Complete novice, transfer DVD-RAM video to PC

[Mount1003]

Have a Panasonic VDR-M70GC video camera which uses mini DVD-Ram discs. At the time of purchase I bought 6 discs to go with the machine.

They have not been overwritten so as you can imagine I am running out of recording media.

What hardware/software would people suggest so that I can transfer them to my PC for later creation of Video CDs

Please bear in mind that I don't require top end professional gear, just something with adequate features for simple video transfer.

[DB83]

Your camera did not come with any PC editing software ?

You have a few options for transfering your disks to a PC.

1. Do you have a dvd-writer in your PC. Take a look at the disk tray and if it has a smaller holder within the larger one it will directly take the disk from the camera. Finalise your disk in the camera, place disk in PC drive and log on to the disk folder. Somewhere there will be a file named '*.VRO'. Copy that file to your PC and rename it '*.mpg'. You now have the recorded video in editable mpg format. Several software options are now available - look at the tools section - and again, your camera did not come with any PC editing software ?

2. You need a capture device. The simplest ones will be USB connection and use your composite cable with the camera into this device and then USB into the PC. The capture device should also come with the software yuo need to edit your video which will now be captured in reak time by playback through the camera.

[Baldrick]

I changed the subject so it better describes the topic. You can also adjust it by click on the edit button.

[jagabo]

1. Do you have a dvd-writer in your PC. Take a look at the disk tray and if it has a smaller holder within the larger one it will directly take the disk from the camera. Finalise your disk in the camera, place disk in PC drive and log on to the disk folder. Somewhere there will be a file named '*.VRO'. Copy that file to your PC and rename it '*.mpg'. You now have the recorded video in editable mpg format.

This will only work if your drive can read DVD-RAM discs. Most do not.

[usually_quiet]

Check the specs to see if your PC's DVD drive supports DVD-RAM. If it doesn't and you need to buy a new DVD burner, LG, Lite-On and Samsung all make some DVD burner models that can read and write to DVD-RAM. Check the specs before you buy.

DVD-RAM disks can't be finalized, so don't worry about that. .VRO is not identical to .mpg. Renaming the file does not always work. Some editors insist on having a real .mpg file. Copying the file directly won't always work either. I have had recordings that will play perfectly using a compatible hardware player or Cyberlink PowerDVD, but won't copy normally.

The software that came with the camera would be my first recommendation. If there wasn't any, Cyberlink Power Producer is a product that I have used that is capable of correctly importing .VRO files from DVD-RAM discs, and detecting recording sessions automatically. It isn't the greatest for editing or authoring, but it is relatively inexpensive and there is a free trial version.

TAW is better for editing and authoring but less good for importing the video. It can't cope if the file is not in one continuous piece, and that can happen when using DVD-RAM discs. DVD-RAM is somewhat like a mini hard drive. It compensates for bad sectors and permits file fragmentation to occur.

MPEG Streamclip is a free program that will often work for importing VRO files as real mpg files, and minor editing, but has the same limitation as TAW when it comes to coping with DVD-RAM's HDD-like qualities.

[lordsmurf]

Read these: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic377448.html
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/showthread.php/dvd-ram-mei-1872.html

The info there should get you going.

[Mount1003]

It did come with some software

The Autoplay option gives me 4 options to select and install, they are

USB Driver
DVD-RAM Driver
DVD-MovieAlbumSE 3
MyDVD 4.0

I recall trying both the software applications when I first bought the camera but found I was unable to do anything with the recorded material.

I locatated the *VRO files and did as other poster suggested and renamed them *.MPG, but they are huge and will play in Window Media Player of a sort. as one huge streaming file

Any advice on using the supplied software. I must be doing something obviously wrong.

[jagabo]

I've used Mpg2Cut2 to extract segments from VRO files. You can tell where segments start and end by the timestamps. It will save segments as .MPG.

[DB83]

Some progress.

I would assume that the installation of the dvd-ram driver has allowed you to read the disk in your PC which then allowed you to copy the VRO on to your hard drive.

The files will be huge. Not sure of the capacity of a mini DVD-RAM but IIRC a mini-dvdrw can hold 1.6 gig.

Now you have two software programs - movie album, I do not know but it sounds like a basic editing program. MyDVD is a DVD authoring program.

