Capturing with Windows Movie Maker (WMM) - Newbie

[bollwerk]

This is my first post, so please bear with me.

I'm trying to capture from a VCR through an ADVC-100 using WMM. The result should be an AVI. WMM identifies the source as a DV camera. It didn't offer me any choices that I'm aware of. WMM appears to provide two methods of capture, automatic and manual.

If I select automatic, I can also check a box that causes WMM to break up the source into clips as it captures. However, when I select automatic, WMM shows that it's trying to rewind the camera and all the buttons are disabled (grayed out) so it just sits there doing nothing. Perhaps the selection of AVI has something to do with that?

If I select manual, I can capture OK but it all comes in as one big clip and I have to manually try and separate it into smaller clips. Kind of a pain.

Anyone know how to either make WMM word in automatic mode with the set-up I'm using (VCR - ADVD-100) or make WMM break up clips in the manual mode?

Appreciate any advise. This is my first venture into this kind of thing. BTW, I'm running on a Dell 8100 laptop with Windows XP and all the patches and SP1. The ADVC-100 works great, just like you guys said it would in your many discussions on the subject.

Next step will be to learn how to use TMPGEnc to create a VCD (I don't have a DVD burner yet).

Thanks in advance for any help.

Bollwerk (Feeling like Alice in Wonderland)

[pbemer]

bollwerk- I don't think that windows movie maker has any real editing capabilities. (You can try downloading the newest version) but I suggest you go and get an editing program. I first started out with Sonic Foundry's Movie Factory 2.0. It's great for beginners. In it you can edit all your home videos in millions of clips if you want to.

[bollwerk]

pbemer

Thanks for the reply. WMM is supposed to have editing capabilities, I don't know how powerful they are. It does have a storyboard, timeline, the ability to view frame by frame and split into clips, plus probably other features that I don't understand. But, being free software from Microsoft, I suspect it's not something the pros would use.

Perhaps the day will come when I outgrow it, but for now I just would like to get smart enough with this stuff to be able to get it to do the things I'm led to believe it is supposed to do

[pbemer]

Be careful what you say, Big Daddy Gates is listening! :P

Remember, you can go and download the newest verion of WMM. I believe the WMM on your standard installed XP machine is on like version 1.4 and you can download 2.0 off of microsoft's media download site. They also have a new encoder out for windows media player if want to create wmv files out of your captures.

[VideoTechMan]

Yeah, Windows Movie Maker isnt much of an editing program, and even if you could the edits would most likely be inaccurate...a higher-end editing program would be better, but of course it depends on your budget. I only used WMM when i needed to convert a short AVI clip into a WMV file for the web.

VideoTechMan