New capture device for my 13yr. old ??

[overloaded_ide]

Ok, a couple years ago I gave her a digital camera for christmas (wish I had one)
For her birthday this year I gave her a Analog camcorder, VHS C (wish I had one)
She has had her own Jeep Cherokee for about a year or more, (wife wishes she had one)

Now, what would be a great way to get a 13yr old girl started capturing her footage and burning DVDs? She has a PC almost as good as mine! Might need more ram, not sure what I put in it when I built hers.

I don't think I want her taking the easy way out with just playing to a set top recorder, though it would be fastest, but what would she learn?
Learning stuff is why I gave her the camera, camcorder, and JEEP!

I already know how to use my ATI AIW myself, so if I give her one, what do I learn?? Though I don't really need to learn anything now, I already know it all
Well, ok, I don't but this is for her, I can learn on my own stuff.

So what I am actually wanting to know, what do others recommend for her to take the VHS-C tapes and capture to pc for editing.

It should be something that produces great quality, fairly easy to use, not so difficult she loses interest right away, but still something she can actually learn with.

What I don't want is low quality captures, out of sync problems, or a 1 step click and burn solution.

The end goal is for her to actually learn to create and produce REAL movies and burn her own original DVDs. Not just rip disks, which is why I still have to get her a burner, though I may give her my old 2x to start with.

Since I want her to be able to do REAL movies, most likely I will want her learning some real editing, fade in fade out, specail effects, titles and credits, dubbing audio, ect... eventually overlays too. So I geuss she will need to be capturing AVI for all that type stuff, not Mpeg. Though for fast capture, author, burn capturing direct to mpeg would be good. Like maybe a school ball game, just some cutting and burn no AVI needed.

I was thinking give her my 7500 radeon AIW and upgrade my system, but thought I'd ask what others think. It's working great for me, but is that the best for her to get started with? I was planning to add another card to one of my other systems, so I suppose if she lost interest and doesn't use it, then I could swap her for another video card and put it in my other system agian.

She's been traveling the USA with releatives, lots of tapes like Mount rushmore, etc.. to do when she gets home. I'd like her to get a fast DVD done and be happy with it, then get an interest in making it fancy with specail effects and background music, captions and such. If it takes too long and too borring getting the first DVD made, then she might lose interest in doing anymore. You know how kids can be sometimes.
Altough she isn't too bad about that, unlike most kids, she does not have TV to watch or video games to play like Xbox or such.

Aren't I a terrible dad, I won't let the kid have an Xbox, but I gave her a JEEP!

I have Video Wave III she can use for alot of editing (if I figure it out again), I got that with an old ATI AIW 4 meg card many years ago, "BB"
(Before Burners)
As I recall it was pretty good program for alot of fancy stuff, to old to have any mpeg 2 built in. Strictly AVI I think?

I thought about letting her use my equipment when she gets home, but I think she would have a much stronger interest if she had her own to work with.

[fmctm1sw]

What's a 13 year old doing with a Jeep?

[lordsmurf]

I know a lot of people that started out with one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3761&item=5108003018&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I had one at one point.

[dun4cheap]

Didn't you say you wanted the vhs c camcorder? If so take it. Buy her an inexpensive DV camcorder for around $300. These units have firewire which allow direct transfer with little difficulty via firewire (TRUE DV AVI for editing), plus no audio sync problems. As far as editing I would set her up with Video Studio, Pinnacle Studio or Movie Blaster. You may even find a camcorder that comes with one of these programs already. As for the AIW7500, nice card but the end results and audio sync problems will ultimately push you to going the above route.

[hiptune]

I agree that Pinnacle Studio is a great way to start.

For capture, the ADVC-100 is tough to beat. But since you really like to spend money on this girl, you might skip that and go with the ADVC-300, or better yet the real pro ADVC-500 more features and inputs for various formats. Audio Line level is most flexible with the ADVC-500 for capturing footage to PC.

[overloaded_ide]

What's a 13 year old doing with a Jeep?

Driving it

Well she just turned 13, She was alittle over 12 when I gave it to her
I bought it for me to begin with, but then figured she would like it, so I gave her the Jeep when she came home last summer. She travels every year when school gets out. Alot with grandma, plus I take her alot of places too. I want her to learn to drive in case of an emergency for one thing, what happens in the middle of nowhere if the only adult is hurt or has a stroke or heart attack? I'm only around 45, but lost alot of friends my age already! My mother is around 65. Although we both are in good health, I know alot of dead people that were in good health the day before they died!
As it is now, I think she could safely drive to a truckstop or other location if she had to! Like if I were dead or had a stroke, much better than waving down some stranger in a strange place with no one around!

