Mini DVDcam help!!!!?

Question

Okay, I have asked many related questions but still can't figure out this freakin' thing. I have a hitachi dvdmini camcorder. Have had this for 2 years and still cannot do anything.

Can somebody who has a dvdcam tell me what is the first thing they do when connecting to the computer? And yes, I have finalized the disc. Just tell me what to do. I have tried using the usb cable and also tried putting the mini dvd in the cd-rom drive. I just don't know what to do. :(

Answer 1

Using the USB cable won't do anything - you already know this so you can stop doing that.

Good that you finalized the disc.

On the door of the optical drive on your computer: Does it have CD or DVD? If it says CD, then nothing will happen with a DVD - the files are different. If it says DVD,

Does the optical drive open like a drawer or is it just a slot that you slide a FULL SIZED disc into? If it is a slot loading DVD drive, NEVER put os miniDVD from your camcorder in a slot loader (more transfer instructions below). If it is a drawer loading DVD drive, you need to download and install a DVD ripper. I like HandBrake:

http://handbrake.fr/

On the left, click on the Download link and pick the one that matches your computer's operating system.

If your computer's optical drive is CD only, or if it is a slot loader, then you need to find the AV cable that came with the camcorder. One side of the cable plugs into the AV port of the camcorder. The other side would normally plug into a TV AV-in... but you won't plug it in there this time... You need to get an "analog/digital bridge" like:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us...

and plug the Yellow (video), Red (right audio) and White (left audio) into the A/D Bridge and then plug the A/D bridge into the computer's USB port.

Answer 2

If you have a mini dvd camcorder….

You will have to finalize your dvd in the camera and then put the dvd in your computer 's DVD burner (top loading only)

and then you will have to convert the files (i downloaded handbrake file converter free) it is simple to use, and import them into your editing program.

Use the HELP feature in your editing program to learn about editing.

Once you are ready to burn, your project will be burned to a different DVD and you can file the original away.

Answer 3

Nu'uanu's right on. Actually there are lots of DVD rippers out there - HandBrake is one of the better ones and is cross-platform.

After downloading and installing Handbrake, launch HandBrake (the DVD should already be in the computer's DVD drive.

The HandBrake window will open and it should see the DVD in the drive. Each file clip on the disc will be represented by a strange file name on the left. Pick one just to test.

In the right, name the file and destination on your computer's hard drive you want to save to. Pick a format (probably .wmv or avi or dv or something else) that Windows Movie Maker likes. Keep everything else at the defaults - this should give you the best quality. Click the Convert or whatever button is there on the lower right... it will take a while rendering the file. The little status bar at the bottom will tell you how much more time there is left to finish the conversion. When it is done it will tell you.

You can also use HandBrake to make a compressed file - lets say you want to upload to YouTube and the video is less than 10 minutes, but it is a REALLY big file - you can tell handbrake to limit the size to 100 meg (which is YouTube's file size limit) and it will select the correct compression type... Remember, YouTube likes a lot of different video file types - but the most common ones are .mov., .avi and .mp4