Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Hi folks,

I need some advice on video capture devices / software for transferring
movies to my PC and editing them, I have never done this but can handle
it :-)

I have a JVC Mini DV video camera and a Dell P4 computer.

So what are your opinions? I've seen some posts on here about
Premiere, Vegas, and Pinnacle (which I gather is not very stable).....

So how about it folks? What do you recommend?

Thanks in advance

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Steve, what's your goal for the finished product? Home videos? Broadcast
television? Can we assume you have a Firewire (IEEE-1394) port on your
computer? If you were going from an analog source to digital file via A/D
card, that would be "capture." What you'd be doing with a digital Firewire
link is "transfer."

Assuming you're running XP, start with the software that came with your
computer: Window Movie Maker 2.
You can transfer video with the same quality you'd get out of any other
program: DV-AVI. (make sure WMM2 is set up to capture in that format)

If you want to get fancier, look at Premiere Pro (professional use) or
Premiere Elements (home use). You can use the material you've transferred
with WMM2 no matter what software you're using.

C.



"Steve" <scollins_58@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111530866.407651.57260@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Hi folks,
>
> I need some advice on video capture devices / software for transferring
> movies to my PC and editing them, I have never done this but can handle
> it :-)
>
> I have a JVC Mini DV video camera and a Dell P4 computer.
>
> So what are your opinions? I've seen some posts on here about
> Premiere, Vegas, and Pinnacle (which I gather is not very stable).....
>
> So how about it folks? What do you recommend?
>
> Thanks in advance
>

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On 22 Mar 2005 14:34:26 -0800, "Steve" <scollins_58@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I need some advice on video capture devices / software

Lots of reading here http://www.videohelp.com/


John Thomas Smith
http://www.direct2usales.com
http://www.pacifier.com/~jtsmith

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Steve wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I need some advice on video capture devices / software for
> transferring movies to my PC and editing them, I have never done this
> but can handle it :-)
>
> I have a JVC Mini DV video camera and a Dell P4 computer.
>
> So what are your opinions? I've seen some posts on here about
> Premiere, Vegas, and Pinnacle (which I gather is not very stable).....
>
> So how about it folks? What do you recommend?
>
> Thanks in advance


All you need (if you don't already have it) is a basic firewire card for
your computer. Make sure it has the Texas Instruments chip in it. Others
will give you grief.
The choice of editing software is yours. You already have Windows
MovieMaker so I'd suggest starting with that to get comfortable with NLE
(non-linear editing). After you've outgrown that, the choices are numerous.
My personal favourite is Sony Vegas for editing and DVD Architect for DVD
authoring (you do want to burn DVDs eventually, right?). A more modest
(cheaper) approach from the same company is Vegas Movie Studio+DVD. It
doesn't have quite as many features as Vegas but it's a lot cheaper and,
when you're ready, there is an upgrade path to the full version of Vegas.
More info on these products at
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures. [...] family.asp
BTW, most NLE and DVD authoring software have trial versions that you can
download and play with to see if you like them.

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

How much are you willing to spend, Steve? How serious are you going to get?
because you have plenty of choices.

1st rule of thumb: anyone just starting out in computer video should not go
all out and spend the big $$$. PC video has many variables that can be
screwed up and there's huge potential to get frustrated. My recommendation
would be to start off simple.
Not saying you're a vidiot - you just want to shoot, capture, edit then
watch and make family/friends envy you for making awesome videos- quick and
painless, right?

VIDEO CAPTURE DEVICE

When I speak of a video capture device, I refer to two things - Firewire
video capture cards and analog-to-digital convertors. Firewire cards are
needed to transfer video from your digital camcorder to the computer (you
can also use the USB port). It is an absolute must-buy if you have a digital
camcorder. These devices take the video and convert them into digital format
so that you can preserve those precious videos forever. Here's a guide to
choosing Firewire cards for video capture:
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com [...] -card.html .