I might be buying some more land here, nothing around for miles at that location and we do have Venomous snakes like copper heads, rattles, we got Trantulas too though I don't think they really hurt anything, just ugly.
I buy that land and get bit buy a large copper head snake while working there, I might want her driving me somewhere
It will be a good place for her to drive too if I take the Jeep over there.

Not to mention the crazy world we have. If someone drags her away like has happened to other children all over the country, I want her able to steal the guys car and drive to saftey if she gets half a chance to!

I'm not a paraniod nut, but I do look around me realistically and see what could possably happen. In this case not that much trouble teaching her to drive and it could come in handy. She has to learn sometime anyway, why not now?

Actually I also feel it's safer than a go cart, and she gets real driving experience in the woods with a real jeep! In 3 years or less she will be driving on the road (Age 16?) with other people. Now she already drives better than a 29yr old I tried to teach to drive awhile back, that one was hopeless! Geuss that's why she didn't already drive yet. She did pass the test eventually, but luckily she moved far away after that and now I feel safe again!

I been teaching people to drive about all my life, since age 16. I also had a motorcycle lisence and commercail lisence at 16 myself. I took the driving tests 3 weeks in a row. First was normal auto, next week cycle, next week trucks. That of course was before the CDLs which I do have now also.
At that time, at 16 I held a lisence I could legally drive a semi if I wanted, but of course at 16 I could not get a job driving one! SO, I had to settle for my dads 5 ton straight truck and haul furniture instead. 1200 mile round trip to the factory to pick up a load. Those were the good old days
Also before I turned 17 I had driven a household load to florida for some people moving there, about a 1800 mile round trip.
All traveling on my own! I want my daughter to drive as well when she gets her lisence as I did when I got mine! I dought she will be making those type trips though on her own. It's a different world today than it was then.

I already set the rules my daughter is not aloughed to ride with her friends this year when they get their licence! They drive far worse than my 13yr old, their just older! One of them already passed the test, but I don't know how!!

If my daughter does hit a tree or run through berry brush here in the woods, less chance for her to get hurt in a jeep than a go-cart, plus being so much larger it's harder to go fast in a short distance like with a go cart. Plus the Jeep was actually cheaper than a go-cart too!
I was gonna get her a go-cart to begin with, but we all like the Jeep better.
Wife didn't like the idea of my giving her a go-cart either really, hasn't said too much about the jeep except she wants one too

Oh, and I have MANY cars around here, too many! They are in each others way often, so she moves my couger and 1/2 ton conversion van out of the way for me so I can get the pickup or 1ton out etc.. while I check the oil and water in the one I'll be driving.

Course we don't live in a big city either, rural area here and space around us, but few people close by. If I lived like in Chicago or Dallas, I wouldn't give her the Jeep, maybe a 357 or a 38 specail, but not a jeep!

[underwurlde]

LOL

If you want her to learn stuff, stop spoiling her and take her camping or something.

Jeep Cherokee my ar*e.

[overloaded_ide]

Lordsmurf, I'll check that link thanks.

Didn't you say you wanted the vhs c camcorder? If so take it. Buy her an inexpensive DV camcorder for around $300

I am thinking of trying the DV again myself, but I was totally unhappy with the one I had last year for awhile and returned it for a refund.
Might have been ok for some things, but in general I did not like it. Shooting plays in a theater for example was worse than a VHS full size camera I borrow from one of the cast members now. Course then it was about $500, might be ok for $300 or less for what it did do decently.

Anyway I would probably buy myself an expensive DV camera instead and let her keep the VHS-C.

Untill she actually is doing her own DVDs I don't want to buy any software I would not need myself. If it did come with the equipment though that would be fine of course.

As for the AIW7500, nice card but the end results and audio sync problems will ultimately push you to going the above route

I need to get into other stuff myself again too like I used to be, but I haven't been having any sync problems or anything with the card myself. Could be I am just lucky and hit all the correct drivers and settings somehow. Then again for what I been doing lattely I am not capturing AVI much myself. Mostly all my work has been in Mpeg captures since I have not needed to do much for awhile but cut and author basically.

But since you really like to spend money on this girl,

This is my daughter, not my girl friend we are talking about.
Huh, sorry, slipped a gear there.

