Record to DV tape without movie maker

Question

I have movie maker, and I hate it with a passion because it wastes time making a temporary file before recording something from the PC to the tape. Is there a different program I can download that can record to a miniDV tape instead of the garbage movie maker?

Answer 1

HE NEEDS PROGRAMS, NOT ADVISE.  

Answer 2

mmm, i don't think you understand how computer (aka non-linear) editing actually works. the editor does not create a video file, but rather it generates a list of instructions on how source files should be combined and effects added. most current editors are fast enough that when you ask for a preview, it can perform the instruction list in real time, making it look like tape playback. where effects are very complicated it might need to pre-render a segment prior to preview.

so the reason movie maker or any other edit program doesn't just spit out the finished version to miniDV tape is because that finished version is just virtual, it doesn't exist as an actual file. while the editor may be quick enough to generate a preview without rendering, printing to tape requires much more in the way of computer resources to stream out the ieee 1394 serial port.

prior to the high quality of DV, the final product of computer editing was not a videotape but an edit decision list. the complete list of instructions, tied to timecode, was printed out and handed to the film editor who used it to cut the actual movie film together. so you could say the rendering process has been compressed from days to minutes.

Answer 3

Snuf's right.  If you want to output to the camcorder you've got to guarantee the output will be at 25Mbit/sec - you can't do that in a timesharing system.

Answer 4

Well, it sounds like you've done some editing of the video before you want to export it to miniDV.  If that's the case, then iMovie will have to render the video before it can export it.  Rendering is the step that any editing software takes to combine the pieces of video you've edited together.

Any editing software will have to render the footage into the new video that will be exported to your miniDV tape, there is no way around that.  Sorry.