Camcorder

[quxote]

Hello All,

I decided to post in this forum even though my questions is not directly a DVD Authoring question. I am in the market for purchasing a new camcorder and was wondering if someone can give me some tips on what to look for and what to stay away from.

I would like to purchase a camcorder that makes it much easier to put the movies on my computer and edit them, create menus, add music etc. But I do not know what format of camcorder is best for that mini DVD, MiniDV, etc. I previously had a MiniDVD camera, and although this seemed easy to watch the movies on TV, just finalize the disc, editing the movies on the computer seems a bit combersome, first I have to ripp them, then edit, not to mention the MiniDvds do not hold that much.

Can anyone suggest the best type of camcorder to look for when purchase will the knowledge that I expect to edit them on the computer before watching them. And also what features I should be looking for? Such as USB capable, and a pass throguh option (for capturing old VHS tapes ) etc.


Thank you for your time.
Q

[Baldrick]

No, it's not any dvd authoring. DV or editing forum would be better. Moving you.

DVD was not meant for any editing but some tools can edit such as mpeg video wizard but it would be easier with a minidv camera as all editings tools support that.

[redwudz]

With what you describe, just a miniDV would seem to be a good choice. If you can find one with passthrough, even better. There are also hard drive camcorders, and they output in MPEG-4 (Hard to edit) or MPEG-2 (Easier to edit, and you can go to DVD similar to a mini-DVD camcorder) I don't know how either transfer to the computer, but likely USB.

But a miniDV is still the best for most users, IMO. DV is one of the easiest to edit formats out there. You do need a FireWire cable and card, and it does take up a fair amount of hard drive space, about 13GB an hour. The other 'downsides' is you need to encode and author to get to the DVD format. That takes some time and work. But the quality will be better than a MPG-2 or a MPEG-4 generated on a camera. And I would rather have higher quality and more control of the finished product.

[JohnnyMalaria]

The prefered type for editing is MiniDV.

MiniDV camcorders connect via FireWire which most modern PCs have. If your profile is correct, Win98 *may* present some issues regarding getting DV onto the PC:

http://www.videoguys.com/Win98.html

On XP and later, it's a breeze. Just plug in the camcorder and a little menu pops up letting you choose to capture the video. For simple editing, Windows Movie Maker comes with XP and later. Once you have created them you will either want to send them back to the camcorder and record on tape or convert to DVD. There are a number of freeware applications to do that.

Alternatives to Windows Movie Maker exist but many are either complicated, have a steep learning curve or cost money(!)

If you are using Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, you can also use Windows DVD Maker - it's rather simplistic, takes for ever to create the DVD but it is free and will get you started:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/dvdmaker.mspx

If you don't already have a FireWire card, you can buy one very cheaply - just a few tens of dollars - and some come with editing software, too.

If you go the MiniDV route, I'd start with Windows Movie Maker to get used to the process of capturing, editing etc.

Now - which camcorder? Depends on your budget and the features you'd like for the camera side of things.

[quxote]

Thanks for the advice, I updated my profile I didn't realize it still had my old PC information in it.

I have Firewire ports so that would not be a problem. I have been doing some reading and it does seems like miniDV is the way to go.

What format does miniDV record? In my limited knowledge of this submit I have noticed that AVI is a better quality and easier to edit. Does miniDV use AVI format? Also, does miniDV offer a way to watch the movie on TV before I edit it? Like an adaptor for a vcr etc? Just in case I want to be able to watch the movie prior to the editing process.

I have some experience in editing, I currently have Sonic 6 and access to Adobe CS Production (at work), but to start out I am thinking I may use Movie Maker to learn things.

For features of the camera, I am thinking I would like still picture option, to aviod carrying two camera. Good quality movies, hopefully a pass through for my old home movies, direct connect to my PC firewire or USB 2 (I have both).
I may be asking for alot for my budget (about $200-$400) But maybe someone can suggest a brand to go with. I noticed that some brands of cameras always seem to have compatability problems.


Thanks for the help

[redwudz]

Outside of the passthrough (Which is really handy for transferring VHS tapes and the like), there are quite a few camcorders in that price range. No suggestions on models, though.

The cameras use DV-AVI format. You can view it from the camera to a TV or transfer it to the computer and view it there. If you have a video card that outputs to your TV, you can also view it that way.

Still pictures are usually handled by a separate flash card in the camera. A common feature. Or they may be output on the DV tape. I think the first is the more common method, though.

Windows Movie Maker will work for the transfers. But if your final output is DVD, you need to output from WMM in DV-AVI format, not WMV.

I use WinDV just for the transfer of the DV to my hard drive. Simple and free. You can get 'package' programs that handle the transfer, the editing, encoding and authoring to DVD format. No suggestions there, either.

I use WinDV, then edit in VirtualDub Mod with the Panasonic DV Codec added. Then I frameserve the edited DV direct to TMPGEnc Plus encoder, then put the MPEG-2 into TMPGEnc DVD Author for the authoring. I burn with ImgBurn. (The 'frameserving eliminates creating a edited version of the DV file, which saves hard drive space.)

When I have the edited file in VD Mod, I also extract out the audio, convert it to AC3 with ffmpeggui and add that along with the encoded MPEG-2 video to my authoring program. I don't use TMPGEnc Plus to encode the audio.

Just my system, though. There are lots of ways to do all this.

[edDV]

If you have experience with Premiere Pro CS, you will find Windows Movie Maker limiting and you have to "force" it into DV format export (under "Other") but it is a good starter.

Playing to the TV is easy. You just connect the camcorder to the TV and play the file to the camcorder with WinDV. WinDV works both directions. It will capture a DV stream to a file or "Play" a DV file as a stream back to the camcorder. The camcorder makes the conversion to analog just as it does when you play a DV tape.

Many edit programs also preview or play to a DV stream. Among them are Sony Vegas Movie studio and ULead Video Studio. Premiere Elements may, I don't know for certain.

DV format is best for serious work. It is the same basic format used by broadcasters around the world for news and feature editing. DV is contained in an AVI wrapper but requires a DV codec to play. DV format is very good quality but the quality you get depends on your camera investment. DV format camcorders range from $250 to well over $25,000. The recording format is similar for all.