SOFTWARE

Movie Edit Pro from Magix is geared toward home 'DV camcorder editing and
burning to DVD' market. I prefer it over popular mainstream packages (from
Pinnacle and Ulead).
http://www.magix.com (note: do not go for e-version; full box only)

Edit Studio from Pure Motion might be your best $100 pure video editor
(however it can be nicely matched with DVD Lab - that thing will do menus on
par with prosumer authoring packages)
http://www.mediachance.com/video/index.html

Download Professional level software for free- Perfect for students, DV
camera owners, video enthusiasts or anyone exploring video editing - Avid
Free DV software is an easy, free way to join the Avid family and test-drive
the industry-standard editing interface used by more professionals than any
other video editing solution.
http://www.avid.com/freedv/index.asp

--
Brian Alves

Listen to the new podcast
for DV creators- The DV Show!
http://www.thedvshow.com




Steve <scollins_58@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111530866.407651.57260@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Hi folks,
>
> I need some advice on video capture devices / software for transferring
> movies to my PC and editing them, I have never done this but can handle
> it :-)
>
> I have a JVC Mini DV video camera and a Dell P4 computer.
>
> So what are your opinions? I've seen some posts on here about
> Premiere, Vegas, and Pinnacle (which I gather is not very stable).....
>
> So how about it folks? What do you recommend?
>
> Thanks in advance
>

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Thanks to everyone for the helpful responses.

As for next steps, I will be surfing to the link John mentioned, and
getting a FireWire card first, and I will try out some of the products
mentioned. Esp. MovieMaker, since I have it, then I will look at the
evaluation copies of Vegas, Movie Edit Pro, etc. I noticed nobody
recommended Pinnacle Systems, hmmmm....

What am I going to be doing ? The usual consumer level stuff -
transferring my old VHS tapes (once I figure out how!); and also
transferring my DV tapes to store on DVDs (I need a burner). Also, my
daughter is in high school drama; there are lots of possibilities
therein (burning all the plays onto DVD, they have all been shot).....
These should keep me busy for a while, but it will be worth it,
especially getting those old home movies on DVD (and edited).

Wish I had figured I needed the FireWire card and the DVD burner before
I bought this computer late last year, I would have had it all in
there. I'll probably need a bigger (or second) disk too.....

How much do I want to spend? As much as it takes within reason; from
the sounds of it, I can get a pretty good package for a couple hundred,
that ought to hold me until I shoot my first independent film.....

Thanks again, everyone....

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Steve" <scollins_58@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111530866.407651.57260@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Hi folks,
>
> I need some advice on video capture devices / software for transferring
> movies to my PC and editing them, I have never done this but can handle
> it :-)
>
> I have a JVC Mini DV video camera and a Dell P4 computer.
>
> So what are your opinions? I've seen some posts on here about
> Premiere, Vegas, and Pinnacle (which I gather is not very stable).....
>
> So how about it folks? What do you recommend?
>
> Thanks in advance
>

Does your JVC video camera have analog inputs? You should be able to conect
your VCR output to the analog inputs of your camera and your camera's
firewire output to your newly purchased firewire card. The camera will do
the analog-to-digital conversion in real time and you'll have your movies
ready for editing.

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Captain Slick wrote:
> "Steve" <scollins_58@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1111530866.407651.57260@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
>>Hi folks,
>>
>>I need some advice on video capture devices / software for transferring
>>movies to my PC and editing them, I have never done this but can handle
>>it :-)
>>
>>I have a JVC Mini DV video camera and a Dell P4 computer.
>>
>>So what are your opinions? I've seen some posts on here about
>>Premiere, Vegas, and Pinnacle (which I gather is not very stable).....
>>
>>So how about it folks? What do you recommend?
>>
>>Thanks in advance
>>
>
>
> Does your JVC video camera have analog inputs? You should be able to conect
> your VCR output to the analog inputs of your camera and your camera's
> firewire output to your newly purchased firewire card. The camera will do
> the analog-to-digital conversion in real time and you'll have your movies
> ready for editing.
>
>
Not all digicams will do the pass through. But if not, you can do the
VCR to Digicam via analoge input, record to minidv tape and then capture
that. Annoying and slow, but it works, is easy to do and dosen't require
you have to research and buy an capture/conversion card.