Not like I really want to spend the money, but I am trying to get her to learn real uses for a PC and how to do things well that someday she may be able to make money at, get a job doing it, or do her own to sell or whatever. Also if she has the equipment and knowledge she can work for me doing stuff I want done later too.
I will look into those ADVC devices you mentioned. I had forgot about those, but did read alot about them in the past. Might be something for me to give a try myself.

[overloaded_ide]

If you want her to learn stuff, stop spoiling her and take her camping or something.

Jeep Cherokee my ar*e.

What do you think we drive to the camping spot

Truethfully though, we do go camping sometimes. But when you drive up in the yard and the deer just trot off 20 feet into the woods, you look out the bathroom window and watch a couple small deer walking around the yard, you go out to see what the dog is barking about at night and it's an opossum, racoon, or such, and a fox has come up in the mowed yard from the woods and grabbed a pet duck while you watch, what's to learn camping? Oh yea, we often chase wild turkeys down the dirt road as we drive out to the blacktop highway.
We live in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods, have had pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc.. Got rid of the livestock when I decided to start traveling again.
Not bragging, often it's not all that great and I miss the bigger cities, but would never move back to one. Power is lousy here, bugs, snakes, trantulas!
Normally the fall is when you see trantulas here, but this summer I found a big one in the drive behind my van I had on blocks to work on. First time this year I have ever found one in the house! It was hanging off a Network cable I had runing down from the ceiling!
It's nice here, but has lots of problems too, so don't think I'm bragging about anything!

As for the kid and getting her stuff,
Not spoiling her, buying game boxes and junk to rot her brain that serves no usefull purpose would be spoiling her, I buy her stuff to learn to use it for a purpose. Sure I get her junk too, but PC stuff I don't count as spoiling. It builds skills and promotes knowledge! If it's not just a big stereo or video game unit!

She doesn't use her PC for just games, dowloading mp3s, or riping DVDs, like many people we know personally that think they know how to use a computer. My daughter does some graphics and tons of other stuff.
She made a really cool picture where she took her picture out of photo with a friend, did alot of editing, put it into another photo with a really neat woods and castle background, did more editing, and it actually looks like she was there in Scotland or England in front of that castle! Not a simple cut and paist job to be sure!! Although the picture is great, it serves no usefull purpose itself other than demonstrating she has some very good editing skills already! This would be usefull and good for something like say making custom CD or DVD jackets and labels

She also makes her own Iron on transfers for Shirts, start to finish she does it all! As matter of fact I was going to buy a professional press for doing heat tranfers this year. It will be mine, but she already asked if she can use it and buy the materails from me at cost. Hmm..., I wonder what she has up her sleeve?? Maybe shirts for the cheerleading squad, ball team or other school stuff? She's been a cheerleader since 4th grade.

I make lots of things, pinback buttons, magnets, keychains, etc... Cast pewter figures and jewlery, and do 24k gold, chrome, brass, etc.. plating. She can do most of that too, though alot she seldom does by herself. But when I am doing it, the she does too like pewter castings. Mostly because of the molten metal at 100's of degrees I just don't let her do it on her own. Not that she couldn't, I just don't let her!
She has already sold a ton of pinback buttons and keychains to people that she made the images on her computer. She gets the orders (small ones) makes the images, prints em, and makes the final product all herself. She also gets the money from her sales, though to be fair I do make her pay the actual costs of anything. If she's making a profit, then she should pay for the materails, and she does.
When I get a large order for something like from a state park, rock bands etc.. she is right there helping me fill the order. I pay her for that same as I would anyone else if I hired them.

The camcorder was a last minute thought this year, and only because of the places she was traveling to durring the summer. I was to many of those places as a kid also, and in my early 20's, I don't have any film of any of that stuff. Also she was around my relatives I haven't seen for years, so even though it's her camera it serves a purpose for me too.
She has been to Niagra Falls, she has 35mm pictures, but no footage. They even road the boat under the falls while there.
Same thing for many other places she has been. Before she was kinda young to be dragging around a $200 or more camera, like age 9 or 10?
But now at 13 she is old enough and responsible enough to have one, and hopefully take good care of it.
I'll see when she comes home how well she does at figuring stuff out on her own also when I watch her movies. No-one was really around that understands alot about camcorders to show her how to use it. She got it after she left, so I couldn't show her how to use it.
Heck she said Grandma made her record the first few tapes in LP or SLP mode because the tapes lasted longer
She already knew that was wrong!
Course I set that one straight right away on the phone and said I would pay for alot more tapes!

