Capturing from Canon DR950 to Moviemaker - seems to lose clarity

[Mojo88]

Video noob here, with brand new Canon DR950.

I am trying a few test videos and when capturing from Canon DR950 to Windows Moviemaker (via Firewire) - the video seems to lose clarity. Would a different editing program provide better results? I am using Moviemaker default settings.

If I plug the camcorder into my 50" Samsung HD TV and play back directly from the camcorder, the video is better (even with MUCH larger screen) than the clip from Moviemaker appears on my computer monitor.........................

I'm sure this is a rookie question. Thanks for any help.

[redwudz]

What format are you outputting from WMM and viewing? It will output as DV, which should be the about same quality as the original, depending on your editing. If you don't need to edit with WMM, try using WinDV for the FireWire transfer, then you should end up with a exact copy of the tape on your hard drive.

And a computer display will always look different than a TV display. But that doesn't mean the the DV has changed.

[Mojo88]

Thanks red, but I don't understand. Why do the huge images on my HDTV look about as sharp as the smaller images on my computer screen. I would assume that as the viewing area decreases the perceived sharpness would increase?

I am trying to get nice, clear vids to share via emails. Other peeps will be using their computers and I want them to have a decent quality video.

thanks