MiniDV - WinDV - Sony Vegas

[Chelica]

Okay,

I have used WinDV to capture the video from my MiniDV camcorder. I now have 12.5GB of movie file on my desktop. They are divided into 10 minute clips. Now, how do I join them together and then convert it into MPEG2 format so that I can burn it onto a DVD and watch it on a stand alone DVD player?

The software I will be using is Sony Vegas. I think it is version 7.

Any links to a guide or any advice will be helpful.

[Baldrick]

Configure WinDV to capture to one file instead. Increase the Max AVI Size(frames).

Doesn't Vegas come with any manual/help?

[Chelica]

I set the size to be 1,000,000 but it still came out in smaller clips.
Vegas does come with a manual, but I am currently at work and was just wondering if there was a different route to take.

Thank you.

[guns1inger]

It also comes with a fully functioning capture tool as well. I use both WinDV and the Vegas capture app as needed. Sometimes it is simpler just to jump into Vegas and go.

And yes, Vegas comes with quite a good on-line help facility.

[edDV]

Just import the files into Vegas and follow directions.

WinDV settings should look like this.

[gadgetguy]

Just import the files into Vegas and follow directions.

WinDV settings should look like this.

Discontinuity threshold should be set to zero if you want to ensure a single capture file in WinDV.

[tonyp12]

I have used WinDV to capture the video from my MiniDV camcorder

It's NOT Capture, but a transfer.
As in copy the DV file from your tape to your HD.

Does not vegas allow that without using WinDV?

[guns1inger]

Yes, it does (and it calls it a capture, regardless of the actual process involved)

[JohnnyMalaria]

Capture vs. Transfer

When did this differentiation originate? I mean the apparent relegation of the term "capture" when applied to DV?

If you look at the etymology of the two words, you can argue that "capture" is the more correct term.

transfer (v.)
1382, from L. transferre "bear across, carry over, transfer, translate," from trans- "across" + ferre "to carry" (see infer). The noun is first attested 1674. Transference in psychoanalytical sense is recorded from 1911, transl. Ger. übertragung (Freud).

capture (n.)
1541, from M.Fr. capture "a taking," from L. captura "a taking," from captus (see captive). The verb is 1795; in chess, checkers, etc., 1820.

If you think about a DV camcorder, for example, when it is playing a tape, the DV signal is presented to the Firewire port whether or not your computer is copying the data (easily proven if you have two devices on the same port). So, the process of copying the data to the hard drive is really "taking" what is already there rather than "carrying over" or "transferring".

Somewhere in the recent-ish past it has become vogue to claim that "capture" is exclusively related to hardware that is an integral part of the computer and connects directly to an analog video source.

[edDV]

Just import the files into Vegas and follow directions.

WinDV settings should look like this.

Discontinuity threshold should be set to zero if you want to ensure a single capture file in WinDV.

Yes, 0 sec discontinuity turns off scene break detection. The default 1 sec looks for a time code break >1 sec which starts a new scene file. If there is no timecode break, they behave the same.

"Every N-th frame" creates a time lapse effect if greater than 1.

I have used WinDV to capture the video from my MiniDV camcorder

It's NOT Capture, but a transfer.
As in copy the DV file from your tape to your HD.

Does not vegas allow that without using WinDV?

There is no file system on a typical DV camcorder so it isn't a file transfer. Streams are recorded to tape and streams are transferred from tape. WinDV converts the stream to a file on the HDD.

[Chelica]

Ah, that fixed it. Thank you all. I will now read the manual regarding Vegas, hehe.