[Su-47]

Hi All,

I have this bunch of mini-DV tapes that need to be transferred to a medium that is more easy to use and share. I would appreciate recommendations on how to do this:

The simplest option is to dump the content to a PC and burn a DVD straightaway. I can't convince myself to do this, as I would want to edit the video and delete unwanted sections etc.

So, the question is what would I need in terms of HW and SW to do decent video editing?
* Would my antique Laptop with 1.6 GHz single core-cpu and 768 MB of RAM be good enough?
* Or, do I need to spend money and get something more powerful? (I do have a faster machine, but that is owned by my employer, and I don't want to move huge amounts of data in and out of it).

What about the Software? I think there are two steps in this process
* Video Editing: Stuff like deleting scenes, adding transitions, adding audio-clips etc.
* Format conversion: Conversion of the DV format to MPEG-2, so that it is more usable. I think I would also need some software that can write in the DVD-VOB format.

Please make recommendations (preferably based on experience) on what software to use. Do I need to spend 100$+ and get Adobe Premier elements. Or, are there cheaper alternatives available? Come to think of it, free software would be the best.

Cheers,
Su-47

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by anuragn

if you transfer a 1 hr video in it's original form, it would occupy anywhere near 10 GB fo disk space while same when transferred thru' usb hardly occupies a few hundred MBs.

1hr = 10gb would be extremely bad encoding format being used, Have you confirmed this?

Because DVD quality video for 2hrs fits in 4.5-6 gb (Vob's)
HD 1080p quality video of 1 hr first in 8gb. (mkv)

-Fillmore

[hondadude]

Hi Su-47,

I am sure experts will jump in soon. Following are my responses based on my very limited experience with videos

Originally Posted by Su-47

Hi All,

So, the question is what would I need in terms of HW and SW to do decent video editing?
* Would my antique Laptop with 1.6 GHz single core-cpu and 768 MB of RAM be good enough?

* Or, do I need to spend money and get something more powerful? (I do have a faster machine, but that is owned by my employer, and I don't want to move huge amounts of data in and out of it).

No, this wouldn't be enough. You need a minimum of 2 GB RAM. 4 GB would be nice. Having a graphics card with 256 MB (min) would be important as well. You haven't mentioned what video card you have and the amount of video memory, that is quite important. Faster processor helps but IMO is not as critical as Video cards and RAM.

What about the Software? I think there are two steps in this process
* Video Editing: Stuff like deleting scenes, adding transitions, adding audio-clips etc.
* Format conversion: Conversion of the DV format to MPEG-2, so that it is more usable. I think I would also need some software that can write in the DVD-VOB format.

Please make recommendations (preferably based on experience) on what software to use. Do I need to spend 100$+ and get Adobe Premier elements. Or, are there cheaper alternatives available? Come to think of it, free software would be the best.

I had good experience with Avid Free DV (it is free). It does have all the editing, media(audio) and title features that you need to make simple movies. Unless, you planning on getting really fancy, this should satisfy your needs.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

1hr = 10gb would be extremely bad encoding format being used, Have you confirmed this?

I think he is talking about the DV-25 format (that's why the word original, as it is the native format on mini-DV camcorders). DV-25 doesn't use motion-prediction, and, is supposed to be approx 25Mbps. Extrapolating to an hour this yields 11.25 GB which very close to what he has mentioned.

Originally Posted by hondadude

No, this wouldn't be enough. You need a minimum of 2 GB RAM. 4 GB would be nice. Having a graphics card with 256 MB (min) would be important as well.

Thanks honda-dude. Oops! IIRC, my graphics card has 64 or 128 MB RAM. It is more than 5-yrs old hehe..

Originally Posted by hondadude

I had good experience with Avid Free DV (it is free). It does have all the editing, media(audio) and title features that you need to make simple movies. Unless, you planning on getting really fancy, this should satisfy your needs.

Will try this out.

[Ajaybiz]

Use Ulead Video Studio Version 10 or above good for editing Videos and making DVD or VCD or any other available format.I am using it from past 4 years and still theres no product to compete with them.
For best results and faster conversion use Firewire cable.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by Su-47

Hi All,

I have this bunch of mini-DV tapes that need to be transferred to a medium that is more easy to use and share. I would appreciate recommendations on how to do this:

The simplest option is to dump the content to a PC and burn a DVD straightaway. I can't convince myself to do this, as I would want to edit the video and delete unwanted sections etc.

