HELP! Just bought a minidv camcorder.... OVERWHELMED!!?

Question

I just bought the JVC minidv camcorder (GR-D771) and I know that I must buy the firewire card/cable but I also have to buy a dvd recorder so that I can copy home movies to share... (right?) since I don't have a dvd burner in my comp (i know, outdated!) anyhow, am I missing something... is there an easier/cheaper way to share my movies on dvd or via email without buying the dvd recorder? ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks...(hubby is in Iraq and im trying to share his sons first steps!!)

Answer 1

going even more updated you could connect to tv and tape to video cassette not perfect answer but another option

Answer 2

Chris Villarin chrisvillarin.com Photographer Artist Web Designer Digital Video Effects Editing in Manila Philippines

I wrote this long answer, from years of experience editing. This is not copied from any website. Hope this helps!

TRANSFERRING VIDEO FROM CAMCORDER TO COMPUTER

Camcorders usually come with connecting cables. Older camcorders have yellow, red and white RCA cables that connect the camcorder to your TV or in this case your computer. Newer camcorders have FIREWIRE connectors that conveniently connect to FIREWIRE connectors in newer computers be it PC or Mac.

FOR CAMCORDERS WITH RCA CONNECTORS & PROPRIETARY CONNECTIONS

If you are using a camcorder with RCA connectors then your computer must have a Video Capture Card or any kind of video capturing device connected to your computer. A webcam is not a video capture device.

RCA connectors/cables come in 3 colors, yellow for video, red and white for left and right audio channel. In some camcorders you will see the 3 outlets with the 3 colors. While other camcorders are provided with a proprietary outlet that needs a proprietary cable with RCA connectors on the other end of the cable. These cables usually come with the camcorder.

Make the connections on the camera and connect the RCA to the outlets of your Video Capture Card/device. Color codes on the RCA and the outlets are important. The yellow RCA is carries the video signal and should be connected to the "video in" outlet of the Video Capture Card/Device. The red and white RCA cables are the left and right audio signal. These can be swapped without any problems.

Sometimes the camcorder has a minijack or headphone jack for outputting sound. And, sometimes the Video Capture Card/Device also uses a minijack to capture sound. If this is the case, only the yellow RCA cable needs to be connected both to the camcorder and the computer. Use a minijack to minijack connector cable to connect the camcorder and the computer. The minijack cable replaces the red and white RCA cable. There is such a thing as a "Y-Cable". The Y-Cable is a minijack on one end and 2 RCAs on the other end. You can use this if the camcorder and the Video Capture Card/Device have different ways to connect audio signals. With all these complexities you don't have to worry about connecting the wrong cables because NOTHING WILL BE DAMAGED in case you make a mistake.

Once the connections are done you are now ready to capture the video on your computer. Video Capture Cards/Devices come with programs that allow you to capture video to a location in your computer. Captured video files are most of the times in .avi or .mpg format stored in your computer.

FOR CAMCORDERS WITH FIREWIRE CONNECTOR OR (IEEE) 1394 CONNECTOR OR i.LINK

New camcorders and new computers come with FIREWIRE or 1394 Connectors. These are more convenient to use. All you have to do is connect just 1 Fireweire (1394) cable to the camcorder and the computer. Turn on your computer and make sure all the programs that need to load during startup have been loaded. Connect the camcorder to the computer using the Firewire cable. Turn on your camera and set it to "play" mode. Not "record" or "camera" mode. Your computer should detect the camera and prompt you to open the associated program. Open the program and look for the "capture" button.

CAPTURE SETTINGS

Leave everything on default and you should be OK. Once you get the hang of it you can start tweaking some settings. Here are common settings that you might want to experiment:

Resolution - this refers to the number of pixel. A 320x240 resolution means 320 pixels horizontally and 240 pixels vertically. 320x240 is the advised capturing resolution for youtube videos. 352x240 is ideal for VCD. 640x480 is the ideal resolution for full screen computer videos. 720x480 is the ideal resolution for DVD.

Data Rate - refers to the amount of data allocated for capturing video(and audio). 300 kbps (kilobit per second) in mpeg-1 format is recommended for youtube. 1152 kbps in mpeg-1 format is for VCD. 2,000 kbps in mpeg-2 format is recommended for DVD. These numbers are here as reference. You will get a low quality DVD if you recorded in 300 kbps mpeg-1. Commercial DVD data rate is 4500 kbps in mpeg-2 format. Data rate also determines the file size of the captured video. The lower the data rate the smaller the file.

Compression - MPEG 4 is for ipod videos, MPEG 3 is for music, MPEG 2 is for DVD, MPEG 1 is for VCD. DV compression is the highest quality compression available to standard desktop/laptop computers. If you plan to capture a video for editing I suggest you capture in DV compression .avi file.

MAKING DVDs

You make DVDs by burning the DVDs in a DVD burner drive. DVD+R and DVD-R are now interchangeable types. Most commercial DVD players can handle both types. Open your DVD burning program. Most of the time DVD burners come with programs to make DVDs. Just follow the instructions on how to make DVDs and you're done!

Answer 3

you said outdated, but i am assuming you have Windows XP at least, you can use Windows movie maker to download your video via the firewire port of your camcorder to your pc. Run Movie Maker, then connect the camcorder to the pc, on the program click "Capture from video device", once you see the files on the screen,  just drag on drop on the line line and click "send in e-mail., wait a few minutes and fallow the instructions. Hope i helped.

Answer 4

Assuming that you have the software for the camera to get your video onto the PC, why not get an external DVD writer for your PC?

If you know anyone who is prepared to open up your PC, ideally you will want to maximise your RAM and fit an internal DVD recorder (cheaper and better than external) - it's easy honest!

Go to http://www.crucial.com and run their application to find out how much RAM you can fit into your PC, or ask a PC-know-all to do it for you. This is essential if you have an older machine as if you want the PC to handle your video files, you may need it to be 'pumped up' a bit...

Personally I wouldn't actually buy the RAM from crucial because they charge top prices, but get your tame PC know-all to get you something cheaper or go to a PC store and get them to find a cheaper solution.

I pumped mine up from 500MB to 1.5GB and it was really easy - I could go a bit further (up to 2GB) but 1.5GB works well for me (costs maybe between $40 - $100 for 1GB) I paid  about $35 including international postage for mine...

I theory, (if your PC is upgradeable) you can get your PC tricked out for DVD recording for less than £100 - I paid $50 for a brand new internal DVD writer. (these are translation of UK prices, you may be able to find better US prices..)

I hope this helps