Making DVDs from camcorder

I have a new digital camcorder that records movies on tape. I want to be able
to record movies on tape and then copy them onto a dvd or CD. I have a few
basic questions.

1. Can I do this through Movie maker? and if not can anyone recommend a good
commercial product. I have been looking at Studio AV/DV by Pinnicle. I just
want to make copies of hte tape and not challange Speilberg. I also have Nero.
2. Do I have to use specific DVD discs? I know they have much more space on
them but can a normal data CD be used for this purpose?
3. Do I need a special DVD burner. Right now I have a CD burner. Can I use
this to copy the movies?

I know these are very basic questions but the camara was given to me so I
really hadnt done a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

John

You can do this in Movie Maker provided your PC has a firewire port. You
connect the digital camcorder directly to the firewire port with a firewire
cable, turn on the camcorder (in VCR mode) and Windows should automatically
connect it and ask what you would like to do.

If you don't have a firewire port on your PC, you can get a PCI firewire
card for a reasonable price at your local PC store.

However Windows Movie Maker cannot burn a DVD. You need to edit the video
and then save the file, then open your DVD burning software, import the file
and ask it to make the DVD.

You'll get lots more info at:
www.videohelp.com
www.papajohn.org
and
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com

"Grandpa" wrote in message
...
I have a new digital camcorder that records movies on tape. I want to be
able
to record movies on tape and then copy them onto a dvd or CD. I have a few
basic questions.

1. Can I do this through Movie maker? and if not can anyone recommend a
good
commercial product. I have been looking at Studio AV/DV by Pinnicle. I
just
want to make copies of hte tape and not challange Speilberg. I also have
Nero.
2. Do I have to use specific DVD discs? I know they have much more space
on
them but can a normal data CD be used for this purpose?
3. Do I need a special DVD burner. Right now I have a CD burner. Can I use
this to copy the movies?

I know these are very basic questions but the camara was given to me so I
really hadnt done a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

John

In addition to what Cari has provided,

The bottom line is, what do you want to do with the copies?

If you want to make a DVD that will play in a commercial DVD player hooked
up to your TV, then I would recommend using a program that is a little more
higher end than Movie Maker, for every step, ie: the capture, the edit and
the burn. You will also need a DVD burner. 1st find out what type of DVD's
your DVD player will play ie: + or -. Then make sure you purchase a burner
that will make what your DVD player will play. Then make sure you buy the
right DVD's + or -.

You can use CD's but they are limited in size and because of the format you
must use, VCD or SVCD, the finished produce will not be as good as DVD. Once
again, if you want to play them on your commercial DVD player you must check
to make sure it will play video CD's and in what format, VCD or SVCD. When
you make the final movie make sure to select the format that your player will
play. Then use your burning software to make a video CD in that format.

In both cases, if you want to play the finished product on your DVD player,
you can't make a Data CD or Data DVD. You must make a Video CD or DVD.

If all you want to be able to do is play the file on your computer, then you
can just make a Data CD or a data DVD.

If you decide to buy a DVD burner (they're inexpensive), they all come with
software that will enable you to make video DVD's. If you end up wanting a
particular burning software, find out what burner includes that software.

I think ULEAD has come out with a program that allows you to record directly
from your Camera onto a DVD in the DVD format (VOB) that will play in your
commercial DVD player. But I'm not 100% sure of that.

Hope this helps.

NOTEKY

"Grandpa" wrote:

I have a new digital camcorder that records movies on tape. I want to be able
to record movies on tape and then copy them onto a dvd or CD. I have a few
basic questions.

1. Can I do this through Movie maker? and if not can anyone recommend a good
commercial product. I have been looking at Studio AV/DV by Pinnicle. I just
want to make copies of hte tape and not challange Speilberg. I also have Nero.
2. Do I have to use specific DVD discs? I know they have much more space on
them but can a normal data CD be used for this purpose?
3. Do I need a special DVD burner. Right now I have a CD burner. Can I use
this to copy the movies?