I think over a period of time you will find DVDs to be cumbersome too. while you are at it, use an external hard drive as an additional backup and use it for all "searching thru", "distributing to others" purposes.

regd hardware, i do pretty ok with my old laptop (dell- inspiron 2003, 1.6Ghz, 256 Mb RAM, win XP). It has a PCMCIA slot where I stick IEEE-1394 (Firewire) card and then connect my cam to it.

I use windows movie maker and have not seen any drastic change in quality. Only problem, if you edit and save it again, it takes as long as the length of the video itself to save.

here's an example, see in high quality.

YouTube - vikrant laughing again

Off topic, My next cam will be a SDHC cam. no tape, no DV, no HDD . take out the card and stick it in my laptop.

[SirAlec]

to capture its fine. You can do it with a modest 1st Gen P4 machine. But to edit you need a serious machine. Please go though an excellent site on video editing. Price are in $ but thats not the point, you will have a slight idea about this field.

Videoguys 800-323-2325 We are the Digital Video Editing and DVD Production Experts! Leading the Way Into HD and HDV! video editing, digital video editing

SOme VE software are.
1. Ulead DVD factory
2. Pinnacle Studio 9.5 (10 and 11 are rotten)
3. Sony Vegas
4. Avid Liquid
5. Adobe Premeire Pro.

[Su-47]

Thanks Ajaybiz, Vivek and SirAlec for your responses.

[Shankyz]

I'm struck with a similar problem, except that my handycam doesn't have firewire port, it's an old Sony TRV46 , which records video in Hi8 format on analog mini tapes. I want to transfer the tapes to my PC and keep on external disk and DVDs.

The options are
1. Give the tapes with the handycam to a local studio, who will convert to CD @100/- per CD or DVD @350 per DVD. but I've no idea about how good/bad will be the Quality of the captured video by these people.

2. Get an Analog video capture device/card along with s/w but which one is good , how much will it cost etc are the unknown factors.

I need to convert ~10 to 15 tapes to DVD.

Can anyone give me inputs and throw some light for the above 2 options or any other 3rd option?

How good/bad is Pinnacle DVD Maker Plus - a device which connects to USB on PC and has analog video input ports and burns video directly to DVD? Anyone has any experience with this or any such similar product?

Thanks in advance

[gopinathann]

Originally Posted by Shankyz

I'm struck with a similar problem, except that my handycam doesn't have firewire port, it's an old Sony TRV46 , which records video in Hi8 format on analog mini tapes. I want to transfer the tapes to my PC and keep on external disk and DVDs.

....

How good/bad is Pinnacle DVD Maker Plus - a device which connects to USB on PC and has analog video input ports and burns video directly to DVD? Anyone has any experience with this or any such similar product?

Thanks in advance

I recently converted 3 Hi8 tapes to DVD (200 for each DVD). I should say the quality is ok and didn't match the exact original quality. And it is a hell lot of work editing those DVDs, conversion takes a lot of time using the virtualdub.

I have a basic question. I have P4 HT with PCI express card. If I add a ATI/Radeon Graphics card will it reduce the video conversion times ?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Shankyz

Can anyone give me inputs and throw some light for the above 2 options or any other 3rd option?

Adobe Premier Pro is the editing software of choice.
Pinnacle make some of the best video capture/convert cards.

There are many generic cards that, at first glance, will seem terribly attractive. But... but...then comes the problem of quality and standards.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by gopinathann

I recently converted 3 Hi8 tapes to DVD (200 for each DVD). I should say the quality is ok and didn't match the exact original quality. And it is a hell lot of work editing those DVDs, conversion takes a lot of time using the virtualdub.

I have a basic question. I have P4 HT with PCI express card. If I add a ATI/Radeon Graphics card will it reduce the video conversion times ?

No! as encoding or capturing is purely CPU intensive work. whereas graphics card are just for out put.

[vivekiny2k]

any free and quick way to blank out a portion (top/bottom few pixels) of a video?

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by hondadude

No, this wouldn't be enough. You need a minimum of 2 GB RAM. 4 GB would be nice. Having a graphics card with 256 MB (min) would be important as well. You haven't mentioned what video card you have and the amount of video memory, that is quite important. Faster processor helps but IMO is not as critical as Video cards and RAM.

I would say the processor is the key, with my limited experience. When using Adobe Premier or Windows DVD maker, it is the CPU that is maxed out at 100%, while most of the RAM I have(4GB) is free.

If you intend to do lot of video processing, get a fast processor. Of course, RAM helps and you need more than 2GB if you are running Vista.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

any free and quick way to blank out a portion (top/bottom few pixels) of a video?

Dunno any free software is available or not, but it can be done easily in premeire pro.