reading and editing recording from miniDV tapes

[p_s_92]

We have some recordings on 16 mini DV Sony tapes each of which have recordings worth 45mins. We have to capture the raw video from the tape via USB/firewire and then need edit them using some free tool like Movie Maker. We used a Sony camcorder for the recording, but that was borrowed from another office just for the recording. We don't have a computer which has a 6 pin firewire port. We just have a computer with 4 pin firewire port.


1. Without a Sony camcorder or a miniDV deck or a miniDV camcorder, how can we capture the raw video from the tape via USB or firewire, on to our computer?

2. How large would the 16 mini DV tapes be when converted from raw video into a digital format on my computer? This is so that I know how much space would be needed on my system which just has 110GB free at present. Or, should I use an external hard drive for that?

Any advice would be welcome.

[redwudz]

If they are mini DV, then they are likely in DV-AVI format. Normally transferred with a FireWire connection. DV is about 13GB per hour. 16 tapes @ 45 minutes each would be about 156GB.

A four pin FireWire port is all you need. The six pin FW port just adds power for external devices, not normally used for camcorders.

If the video is DV, there isn't any RAW video there, just DV-AVI. A FW transfer will give you exactly what's on the tape. It's already digital.

Normally USB transfers low quality video for internet use from a camcorder. A few camcorders may use USB for higher quality video, but then they probably wouldn't have a FW port. HD camcorders commonly use USB for HD video transfers.

You probably need to borrow back the camcorder or use a DV deck for transfers. The transfers will take the same length of time as the videos, about 12 hours total.

And welcome to our forums.

EDIT: It would probably help to identify the exact model of the camcorder used. Some MiniDV cameras may be different than others. As far as editing, DV is easy to edit. WMM will work, or so will several other AVI type video editors. Depends on how much editing you need to do. Cut and paste editing works with many of them. Adding transitions or filtering may require a bit more advanced editor, but WMM can do most of it.

What is the final format of the video after editing? If it's DVD and you are using WMM, output as AVI before converting to a DVD compatible format. Most times for editing, you need about three times the space that the original file used. If you use a external hard drive, a 500GB or larger would work. You can transfer to the computer, then to the external HDD. You might be able to transfer directly, but most times not.

I think you have a major project ahead of you.

[p_s_92]

Hi redwudz,

Thanks for the welcome and very useful reply.

EDIT: It would probably help to identify the exact model of the camcorder used. Some MiniDV cameras may be different than others. As far as editing, DV is easy to edit. WMM will work, or so will several other AVI type video editors. Depends on how much editing you need to do. Cut and paste editing works with many of them. Adding transitions or filtering may require a bit more advanced editor, but WMM can do most of it.

We may have to do mainly cut/paste for editing purposes.

What is the final format of the video after editing? If it's DVD and you are using WMM, output as AVI before converting to a DVD compatible format.

I thought WMM can output only as a WMV after editing or other Windows format not AVI. Nice to know I can output as AVI which most players can read. What is actually a DVD compatible format and why is it useful?

Most times for editing, you need about three times the space that the original file used. If you use a external hard drive, a 500GB or larger would work. You can transfer to the computer, then to the external HDD. You might be able to transfer directly, but most times not.

I was thinking of using a 1.5TB external hard drive to move the videos to, edit them there. Now, I guess it may not be possible and slow also.

I think you have a major project ahead of you.

Me too, the main challenge is getting a camcorder to transfer the tapes data into our computer as we need to borrow them from another office. But, I think the Walmart option of buying a cheap miniDV camcorder from them, doing the transfer and returning the camcorder for a full refund is the easiest(assuming Walmart takes it back and gives me the refund) and cost effective too.

Thanks again for the reply and advice.

[p_s_92]

We have a Hitachi 8mm Video Camera/Recorder. Model No VM-E565LA http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Hitachi-VME565LA which takes 8mm STANDARD TAPE

Could that be somehow used for transferring the data from the miniDV tapes? I am 99% sure it won't, but I don't know a lot about cameras.

Or, for the Walmart buy, use and return option can we use this http://www.walmart.com/ip/DXG-DXG-579VB/10965651 DXG 579V Blue Camcorder 5MP, 4x Digital Zoom, 2.4" TFT Display, Records 720p High-Definition Video

It is about 79$. I did not find any other camcorder less expensive after a quick search.

