Trying to go from camcorder to computer

[lymond]

I get the feeling my question is too ignorant to even be newbie.

I recently bought a Panasonic DV camcorder for the purpose of putting the videos on the computer and ultimately creating dvds out of them. The problem is that I don't know how to get the files onto the computer. The manual doesn't tell me, nor does Panasonic's website.

I thought the fact that it was being recorded digitally would make things simpler, kind of like uploading still shots, but I don't know where to begin.

I have a usb cable to connect the camera to the computer, but how do I move the videos? Do I have to hit play and encode the video? If so, where is the improvement over an analog camera?

Lymond

[yoda313]

If its a dv camera you most likely need a firewire card to transfer it digitally. Though I guess some can do usb 2 but I think those are still rare. Just check the index of your manual for the term "firewire" and you should find out if yours needs it.

[thecoalman]

I thought the fact that it was being recorded digitally would make things simpler, kind of like uploading still shots,

It is:

A. Get a firewire cable (AKA I-Link or 1394) and a firewire card, your computer may already have one these.
B. After installing the card (if you have to) plug one end of the cable into the cam the other into the computer.
C. Turn the cam onto VCR mode.
D. Open up a capture program and tranfer the footage to HDD. From the capture program you can FF, REW or hit record to transfer. Make sure to select DV-AVI as the formay if given the choice.
E. Don't use USB

That's a little simplified, first thin you do need though is cable and a port on your comp to plug it into.

there is probably a 4 pin port on you cam near the USB port, looks very similar. 6 pin is the most common type to have on a computer it wil look like this:

[Bjs]

Most cameras of good quality will come with some sort of software for the pc such as my sony unit .

If not , you may find some tool's in the tool section here on site that can help you get from dv to pc , then edit in your own time later .

Also read the manual very carefully for the fine print ... for my unit , as it is firewire , all usb device's must be removed prior to capture .
It took me 3 gose before successful capture .. the other's resulted in large memmory dump's , blue screen error , pc will now restart ... dont do this again .

I think this info was on page 8 in the manual about 2/3rd's down .

Of course most software , if provided , is almost utterly useless other than importing from the camera .

Check out the tool's section for the best freebies available , then consider maybe purchasing better software later .

[lymond]

Thanks for the help everyone! I successfully transferred the video last night.

The camera I'm using is the Panasonic PV-GS65. It takes a great picture, but the manual doesn't provide ANY help in how to transfer the video. It doesn't even mention Firewire.

I used a 4pin/6pin Firewire cable to connect the camera to the computer and transferred it with Ulead Videostudio 9.0 (I think that's what it's called). It worked very well; the program was linked to the camera controls and automatically broke the video when the scene changed.

Thanks again,

Lymond