I know these are very basic questions but the camara was given to me so I
really hadnt done a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

John

You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do it just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works with Old
Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies to CD, CD-R,
CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies as well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that. Come On
Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and Windows
Software........

Thanks everyone.... it was a big help... Really all I want to do is copy the
movie from the camera to a DVD and play it on a commercial DVD player.

John

"NOTEKY" wrote:

In addition to what Cari has provided,

The bottom line is, what do you want to do with the copies?

If you want to make a DVD that will play in a commercial DVD player hooked
up to your TV, then I would recommend using a program that is a little more
higher end than Movie Maker, for every step, ie: the capture, the edit and
the burn. You will also need a DVD burner. 1st find out what type of DVD's
your DVD player will play ie: + or -. Then make sure you purchase a burner
that will make what your DVD player will play. Then make sure you buy the
right DVD's + or -.

You can use CD's but they are limited in size and because of the format you
must use, VCD or SVCD, the finished produce will not be as good as DVD. Once
again, if you want to play them on your commercial DVD player you must check
to make sure it will play video CD's and in what format, VCD or SVCD. When
you make the final movie make sure to select the format that your player will
play. Then use your burning software to make a video CD in that format.

In both cases, if you want to play the finished product on your DVD player,
you can't make a Data CD or Data DVD. You must make a Video CD or DVD.

If all you want to be able to do is play the file on your computer, then you
can just make a Data CD or a data DVD.

If you decide to buy a DVD burner (they're inexpensive), they all come with
software that will enable you to make video DVD's. If you end up wanting a
particular burning software, find out what burner includes that software.

I think ULEAD has come out with a program that allows you to record directly
from your Camera onto a DVD in the DVD format (VOB) that will play in your
commercial DVD player. But I'm not 100% sure of that.

Hope this helps.

NOTEKY

"Grandpa" wrote:

I have a new digital camcorder that records movies on tape. I want to be able
to record movies on tape and then copy them onto a dvd or CD. I have a few
basic questions.

1. Can I do this through Movie maker? and if not can anyone recommend a good
commercial product. I have been looking at Studio AV/DV by Pinnicle. I just
want to make copies of hte tape and not challange Speilberg. I also have Nero.
2. Do I have to use specific DVD discs? I know they have much more space on
them but can a normal data CD be used for this purpose?
3. Do I need a special DVD burner. Right now I have a CD burner. Can I use
this to copy the movies?

I know these are very basic questions but the camara was given to me so I
really hadnt done a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

John

Actually Jack, USB2.0 drops frames and in the real world is never as
reliable as IEEE1394 for digital video capture.

I'm quite up to date with all my hardware thank you. Seemingly more so than
you. And why do you need Expert DVD... Windows MovieMaker, incuded in XP
does a good job of editing. Most DVD burners come with even more
software... uLead, WinDVD Creator, Nero etc etc.

Now as for the future, Roxio will not (yet) work with x64. Nero and WinDVD
work just fine as does WMM. Does Expert DVD work with x64?

If you're talking about VHS tapes, you're talking about analog video. Any
VIVO equipped graphics card wll happily work with an analog signal, again,
no additional hardware necessary. And again, works great with an x64 O/S.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"Jack" wrote in message
...
You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do it just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at
Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works with
Old Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies to CD,
CD-R, CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies as
well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that. Come
On Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and Windows
Software........

Dear Granpa John,

I'm not sure what camcorder you have but I'll describe how I copy my tapes
to cd. I first copy what I want from the tape to the memory card of my
camcorder by placing my camcorder on the "video" setting, as opposed to the
"camera" or "memory" setting. I view the tape through my camcorder viewer
eyepiece or screen and pause,(not stop), it just before the part that I am
interested in recording. I then press the record button and what is on tape
gets recorded to memory. The larger the memory, the more of the tape you can
record. However, I don't know that you'll get the same resolution that you
get from the tape. (You can select a greater or lesser resolution in the
camcorder's menu options, at least I can with my Sony. Also, how much you
can copy to your memory card depends on the size of your memory card, if you
have one at all. ) Once you've recorded all of the tape that you want to your
memory card, hit the record button again to stop recording.

