie or software I can purchase to make my DVD or do I need to install an ieee so that I can use the firewire cable with the pinnacle software. Which ever the case I need to do some editing..transitions, titles and what not. Also when I use USB to capture am I capturing digitally or analog ? Probably clear as mud , but any help would be greatly appreciated . If more info is needed let me know
Thanks.

[gll99]

Yes by all means for your friends sake get a firewire card and use Windv for the transfer.
Via usb you are capturing lowres mpeg and downgrading significantly from what you have on tape. With firewire you will be transferring at original 720x480 dv format in an avi container. Many free tools are available to edit avi including virtualdub with many filtering options.

[milly1219]

Thanks , I installed a firewire card and used my pinnacle studio software to capture and create my dvd . It was easier than I thought and the quality was very good !