Best/Easiest program to capture from Camera with Highest Quality output

[zgrm100]

Hi guys. So I need some help. I had a camera guy record a birthday party for me and he just gave me the tapes. I put them into my camera and connected it to my computer via firewire/dv...

Now I have Pinnacle Studio 9 right now to capture it. But I can get any other program. Is Pinnacle any good? I want to make some edits to the footage, insert some transition effects and Author it do DVD with the highest quality possible. Do you think pinnacle is good enough for this or would you suggest an alternate program?

In addition, I am not sure which format the guy recorded the footage in so I dont want to make a mistake of authoring in full screen when it is widescreen and vice versa... Does Pinnacle automatically detect that? If so where?

I really appreciate everyone's help on this as I am creating some beautiful memories I want to have the best quality possible. Thanks in advance.

[zgrm100]

Also since I have never done this before. Does pinnacle have its own DVD encoder built in or will I need something like CCE?

[edDV]

If you don't know ask your friend the format. Digital8 and MiniDV are DV format and can be transferred over IEEE-1394.

Pinnacle Studio is .. um well long history of poor stability.

A reliable way to capture DV is WinDV. It gets the tape data to DV-avi file transfer done. Keep this file until you are sure everything else is good. Also keep the tapes so you can start over if necessary.

Then try Pinnacle Studio and see if you can get it to work.

[zgrm100]

just captured via pinnacle studio and evrything is fine. Now I can make my edits how I like to the DV avi file.

Now in Pinnacle studio there is an option where I can make my own movie... But what encoder does it use to do this? I can get CCE if I really want to should I do it that way?

Also is it a good idea to put a 3-hour dv avi movie onto one Dual-Layer DVD? I know the rule of thumb is 1-hour/single-sided DVD but will I still get good quality using this method?
And lastly, how good is the codec in pinnacle that converst to DVD -Video? Any suggestions?

Also any suggestions on other editing programs that you guys feel are better to use then pinnacle studio 9?

*EDIT* Do you guys still think I should use windv even though the pinnacle capture went fine? Does this free program offer same quality capture as pinnacle?

[edDV]

just captured via pinnacle studio and evrything is fine. Now I can make my edits how I like to the DV avi file.

Now in Pinnacle studio there is an option where I can make my own movie... But what encoder does it use to do this? I can get CCE if I really want to should I do it that way?

Also is it a good idea to put a 3-hour dv avi movie onto one Dual-Layer DVD? I know the rule of thumb is 1-hour/single-sided DVD but will I still get good quality using this method?
And lastly, how good is the codec in pinnacle that converst to DVD -Video? Any suggestions?

Also any suggestions on other editing programs that you guys feel are better to use then pinnacle studio 9?

*EDIT* Do you guys still think I should use windv even though the pinnacle capture went fine? Does this free program offer same quality capture as pinnacle?

You choice to use Pinnacle. Pinnacle codecs are internal. Ask in their forums.

3hr no way, why bother is 29cents a DVD blank too much?

Editing programs? What is your money and learning curve budget?

[zgrm100]

no budget... Price is not an issue but I would like ease of use and professional effects if possible. I though pinacle has some nice transition effects and it seems pretty easy to cut out some video that you dont want...

Yea the codecs are internal but would you guys say that they are any good? How would they compare to CCE and TMPGenc?

I was talking about 3 hours on a DVD9, too much?
I have single-layer TY DVDs but I just thought it would be nice to have everything on one DVD. I guess if it makes a big difference 3 DVDs it is...

[kevo777]

Also, with Firewire transfers the resulting AVI file is an exact digital copy of the DV tapes. It can't get any better than exact.

[Habby]

Pinnacle is a fine program. I capture with 9 but use 10.7 to edit and burn. Forget about trying to combine 49 different freeware programs. Just capture edit and burn with pinnacle. Use pcm audio and automatic quality. Keep files at or below 62 minits and get 100 pecent quality. Remember, Pinnacle likes a well oiled machine. Defrag often, never capture while doing anything else. Do a warm boot before capturing.

[zgrm100]

yea what is this PCM audio business? Why not just mpeg ( i did a test and it came out fine).

Also why dont you just use version 9 to edit as well?

Here is what I am thinking right now.

1) WinDV to capture to Hard drive. (Type1 or Type 2?) (I know it is more of a transfer but I dont want to loose sync or frames)...
2) Sony Vegas Studio to edit and burn to DVD

What do you guys think of that combo? Can I do some nice transition effect with Sony Studio? What about cutting and moving around scenes? Also if I do go that route should I do type 1 or type 2 avi capture? I would thing type 1 is better because it keeps the audio in the same file as video so less mess and better sync maybe?

[thecoalman]

yea what is this PCM audio business? Why not just mpeg ( i did a test and it came out fine).

MPEG is not a standard for NTSC and won't play in some NTSC DVD players, mostly older ones. It's also compressed so there is some loss in quality to the audio file but unless your an audiophile you won't be able to discern any changes providing you use an adequate bitrate for the audio. So, If it plays in your DVD player MPEG is fine for a choice of audio.

For the best of both worlds compressed and within the DVD standard use AC3 (Dolby Digital).

I would thing type 1 is better because it keeps the audio in the same file as video so less mess and better sync maybe?

AFAIK there is no difference to the two as far as using them in an editor, some applications only supported one or the other in the past but most support both now. I use type 1 simply cause it gives a slightly smaller file size.

[zgrm100]

gotcha. So I will select type 1 and use vegas 7... and select PCM (what does that mean. Its still no AC3 which is the standard right? I want to make sure it plays in as many DVD players as possible...

Also guys do you really think it is not a good idea to just put all this on one DVD Dual-Layer? It is just inconvenient to have one occasion on 3 different DVDs...

The time of the even is about 2 hours and 20 minutes... I still won't be able to get good quality using Sony Vegas 7 2-pass mode?

[edDV]

WinDV + Vegas Studio is a good starting point for quality+ease. You have a growth path to full Vegas that way.

DV format is native PCM for audio. The camcorder can be set to 16bit 48KHz stereo (preferred) or 12bit 32KHz. Your project format should be DV and PCM to minimize conversion.

Edit your program in DV format. I'd save it to DV tape as an archive if it has long term value. For export to DVD use the bitrate calculator at https://www.videohelp.com/calc.

The calculator shows 7700Kb/s ave for 2hr 20min and DVD-9. That is adequate for DV but if the material is shaky handheld and/or low light and noisy, then more bitrate might help. Try samples of the worse cases with various bitrates to get a sense of quality tradeoff.

[thecoalman]

and select PCM (what does that mean. Its still no AC3 which is the standard right? I want to make sure it plays in as many DVD players as possible...

Both PCM and AC3 are official standards, PCM is uncompressed and takes up more space. Using standard bitrates with AC3 comparatively it's about 6x to 7x the file size. Use the calculator linked to by EdDV, under audio PCM is the one listed at 1536 ...

[Cornucopia]

I'd recommend (after using VH's calc):
DVD-9, 2pass VBR encode MPEG2 video, 5800AVG, 9300MAX,
192kbps 2.0 AC3 (don't go non-compliant MP2, nor bloated PCM), check to see if it needs some stabilization/NR preprocessing.
Follow edDV's lead...

BTW, type1 DV has audio zippered in the same data stream as video, encapsulated in same file, type2 DV has that, plus duplicate audio multiplexed alongside AV stream--but still encapsulated in same file. NEVER heard of missynch because of type2...


Scott