[aedipuss]

neither of those will work. i don't think walmart sells a miniDV cam anymore.

[redwudz]

We may have to do mainly cut/paste for editing purposes.

WMM can do some simple transitions.

I thought WMM can output only as a WMV after editing or other Windows format not AVI. Nice to know I can output as AVI which most players can read. What is actually a DVD compatible format and why is it useful?

MS has 'cleverly hidden' it, but it can output as DV-AVI. Then you would put that in an MPEG encoder and then author it to DVD. I'm not sure if you want a DVD for your final format, depends on what you want to do with it. DV-AVI only plays back on a few software players and almost no hardware set-top players. It's an intermediate format, mostly useful for editing.

I was thinking of using a 1.5TB external hard drive to move the videos to, edit them there. Now, I guess it may not be possible and slow also.

That would probably work. It may be slower than an internal HDD, but you may not have many other options. You can transfer all the DV to the external drive, then back to the computer drive to edit, or just do one tape at a time in the computer and transfer the edited version to the external drive for combining before encoding to a different format. If you plan to do this more often, adding a eSATA external drive would be a option. It would run at the same speed as a internal HDD.

Me too, the main challenge is getting a camcorder to transfer the tapes data into our computer as we need to borrow them from another office. But, I think the Walmart option of buying a cheap miniDV camcorder from them, doing the transfer and returning the camcorder for a full refund is the easiest(assuming Walmart takes it back and gives me the refund) and cost effective too.

Not that I'm a big fan of Walmart, but that's a bit unethical.

[p_s_92]

WMM can do some simple transitions.

Thanks for the clarification. WMM should work for what we need.

MS has 'cleverly hidden' it, but it can output as DV-AVI. Then you would put that in an MPEG encoder and then author it to DVD. I'm not sure if you want a DVD for your final format, depends on what you want to do with it. DV-AVI only plays back on a few software players and almost no hardware set-top players. It's an intermediate format, mostly useful for editing.

That would probably work. It may be slower than an internal HDD, but you may not have many other options. You can transfer all the DV to the external drive, then back to the computer drive to edit, or just do one tape at a time in the computer and transfer the edited version to the external drive for combining before encoding to a different format. If you plan to do this more often, adding a eSATA external drive would be a option. It would run at the same speed as a internal HDD.

How powerful do you think the computer(running 32 bit Windows XP Professional) needs to be be for the editing? Would 1GB RAM be OK or should I choose a machine with 4GB(actually 3.5GB as that is what 32bit XP can recognize)?

Not that I'm a big fan of Walmart, but that's a bit unethical.

Yes, I agree, now we think we should buy a miniDV camcorder for our office, and use it for the transfer.


Do you have any recommendations for buying a mini DV camcorder. Usage is for recording events like a conference, speaker presentation and it has to be less expensive. Recording quality has to be reasonable so that the presentation can be edited later on. Budget is around 200$. The purpose of our camcorder is for recording a conference done yearly which would last around 22 hours in three days. There might be other training sessions totaling around 15hours at other times which our office also might want to be recorded.

Thank you for your advice and time.

P.S. Whenever, I try to post, I get a message "
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As you are moderator, can you please look into it?

I am logged in, type a reply to message, hit preview post, get a screen which asks me to login, i do that, then i get above message. Browser is Firefox 3.6 and cookies are enabled.
Thanks

[les972]

I don't know if this helps but I have just copied some 8mm camcorder tapes onto DVD for some friends. I have a VHS to DVD copy machine and connected their camcorder (Sanyo) to the copier, loaded a DVD into the machine and just pressed record. The DVD's can be played on a normal DVD player.
les972

[p_s_92]

I don't know if this helps but I have just copied some 8mm camcorder tapes onto DVD for some friends. I have a VHS to DVD copy machine and connected their camcorder (Sanyo) to the copier, loaded a DVD into the machine and just pressed record. The DVD's can be played on a normal DVD player.
les972

Thanks for the reply. I have all miniDV tapes. We also have a 8mm camcorder, but we did not use it this time. Useful to know they can be copied to DVD, but a VHS to DVD machine is needed which we don't have.
Thanks for your time.