Now, if any of her tapes actually turned out really well, who owns the copyrights
Hmm, I wonder if she got anything worth using??

[dun4cheap]

Well if it were not for my dad buying me my first Atari 2600, or Atari 800 or my first cam corder I may not be so interested in them now. The fact of the matter is that its not our business what you buy for your child. If you can afford to give them the extra time and tools to help them succeed, or just to help keep them safe and away from bad influences then it is well worth the investment. I do the same thing with my 13 year old daughter. She edits video, creates DVD's and can build a computer with her eyes shut.

It is nice to see her being so creative, and the fact that she has more knowledge in this area than the most aduls tmakes me happy. These things have helped us stay close along with direct involvement with her schooling, softball and cheer. So Kudos to you dad.

By the way I have an ADS Pyro AV Link analog to digital video converter along with a DV camcorder. The cost of a decent ADVC is about $200. So your money would probably be better spent on a DV camcorder IMHO. Weather she is editing DVDs, VHS, VCD, SVCD, AVI, streaming video it is all the same. As for the software, the packages I listed were starter packages. You can pick them up OEM for about $5 or $10 or the retail versions onsale for about $40. An alternative would be to use the Windows Movie Maker. My daughter prefers Studio 9. She started with Studio 8SE which came with the ATI AIW7500 card (Check Your packaging).

[overloaded_ide]

I need to look in the ATI package again too, I remembered I liked the old Videowave III with the old card years ago, but I got something different with my 7500, never really used it and don't even remember what it was now.

I checked out a few things mentioned here already now. Haven't decided yet still. I might do more research on the DV camcorders! I'd like to have a good one for my magic DVD I am working on. That's under controlled lighting and such so I should be able to get great results with any decent DV cam, the one I had before was great sometimes and junk others, like low light or changing light conditions. Cost of a ADVC100 and a low cost cam are about the same it looks, and no way I can afford the 500 model
Perhaps I'll go a better DV cam for me and let her have the 7500 AIW? I been thinking on getting something for the office too, so I could just carry the cam back and forth instead of buying two new cards, one for her one for me. Still open for suggestions and advice on what to buy next.

It is nice to see her being so creative, and the fact that she has more knowledge in this area than the most aduls tmakes me happy. These things have helped us stay close along with direct involvement with her schooling, softball and cheer.

Same here, except mine wants to play ball too, but because she normally goes away for the summer or a large part of it she can't. Darned summer practices and games here. The jeep is just another thing we do togther, when it just needs moved out of the way or brought up to the house (getting ready for a ride) is the only time she really drives alone. When we go off in the woods we go together. Her jeep and she's the only one that drives it (unless I have to work on it) but I am riding with her when she's driving it. Also nice to see her caring for it and taking some responsibitly there. Her jeep is often cleaner than my Couger
And she spends her money on it too. Air freshners, steering wheel cover, floor matts, etc.. although I buy alot of the gas

I mostly buy the computer stuff though.

If you can afford to give them the extra time and tools to help them succeed, or just to help keep them safe and away from bad influences then it is well worth the investment. I do the same thing with my 13 year old daughter. She edits video, creates DVD's and can build a computer with her eyes shut.

Yep, and mostly it's a matter of spending the time with them, not what you buy them or how much it costs!
The kids jeep was a bit expensive yes, I originally bought it for myself! But I have over 30 vehicles anyway, most run and are decent, a few for parts. I mostly buy good used cars cheap, drive em till I am bored with them and the plates expire, then park them, buy another! We have 5 now we are actually driving and are insured. 2 Nice cars, Mini van, E250 ford pickup, 1 ton ford box truck, Ford 1/2 ton conversion van. Hey wait a minute, that's 6! Oh yea, I'm parking the conversion this month when the plates expire, duh. Haven't drove it in a little while, brake lines need replaced.

I can always sell the extra cars if I have to have money some time. So it's almost like money in the bank, so I didn't really need the jeep!
What I save in interest on car payments (paying cash) and not having full coverage like on a new ones I figure nearly pays for the next car! We need at least 3, car for wife car for me and 1 truck anyway.

Sometimes, like now, I ramble about these things. Some people say I should right a book! Huh, I have
Course I used a spell checker and hired a proof reader
Hopefully should hit the market about NOV. or before. If you actually read many of my rambling posts, don't waste the money on the book unless you just want a more defined professional hard copy

[Supreme2k]

Is this the overloaded_ide dissertation thread?

I counted no less than five full thesis papers.