Next, download your memory to a pc by installing the software that came with
the camcorder and connecting the camcorder to the pc. The files will be
copied to the pc and if you have a cd rom drive that is writable, you can
copy them to the cd and view them on your pc. I'm not sure how to do this to
make dvd's. I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

ChiGoat


"Grandpa" wrote:

I have a new digital camcorder that records movies on tape. I want to be able
to record movies on tape and then copy them onto a dvd or CD. I have a few
basic questions.

1. Can I do this through Movie maker? and if not can anyone recommend a good
commercial product. I have been looking at Studio AV/DV by Pinnicle. I just
want to make copies of hte tape and not challange Speilberg. I also have Nero.
2. Do I have to use specific DVD discs? I know they have much more space on
them but can a normal data CD be used for this purpose?
3. Do I need a special DVD burner. Right now I have a CD burner. Can I use
this to copy the movies?

I know these are very basic questions but the camara was given to me so I
really hadnt done a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

John

If you are going to take all that time, you should take Cari's advice which
is the industry standard to use the Firewire. I tested USB but too many
frames were dropped and the small cost of a firewire card was cheaper than
my many hours of burning.

CompUSA and Bestbuy has DVD burners for $50.00 to $75.00 after rebate.

Cani has good manners and good advice which is the Industry Standard.
=======================================
Best regards with your searching, Gary 'Doc' Adams
Burning Hot Crawfish in New Orleans, Louisiana - USA
Lsu @ msn.com
http://searchingforfamily.org
~ Read to Learn - Write to Think ~
=======================================

"Grandpa" wrote in message
...
I have a new digital camcorder that records movies on tape. I want to be
able
to record movies on tape and then copy them onto a dvd or CD. I have a few
basic questions.

1. Can I do this through Movie maker? and if not can anyone recommend a
good
commercial product. I have been looking at Studio AV/DV by Pinnicle. I
just
want to make copies of hte tape and not challange Speilberg. I also have
Nero.
2. Do I have to use specific DVD discs? I know they have much more space
on
them but can a normal data CD be used for this purpose?
3. Do I need a special DVD burner. Right now I have a CD burner. Can I use
this to copy the movies?

I know these are very basic questions but the camara was given to me so I
really hadnt done a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

John

Cari,
I use a IEEE1394 port to download the video from my Panasonic PV-GS120. the
audio and video is fine, but I do not see the date in the video captured by
Microsoft movie maker (though I see it on my camcorder LCD screen). Is there
an option to turn the date on while capturing?

did some google and most of them recommend using a separate software to
transfer the date information or to do it manually? If the date information
is available in the DV output (through the firewire port), why cant the Movie
maker capture it?

appreciate your feedback.
thanks

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

Actually Jack, USB2.0 drops frames and in the real world is never as
reliable as IEEE1394 for digital video capture.

I'm quite up to date with all my hardware thank you. Seemingly more so than
you. And why do you need Expert DVD... Windows MovieMaker, incuded in XP
does a good job of editing. Most DVD burners come with even more
software... uLead, WinDVD Creator, Nero etc etc.

Now as for the future, Roxio will not (yet) work with x64. Nero and WinDVD
work just fine as does WMM. Does Expert DVD work with x64?

If you're talking about VHS tapes, you're talking about analog video. Any
VIVO equipped graphics card wll happily work with an analog signal, again,
no additional hardware necessary. And again, works great with an x64 O/S.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"Jack" wrote in message
...
You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do it just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at
Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works with
Old Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies to CD,
CD-R, CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies as
well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that. Come
On Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and Windows
Software........

