Hi,
Although I have sort of followed the video editing scene for a long time, I have never tried to capture anything until last week. Results were not that good and questions are a plenty. Is there a good source on the web for beginners, explaining differences between Firewire and dedicated cards (Matrox, Pinnacle) capturing, Divx encoding,...?

Thanks a lot

Get a Mac!
j/k

As a person who has been fooling around since I had a Amiga 2000 with a Video Toaster, their were some good Amiga sites on video editing. I am still fooling around, more of a hobby instead of a job.
Just curious though, what kind of system are you using?

From what video source were you trying to capture?

What problems did you have?

The questions I can answer are dedicated cards IMHO are better than Firewire or USB 2.0 but both are OK for DV.Analog is another matter. Good new article on Matrox card with Adobe software on Tom's site. Spendy but the software is very good but has a learning curve.

Pinnacle has been around for awhile and has beginners to pro
type cards. Good beginner type software available. Dazzle too but have heard some negative stuff about them.

Avid makes some great products but they cost some bucks and more for the prosumer/pro person.

here is a links to get you started.
<A HREF="http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/Htm/DVEditHomeSet1.htm" target="_new">http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/Htm/DVEditHomeSet1.htm</A>

<A HREF="http://www.ulead.com" target="_new">http://www.ulead.com</A>

<A HREF="http://www.adobe.com " target="_new">http://www.adobe.com </A>

<A HREF="http://www.adstech.com/products/intro/products.asp " target="_new">http://www.adstech.com/products/intro/products.asp </A>

Some of these links you can download a demo.

Have fun,
the Prisoner



I'm not a number, I'm a free man!

Thanks for your answer!
Being a avid simmer, I stay away from MACs, although I do find them attractive for business use.
I am running a 1.3Ghz Athlon with 512 RAM.
I have an analog source, but with a possibility of converting those tapes to DV if really necessary. When I tried, it was from a Sony DV PC110 through my Firewire port, with a Ulead VideoStudio trial version. I found lines showing too many edges, not too sure if it's the DV comrpession or the capture's limitation?
I have considered getting a Pinnacle Studio-10 but not sure the investment is worth it since I will go to DV next year and maybe converting my analog tapes to DV is a better investment?
I am off to visit the sites your recommended

So I am not confused AVID is a brand, they make high end video editing products, not a lifestyle.hehe

Video capture is really an analog term. although many people mix it with DV.

What do you mean "lines showing too many edges"? on your monitor or on your TV?

Converting your analog tapes to digital is fine but they will not look any better. The digital process will just copy
the tape like it is. Preservation wise it might be good idea. If you have a bunch of analog sources the Pinnacle might be a good choice. Also, if you want to record analog sources like cable( non digital) a good video capture card is needed. You can record digital too of course.

The MAC is actually pretty easy for DV not a bad choice. What they do not tell you is that it better be digital video!! DV is much easier to process.

Your Sony is a nice camera, your system might ok for processing DV video, analog is another matter. It takes alot
computer to do it fairly quickly.

Digital Video Editing site will give you better info then I.
Post your same problems and specs(be more specific) to their site.

Regards,
the Prisoner

I'm not a number, I'm a free man!

The tables are turned. Number 6 wants information (to help solve your your conversion problems).

BW

Who is Number 1?

number 6 is really number 1, he just hasnt figured it out yet!

the Prisoner

I'm not a number, I'm a free man!