Now you have some work to do. The software should have some instructions of how you can use that mpg file to edit or make a dvd. They may also allow you to do a rather more standard import of your recordings into files ready for editing/authoring rather than the heath-robinson approach of straight VRO copying/renaming

[usually_quiet]

DVD-MovieAlbumSE 3 is a favorite of a few Video Help members when working with DVD-RAM discs. It isn't sold separately, so I never tried it. I did look at the online instructions at one point and using it to it get video onto your computer does not seem overly complicated. I believe it does detect recording sessions automatically, and allows you to transfer the individual sessions as separate files.

If you don't have the time or patience to play with that program and figure out how to use it with either the USB or DVD drive option (assuming your DVD drive reads RAM discs), I'm not sure this is the right hobby for you to learn on your own. Nothing I have actually tried seemed any easier to learn how to use. Maybe there is a beginners class you could take.

If you want to try something else, TAW is one of the easiest all-in-one solutions , and if the VRO file is not fragmented and the DVD drive can read DVD-RAM discs, it can import the individual recordings from the disc. It has a free trial version available.

I tried it and liked TAW for simple authoring (DVD menu and video file creation), though I use a more complicated program for that now. I like Womble's editors better, and currently use MPEG Video Wizard DVD. Like most here I have found I prefer to use separate programs for editing and authoring.

[Mount1003]

I seem to be able to get the recorded material from the camera disc onto my PC

But what options should I be using in the export window using DVD-MOvieAlbum3 SE

A folder is created and and all sorts of additional files are included there.

[DB83]

It would help if prospective repliers knew what you are trying to achieve.

'Export' can means several things. Since 'Import' serves to get the video off your ram disk to the PC - what your topic set out to achieve - 'Export' can simply mean getting the video from your PC back to a disk but not neccesarily a ram disk.

You could (I assume) have options for creating an avi file (DIVX) and make a disk to play in a dvd player.

The other program MY-DVD, as was already mentioned, allows you to create a standard dvd disk to play.

The other files could simply be temporary ones that are used internally by the software. So, unless there is someone here who has experience with using the software, and it seems that not many here do use it, it would help if you can provide a list of these files and there extensions.

But the first question is the most important. Tell us what you are trying to achive.

[Mount1003]

It would help if prospective repliers knew what you are trying to achieve.

Basically, I have 5 discs with recorded material. I need to reuse some of the discs in the new year, and not wanting to delete any previous recordings and losing them for ever, need to get them onto my PC in a format that I can use, so that I can have a go at creating DVD/VCD at a later date.

[DB83]

It would help if prospective repliers knew what you are trying to achieve.

Basically, I have 5 discs with recorded material. I need to reuse some of the discs in the new year, and not wanting to delete any previous recordings and losing them for ever, need to get them onto my PC in a format that I can use, so that I can have a go at creating DVD/VCD at a later date.

Now anyone reading this will be rather confused as in your previous post you seem to suggest that you have already achieved this.

Not wishing to appear difficult but is the disk out of your PC ? Can you still see the files in the program ? Yes = yes to both questions then you have achoeved your goal.

Reapeat procedure for each disk and all disks can then be re-used.

Now have I missed something ?

[Mount1003]

Yes, I've managed to get the video off the camera discs onto my PC.

They appear as a 1.3GB mpeg file, or several smaller files, which equate to where I originally stopped and started recording.

Are these the files I need to keep for future editing/authoring of VCD/DVD?

Sorry for any confusion before, but I am aware how video quality disintegrates with every process that is applied to the data, so wanted to make sure I have the best I can get, before deleting the original discs.

[DB83]

In one word, yes.

There should be little quality loss on a bit for bit transfer. Loss will in-evitably occur if you over-edit your footage and change the data-rate.

Your only other option is to do the editing in-camera but you will still have to transfer the video to the PC to put the recording on other media

[Mount1003]

In one word, yes.

Thanks for your patience

[DB83]

In one word, yes.

Thanks for your patience

My pleasure.

Allow me to enter one rider that I am sure that you are aware of.

The footage now in your PC will only be as good as what you recorded. No doubt, your camera will have various recording modes and these could be expressed as 'length of recording time'. Bearing in mind that your disks are much smaller than standard dvds, the minimum (to give you the best quality) could be as low as 20 minutes per disk.

If you have recorded more than that, your record quality will not be optimum and that cannot be recovered at the editing stage.

[Mount1003]

Yep, no problem fully aware

See you all in about 6 months when I get around to putting my footage onto CD/DVD

Maybe sooner if I get itchy feet