No, the date is for your information only, it is not on the actual video.
You can sometimes 'burn' the date into the video at the time of recording.
Check your camcorder manual for options.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"dv_starter" wrote in message
...
Cari,
I use a IEEE1394 port to download the video from my Panasonic PV-GS120.
the
audio and video is fine, but I do not see the date in the video captured
by
Microsoft movie maker (though I see it on my camcorder LCD screen). Is
there
an option to turn the date on while capturing?

did some google and most of them recommend using a separate software to
transfer the date information or to do it manually? If the date
information
is available in the DV output (through the firewire port), why cant the
Movie
maker capture it?

appreciate your feedback.
thanks

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

Actually Jack, USB2.0 drops frames and in the real world is never as
reliable as IEEE1394 for digital video capture.

I'm quite up to date with all my hardware thank you. Seemingly more so
than
you. And why do you need Expert DVD... Windows MovieMaker, incuded in XP
does a good job of editing. Most DVD burners come with even more
software... uLead, WinDVD Creator, Nero etc etc.

Now as for the future, Roxio will not (yet) work with x64. Nero and
WinDVD
work just fine as does WMM. Does Expert DVD work with x64?

If you're talking about VHS tapes, you're talking about analog video.
Any
VIVO equipped graphics card wll happily work with an analog signal,
again,
no additional hardware necessary. And again, works great with an x64
O/S.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"Jack" wrote in message
...
You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do it
just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at
Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works with
Old Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies to
CD,
CD-R, CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies as
well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and
windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that.
Come
On Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and
Windows
Software........

Cari,
Yes, the date is not on the video. But it is part of the DV stream. When I
use firewire to capture the video, the date information is transferred as
part of the DV stream.

As an experiment I captured the video using Windows Movie Maker and saved in
DV-AVI format. Then I used a freeware to "inlay" the datecode on the video
and it worked fine. Now this is a two step process. If Windows Movie maker
had an option of "inlaying" the date code, when saving the video I think it
will work.

probably somebody needs to put in a request to Microsoft to add this feature.

thanks


"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

No, the date is for your information only, it is not on the actual video.
You can sometimes 'burn' the date into the video at the time of recording.
Check your camcorder manual for options.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"dv_starter" wrote in message
...
Cari,
I use a IEEE1394 port to download the video from my Panasonic PV-GS120.
the
audio and video is fine, but I do not see the date in the video captured
by
Microsoft movie maker (though I see it on my camcorder LCD screen). Is
there
an option to turn the date on while capturing?

did some google and most of them recommend using a separate software to
transfer the date information or to do it manually? If the date
information
is available in the DV output (through the firewire port), why cant the
Movie
maker capture it?

appreciate your feedback.
thanks

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

Actually Jack, USB2.0 drops frames and in the real world is never as
reliable as IEEE1394 for digital video capture.

I'm quite up to date with all my hardware thank you. Seemingly more so
than
you. And why do you need Expert DVD... Windows MovieMaker, incuded in XP
does a good job of editing. Most DVD burners come with even more
software... uLead, WinDVD Creator, Nero etc etc.

Now as for the future, Roxio will not (yet) work with x64. Nero and
WinDVD
work just fine as does WMM. Does Expert DVD work with x64?

If you're talking about VHS tapes, you're talking about analog video.
Any
VIVO equipped graphics card wll happily work with an analog signal,
again,
no additional hardware necessary. And again, works great with an x64
O/S.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"Jack" wrote in message
...
You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do it
just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at
Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works with
Old Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies to
CD,
CD-R, CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies as
well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and
windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that.
Come
On Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and
Windows
Software........

You can ask....



--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"dv_starter" wrote in message
...
Cari,
Yes, the date is not on the video. But it is part of the DV stream. When I
use firewire to capture the video, the date information is transferred as
part of the DV stream.

As an experiment I captured the video using Windows Movie Maker and saved
in
DV-AVI format. Then I used a freeware to "inlay" the datecode on the video
and it worked fine. Now this is a two step process. If Windows Movie maker
had an option of "inlaying" the date code, when saving the video I think
it
will work.

probably somebody needs to put in a request to Microsoft to add this
feature.

thanks


"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

No, the date is for your information only, it is not on the actual video.
You can sometimes 'burn' the date into the video at the time of
recording.
Check your camcorder manual for options.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"dv_starter" wrote in message
...
Cari,
I use a IEEE1394 port to download the video from my Panasonic PV-GS120.
the
audio and video is fine, but I do not see the date in the video
captured
by
Microsoft movie maker (though I see it on my camcorder LCD screen). Is
there
an option to turn the date on while capturing?

did some google and most of them recommend using a separate software to
transfer the date information or to do it manually? If the date
information
is available in the DV output (through the firewire port), why cant the
Movie
maker capture it?

appreciate your feedback.
thanks

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

Actually Jack, USB2.0 drops frames and in the real world is never as
reliable as IEEE1394 for digital video capture.

