Recording PAL format video from mini-DV handycam

[abhijitz]

Gurus

I am a newbie to this forum and request your help. I have been trying to transfer PAL videos recorded on my mini-DV handycam Sony DCR-HC15E and have not successful results to my liking. Here is what I have done

1. I have used Pinnacle IEE1394 (Firewire) card and Studio Plus software to transfer video via DV. My machine is a powerful server Dual CPU Intel Xeon with 2G memory and GeForce 256MB AGP card. The video quality is OK and not super quality what we call a DVD to be.

2. Then i got introduced by a friend of mine to the DVD recorders. I have tried so many DVD recorders of Samsung and LiteON and Panasonic make (recently i tried Panasonic DMR-EH75V) and the video output is garbled and in B&W. Trying many video recorders, I finally tried the low-end Sony DVDirect MC1 and it gave me acceptable output on DVD, still am not happy. Because, I have seen videos recorder in NTSC format and captured by these branded DVD recorder and they are awesome. [Note :- am recording everything in XP or HQ mode wherever applicable)

3. There is another solution of using the high-end MP10 professional video capture cards, but i am keeping it as a last resort.

Saying that, can you please suggest me what DVD recorder should i use to record my PAL recorded videos and not compromise on quality (wysiwyg is what i want when i see the LCD of the handycam)

I understand this is a pretty old camera but i think with the correct DVD recorder (which i am unable to find) I should get a good quality DVD burnt.

Now, does it make any difference to use Composite Video or DV link cable ? I dont think so ( I know only S-video matters).

So please help me

Thanks
ADas

[zoobie]

I think the firewire is still the best way to transfer
don't understand the rest...

[daamon]

Use firewire and transfer from the miniDV tape to the PC using WinDV - this will give you a DV AVI file. You can check using GSpot on the recorded file.

DV AVI is a direct copy of what's on the tape, so no quality loss.

[guns1inger]

You are in the US, so NTSC is your native format. Is this a PAL camera, or do you just have PAL tapes ? I suspect that finding NTSC recorders that accept PAL for recording, especially over firewire, won't be easy.

[abhijitz]

Use firewire and transfer from the miniDV tape to the PC using WinDV - this will give you a DV AVI file. You can check using GSpot on the recorded file.

DV AVI is a direct copy of what's on the tape, so no quality loss.

Thanks, I did not try this software, but i have tried converting to AVI using ulead softwares. But still i find quality loss when compared to the DVD i wrote yesterday with Sony DVDirect VRD-MC1 (problem with this is i cant create chapters or titles). I was using Monster Gold Plated Firewire cables

I will still try the option provided by you and let know the results.

[abhijitz]

You are in the US, so NTSC is your native format. Is this a PAL camera, or do you just have PAL tapes ? I suspect that finding NTSC recorders that accept PAL for recording, especially over firewire, won't be easy.

This is a PAL camera and thus the mini-DVs are recorded in PAL format. Are they are dual (both NTSC/PAL DVD Recorders) sold in US ? IF not over firewire, how about composite?