Any free software to convert 60 min video tape to pc's hard-drive?

Question

if not any free any that you recommend that works good. I have a jvc video recorder that uses DVC 60 min. Mini DV tapes. I would like to start converting some of these to DVD. I know the software is out there and was hoping there might be some free software out there. My recorder has a usb port and i have a connector for it to use on my laptop. Any information on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

to get it onto your pc, use windows movie maker, just capture the video footage use AVI or Mpeg NOT WMV its naff.

you can create a dvd from this but you cannot burn it. WMM doesnt burn dvd's.

I use two Nero nice and simple but plenty of effects (if you want them) not expensive, and Adobe premiere great to use but expensive. As for the free ones, dont know you get what you pay for. you could download a trial version of nero about 180mb worth it.

good luck RR

Answer 2

You'll need to capture the video via firewire rather than USB - if your PC hasn't already got one you'll need to install a firewire card. They're cheap, easy to install and readily available. Since you're using a laptop, make sure you check whether it uses PCMCIA or Express expansion cards - they're not interchangeable! You'll also need a firewire cable.  

Use Windows Movie Maker to capture and edit the video.  When you've finished, render it as DV AVI.  Don't be tempted to use WMV or MPEG - they use much less disk space, but the quality's lower.  Feed the avi file into DVD Flick and it'll do the conversion to MPEG-2, author the DVD and then either burn it to DVD or save it to your HD.

As an aside, laptops aren't the ideal choice for video editing - they usually have relatively small, slow disks and there's only one of them.