Anyone work with DV - DVD 0r Avi?

[Jensen]

I just bought a dv camcorder online, hoping to make home videos of our new son to send home on dvd. Now buying a dvd-rw camcorder would've been easier I know but the wife put restraints on funds and my new toys, you married guys feel me? I have been working with multiple avi sources to one dvd with menu, so I get all that. Where do you start with a dv? Do I convert it to avi the to dvd? Are their proggys that work like favc, dvdflick, or avidemux? I just need a starting point with this new format (for me). I am running OS Vista. Any help would be great thanks

[Jim44]

You'll need to transfer the video from the camera to the computer. Firewire is best for this. I use WinDV to transfer; I'm on XP, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work on Vista. DV-AVI that you get from the camera is big, ~13GB/hour of video, so be sure to have enough hard disc space. At that point you have an AVI that you should be able to edit, encode, author, and burn as you're already familiar with. You may need a DV-AVI codec - Panasonic and Mainconcept seem to be the most used ones.

I'm not familiar with the programs you mention (I use different ones), but once you have the video transferred and, if needed, the proper codec, you should be fine. Hardest part may be deciding what bits to cut out

Hope that helps,
Jim

[Jensen]

wow 13 gb/hour video thats huge!! I wont have a problem with space, but your right about cutting things out. You said your using different programs for encoding and editing, which ones? I might need something for editing. I havent done much editing with what I have been working on.

Also I have seen DV Editing programs bundled with a pci-capture card. Is that like regular firewire ports?

Whats the best way to take several video/audio segments off a dvd that was burned in the camcorder itself? My mother inlaw recorded my sons birth (before/during/after) I want to separate them and make a movie out of them instead of just raw video/audio on a dvd.

Jensen

[Jim44]

You said your using different programs for encoding and editing, which ones?

I generally use VirtualDubMod for my editing and I encode using TMPGEnc Plus. Depending on what I'm doing, I will use AviSynth as the scripting input to either of those - I'm still learning how to use it.

Also I have seen DV Editing programs bundled with a pci-capture card. Is that like regular firewire ports?

My understanding is that a "capture" card is a specific type of card, for analog capture. You'll want a firewire card, which can be used for lot of devices, not just DV cameras. And yes, it will most likely be a PCI card - fits into a PCI slot inside your computer.

Whats the best way to take several video/audio segments off a dvd that was burned in the camcorder itself?

Sorry, I'm not familiar with DVD-based camcorders.

Jim