One suggestion: Less fiction (ie. 13 yr old w/Jeep, over-buying stuff she can't use, etc.) "My wife wishes she had a Jeep." riiiiiight 8)

[overloaded_ide]

Would you like a picture of the woods and jeep where it's parked, and maybe some of my other stuff too.
Kinda growed over right now, haven't been cutting near the vehicles lattely like all summer so far.

[overloaded_ide]

One suggestion: Less fiction (ie. 13 yr old w/Jeep, over-buying stuff she can't use, etc.) "My wife wishes she had a Jeep." riiiiiight

Although the yard is a big mess, and the picture not so great, I tried to label it a little. Just to show I ain't smokin nothing
NO, this is not a junk yard! I just have not done any yard work for a while in this area.

Taken awhile back, still same cars (plus lots more here) they been moved around since this. Jeep is way in back, can't get a picture right now, dark and no camera to use. Anyway the daughters Jeep is on the other side of my Firebird and Yellow VW bug. Yes the bug runs, no I don't want to sell either.
Just about every vehicle in this picture is driveable, some need minor work, all good running cars though. The white one marked junk is for parts (it did run too, not that good though), other than body style same parts as Tbirds, Couger, Marquis I have.
The white one and corner of the red one are both 95 lebaron convertibles.
Yes my wife would like a jeep too, I found that out AFTER I bought a pair of convertibles, she doesn't like convertibles after she drove one with the top down!

OH, and after I finish my How to do Magic DVD, I will probably start doing an Auto Repair Basics dvd, another reason for the kid to learn to record well. I don't want to be handling a camcorder with greasy grimmey hands.

That's the driveway to the house where the Couger, Mini van, and Lebarons are parked. Was just graded and cut down some not too long before the picture was taken, soon it will be concreted and used for a shop building to work in. The cars to the left will be moved and the drive to the house will be along that side. Although I am looking at 2 pieces of land to buy now, if I buy either then plans are subject to change! I may build there now and sell this place in 5yrs, right now the kid does not want to change schools, and with all A's and perfect attendance I don't care if I move 7 miles or not for now. Land is the only thing I would finance and pay interest on myself, at least that I can think of right now.
Maybe collage for the kid in 5 years? Who knows??

When I say something I usually mean it. Kid has a jeep, and will be getting something for video captures to her computer for her camcorder.
Gotta think about it some, not every kid learned ABC 123 on a computer, or could count to 100 well before even starting kindergarden either.

Since I am always learning new things myself, and she is around me alot, she learns at the same time I am learning, many things other kids her age are not even exposed to yet. Now if it just worked the other way too and her spelling and typing would rub of on me
That's something she is much better at!

Most kids are pretty smart, they just need a chance to learn and some good help and guidance along the way. Treat them like babies and never let them do anything and they will be dumb, only due to the lack of trying new things. They might be able to memorize a book, but they haven't learned anything new, only copied someone elses knowledge. Sorta like ripping DVD, you have a copy but you don't really know how to make one!
Then there are us who can do both and more!

[richdvd]

[Supreme2k]

Why is the wife wishing on a Jeep? She's got that sweet T-bird there ('93, I presume?)

[overloaded_ide]

I was stuck durring an edit with another window, scanner, printer problem.
Finnaly it works again, thought I was gonna have to reboot this one.

Wife wishes she had a Jeep because she doesn't like the convertibles. I stuck that in the edit but you were here first.

She drives a nice plymouth, but almost anything Ford, Mercury is mine. Though she drove the 84 and 85 Tbirds alot too. I think your looking at my Couger in the pic maybe, next to the mini van.

She preffers Dodge Chrysler etc..., I preffer Ford Lincoln etc...
I suppose when the kids does drive on the roads she will want GM???

What do you expect with us each being from a different state originally? Oh, TX, WI
I and I wonder why the kid likes to travel?

Speaking of traveling, I should be leaving today for who knows how long??
SO I probably won't be doing much more posting. Finnaly gonna get out of the house, been waiting on important business calls and such, now it's took care of and done, I can do something other than sit by the phone all day!!

I'll be checking out stuff for the kids computer captures and look to see if any other sugestions for equipment get posted to look at too.
Right now I think I will look a DV cams at best buy and maybe try one, at least if I don't like it I can drive 150 miles and take it back and that gives me an excuse to get to a real store in a real city once in awhile at least.

[handyguy]

The best capture device for a teenager is a ps2. To capture my teenager I get a new PS2 game. Then he comes home just to play it & then I snatch him & make him do his homework.