Simple, non-authoring app for reading MiniDV and burning result to DVDR?

[Colmino]

Here's my situation. My parents are wanting to pick up a standard-definition camcorder. They've been eyeballing some of the mini-DVD models. Why? Because, undeniably, discs are less of a hassle than tapes.

Research suggests that the quality of the video one gets from a mini-DVDR made by a DVD camcorder is very poor - at any rate, it is never as good as MiniDV -> NON-mini-DVD-R. That much is clear. But I still need to be able to make things as convenient and brainless as possible for my parents.

So basically what I'm after goes like this: An application which one installs in WinXP which does one of the following:

A: Makes it so that anytime a MiniDV camcorder is hooked up via firewire or USB, one of the handy Windows options which pops up is the option to have said application read the entire tape to the hard drive and then burn said contents directly to a DVD-R, using a variable bitrate which maximizes the available space on the DVD-R media based on the length of the MiniDV recording. (Which will probably usually be 9 mbps across the board.)

B: At the very least, does all of the stuff listed in "A" after being run as a program, without requiring the user to do anything more than insert a DVD-R and, at most, click "go".

No editing, no menu, nothing fancy. They won't have the time, inclination, or indeed ability to produce things like that, regardless of how easy it may technically be.

I'm taking it for granted that somebody has had the insight to develop a no-ability-required app like I describe. After all, they developed DVD camcorders, and since the point of said camcorders could never be argued to be the video quality, it has to be the braindead factor.

Thanks in advance!

PS: Alternately, what's a nice standalone DVD burner that can accept MiniDV digital input (firewire or USB) and encode it to DVD-R without pre-processing or performing pointless D/A A/D conversions?

[guns1inger]

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdrecorders.php?DVDname=&writedvdr=1&writedvdrw=1&writedvdrd...&Search=Search

[edDV]

Sony has a "DVDirect" (over IEEE-1394) feature in some of their DV/HDV camcorders.
Check them out.

I know these work with their external DVD burners VRD-MC3 and VRD-VC30. I don't know if they have PC software to do the same thing on the PC.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VRDVC30-DVDirect-DVD-Recorder/dp/B000HTEZ1E

[Colmino]

The product at that link seems to be pretty much the perfect solution if I go the DVD burner route. Even has digital inputs. Thanks for the find!

Obviously a software solution would be, well, cheaper and probably higher quality (could maybe even force the use of CCESP or something), but it may well be that nobody ever thought to make such a solution for PCs.

[guns1inger]

Obviously a software solution would be, well, cheaper and probably higher quality (could maybe even force the use of CCESP

Not sure if a solution that uses a $2000 encoder could be considered cheap.

The simplest solution, by far, is a DVD recorder with DV-in. At 60 - 80 minutes max at a time, the quality will be quite good.

[GeorgeW]

I would also recommend a standalone DVD Recorder unit (alot of them now have firewire input). This is the easiest solution (imho).

On the "software" side, Ulead offers DVD MovieFactory that will go DV-to-DVD.

Regards,
George

[Colmino]

The simplest solution, by far, is a DVD recorder with DV-in. At 60 - 80 minutes max at a time, the quality will be quite good.

Yes, this is quite true. The only lingering concern I have over such a solution is that not all codecs are created equal. And it particularly occurs to me that a realtime DVD recorder almost certainly doesn't provide more than a single pass.

I'll have a look at Ulead's software. I know they make authoring tools, but if they have a simple, no-brainer procedure similar to what I previously described, I'd definitely be interested in that option.

[edDV]

ULead Video Studio has a DV to DVD wizard that is fairly simple.

[guns1inger]

DV tape running time is 60 - 80 minutes. 60 minutes on a DVD5 will encode at the highest bitrate at CBR encoding. Even at 80 minutes, CBR will be more than enough. You only need to go to VBR encoding when the running time gets past 80 minutes.

That said - no realtime capture solution does multiple passes - you can only do a single pass in realtime. That's what realtime means.

[classfour]

I wouldn't recommend a DVD camcorder - and I have one.

Why? Longevity. Most models available now have an open fliptop drive, much like a portable DVD player. If you're not careful, you can touch the lazer - which the upside is you can clean the lazer - and eventually cause it to fail.

The old hitachi that I have uses DVDRAM cartridges, and is still working - but it's a pain to get the video onto the computer: USB 1.1 or DVDRAM drive (you have to take the disc out of the cartridge - carefully, or you'll get fingerprints on it). The newer ones look to be easier to live with, but I'd only trust the high end ones for longevity: I did get my hands on a newer Hitachi (low end - $300 model) and it was not as well built as the old one.

[GeorgeW]

ULead Video Studio has a DV to DVD wizard that is fairly simple.

VideoStudio does have a DV-to-DVD Wizard -- but it is different than the MovieFactory version. VideoStudio captures first, then you make your modifications, then burn to disc.

The MovieFactory version (it's also known as Straight Capture to Disc) actually captures in realtime to disc (i.e. no intermediate step of capturing to hard drive first).

There are TRIALS of both version, and MovieFactory 6 Plus has just been released -- my Spidey Sense is tingling, and I think there's a VS11 on the horizon (don't know exactly when though)

Regards,
George

[Colmino]

In truth, the best solution (imho) would be software which does indeed capture first, but only so it can accomplish two things which could never be done in realtime:

1) Ascertain the total length of the captured video.
2) Perform a multi-pass encode.

All automated, of course. Press "go" and it does its thing, with a warning not to fiddle with the camcorder or take the blank DVDR out of the DVD-RW drive.

The closer I could get to this, the better it would be for my all-thumbs parents. ;p