DV capture, Quality copies and storage

[shulthise]

Hey all,

I've wondered the web for a long time before seeking help in this forum. I'm kind of lost between knowing nothing to absorbing too much information...

The issues I need help with:
1. Capturing DV right.
2. Storing quality un-edited copies.
and
3. Burning to DVD.
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1. Capturing DV right.
I have a Sony DCR-TRV340 NTSC video camera. I bought it because i wanted to go digital, but i also have a lot of 8mm tapes.
I currently use MS Movie Maker 2 to capture the tapes to my HD. Several things i noticed:

a. The capture size is always 720x480 pixel. Will all digital capture software give me that same size ?

b. When i play the video in Media Player 8 or Media Player 6.4, it always plays the video in 360x240 pixel size. Only when i play the video in Media Player 9 it plays it in the correct size. Is something wrong with the captured file?

c. It always saves a *.avi file. Does it matter if it was other format?

d. Virtual Dub would not open the file. Why?

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2. Storing quality un-edited copies.
Every 1 Hour DV i capture is aprox 13.3 GB in file size. I have no where to store it other than my HD. Tapes are very expensive where i live, and I don't want to split the file to CDs or DVDs.
I tried converting the captured file to MPEG 2 format, but i found the quality to be poor compared with the original. Maybe I’ve used the wrong software, i don't know.
I want to keep high-quality grade original copies cause I want to be able to re-edit videos and produce high-quality DVDs.
Any suggestions?

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3. Burning to DVD.
I want to produce DVDs with scenes, menus, that will retain high-quality movie.
What application do you recommend ? (not Sonic MyDVD please, too simple, no scenes, etc)


THANK YOU FOR READING, BLESS YOU FOR ANSWERING
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THE END

[rsquirell]

Since you're capturing from DV firewire nearly all editing software will support you (Premier, Pinnacle Studio8, Ulead VS6-7, MovieStar5, Windows Movie Studio2.) Your capture will be made with .avi (so you'll need scads of Disc space) at DVD resolution (720X480...same as MPEG2). If you have a power DVD player installed MP9 will play it as a DVD (you need to be xp for this)...I'm assuming MP8 won't since you are only getting 320X240 resolution there. As far as authoring software...TMPGenc just announced last weekend they have a new product to do this...you get a 30 day trial before you buy...they're main product is fantastic...and I'll bet this thing was built with like pride.

[shulthise]

Thanx rsquirell for the reply.
So..
I know most apps will support DV capture via firewire. But are all captures the same ? I mean, what determines the resulution ?.. is it my camcorder, or the capture app ?.. if i used a higher-resolution DV camcord (say 720x520) would Movie Maker (or any other app) still capture it with 720x480 resolution ?.. i see no option menu/toolbar.

Do all apps capture to AVI format, using the same codec ?

Doesn't Media Player 8 support DV.AVI or is it only the DV.AVI Movie Maker captures ?
I have WinDVD installed (came with the DVD+RW).

As far as authoring software... what is TMPGenc ?.. and where do i download the 30 day trial version you mentioned ?

Cheers,

[rsquirell]

Don't know much about Adobe Premier...but it's the high-end consumer DV product...it might give you the option to capture at higher than 720X480. You want to bring your capture in at the highest resolution possible...but if you're capturing an analog VHS tape (352X240) played through an analog VCR somehow fed thru your camcorder you can't make your source's resolution any better than it is. I don't screw with MP8 since I'm running xp...and one of the features of MP9 is , if you have DirectX9 and a power DVD player (WinDVD) installed, it'll play MPEG2, too. You can download TMPGenc products from this site by going to the DigitalDigest Home page and look for the download area.

[VICTHEPICGUY]

THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION YOU ALSO ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS..

[UncasMS]

i think i got a higher resolution than 720 x 480 when did my first tests wit a panasonic digicam last weekend.

i used pinnacle studio 8.5 and captured in full dv, not mpeg2 mode.

[shulthise]

Eventually, the DV capture-to-disk resolution should be the same resolution the video was taken at by the camcorder. For NTSC camcorders will shoot the video at 480 lines while PAL camcorders will use more lines. I think this is why the software I use always captures DV at 720x480... I always use the same camcorder
Capturing the video with a different resolution is the same as applying a resize filter on the video, which can actually diminish the quality.

Oh, one thing though.. My camcorder is a ‘Digital 8’ type; meaning it will also play 8mm and high8 tapes... But it will play them at DV resolution only... it resizes them automatically...

Cheers, Zoe.