help on capturing mini-dv

[detonatorX]

hi folks,

i just bought myself a Sony DCR-HC40 minidv cam and recorded some footages from my wedding. i'd like to put all the video on the cam to my pc and convert it vcd/dvd. i tried using ulead's videostudio but the captured AVI file was not good (burned to vcd and watched on tv but very poor quality - video was pixelated). what can i do to capture in good quality. i am only using the bundled USB cable and has no access to firewire. can anyone point to the right capture program to use? thanks all.

[daamon]

Hi detonatorX,

For good miniDV capture - use WinDV with firewire. Firewire is the only good way to get good quality DV on to PC. You can pick up cards and cables quite cheaply.

As for VCD, SVCD & DVD - be ready for a long, frustrating but ultimately rewarding journey...

[DVFun]

Agreed with Daamon.
Use a Firewire connection and download the free but unbeatable WinDV for capturing AVI.
Then make sure you have a good encoder from AVI to MPEG2.
In fact, more than the transferring of the DV file from the Digicam to the PC, IMO it is the encoding (or conversion) that is critical for good image quality.
You did not say what softwares you are using.
My ONLY choice when encoding from AVI to MPEG2 for good quality rendering is Canopus Procoder Express).
Having said that, I once tried WinDVD Creator and it is a good compromise, especially for beginners and/or those who can't be bothered with too many steps in the process.
TMPGEnc and/or MainConcept MPEG Encoder are claimed to be good (I tried them and still find Procoder to beat them all).
I'd stay definitely away from Ulead Movie Factory, just in case!!!!
Last but not least, VCD quality can never be as good as DVD. So, for good quality picture, I'd stick with DVDs. Just make sure your DVD authoring software does not mess with your encoded file(s). TMPGEnc DVD Author is a good starting point!
Hope the above will be helpful.
Happy Holidays!

[edDV]

ulead's videostudio will get excellent results as well. It contains the MainConcept encoder which is in the top tier.

capture using the IEEE-1394 connection to DV format, edit in DV format and then try each of the encoding formats DVD, SVCD, VCD to compare.

with the price of DVD burners and DVD media these days, best to stay with DVD for camcorder material in my opinion. I use all three for TV recording.

for a quick and dirty DVD you can realtime encode to DVD MPeg2 (P4 2.4 of better needed) and then author the DVD. For highest quality, capture to DV format and author and encode the DVD as a second step.

[edDV]

"i am only using the bundled USB cable and has no access to firewire. can anyone point to the right capture program to use? thanks all."

Just noticed that. No No No Don't do it that way. Use I-Link aka IEEE-1394 cable to transfer.

The USB connection is intended for low quality web streaming only. You can't get a quality transfer that way.

[DVFun]

ulead's videostudio will get excellent results as well. It contains the MainConcept encoder which is in the top tier.

I never tried Ulead's Videostudio. But, with my experience with other Ulead products (MF and DVD PS), I am not sure I would recommend any Ulead SW in general to anyone.
As for MainConcept Mpeg Endoder, in all honesty, I was not happy about its trial version either (reason that lead me to discover Procoder Express after a long research of the best encoder available).
Happy Holidays!