I'm quite up to date with all my hardware thank you. Seemingly more
so
than
you. And why do you need Expert DVD... Windows MovieMaker, incuded in
XP
does a good job of editing. Most DVD burners come with even more
software... uLead, WinDVD Creator, Nero etc etc.

Now as for the future, Roxio will not (yet) work with x64. Nero and
WinDVD
work just fine as does WMM. Does Expert DVD work with x64?

If you're talking about VHS tapes, you're talking about analog video.
Any
VIVO equipped graphics card wll happily work with an analog signal,
again,
no additional hardware necessary. And again, works great with an x64
O/S.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"Jack" wrote in message
...
You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do it
just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at
Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works
with
Old Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies to
CD,
CD-R, CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies
as
well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and
windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that.
Come
On Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and
Windows
Software........

And you could ask all the other video editing manufacturers as well, as none
have this facility

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com


"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
You can ask....



--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"dv_starter" wrote in message
...
Cari,
Yes, the date is not on the video. But it is part of the DV stream. When
I
use firewire to capture the video, the date information is transferred as
part of the DV stream.

As an experiment I captured the video using Windows Movie Maker and saved
in
DV-AVI format. Then I used a freeware to "inlay" the datecode on the
video
and it worked fine. Now this is a two step process. If Windows Movie
maker
had an option of "inlaying" the date code, when saving the video I think
it
will work.

probably somebody needs to put in a request to Microsoft to add this
feature.

thanks


"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

No, the date is for your information only, it is not on the actual
video.
You can sometimes 'burn' the date into the video at the time of
recording.
Check your camcorder manual for options.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"dv_starter" wrote in message
...
Cari,
I use a IEEE1394 port to download the video from my Panasonic
PV-GS120.
the
audio and video is fine, but I do not see the date in the video
captured
by
Microsoft movie maker (though I see it on my camcorder LCD screen). Is
there
an option to turn the date on while capturing?

did some google and most of them recommend using a separate software
to
transfer the date information or to do it manually? If the date
information
is available in the DV output (through the firewire port), why cant
the
Movie
maker capture it?

appreciate your feedback.
thanks

"Cari (MS-MVP)" wrote:

Actually Jack, USB2.0 drops frames and in the real world is never as
reliable as IEEE1394 for digital video capture.

I'm quite up to date with all my hardware thank you. Seemingly more
so
than
you. And why do you need Expert DVD... Windows MovieMaker, incuded
in XP
does a good job of editing. Most DVD burners come with even more
software... uLead, WinDVD Creator, Nero etc etc.

Now as for the future, Roxio will not (yet) work with x64. Nero and
WinDVD
work just fine as does WMM. Does Expert DVD work with x64?

If you're talking about VHS tapes, you're talking about analog video.
Any
VIVO equipped graphics card wll happily work with an analog signal,
again,
no additional hardware necessary. And again, works great with an x64
O/S.
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Printing & Imaging



"Jack" wrote in message
...
You don't need a "Firewire", That is absolutely not correct! I do
it
just
fine with USB 2.0.
I use Expert DVD maker from Kworld. Bought it for 26.99 at
Tigerdirect.com.
It comes with a Video capture (PCI) card and all the cables. Works
with
Old Time VHS (VCRtapes) as well as Digital video. It burns movies
to
CD,
CD-R, CD-RW, and if you have a DVD burner, it will burn DVD movies
as
well.
Cari doesn't always keep up with computer hardware very well (and
windows
xp either).
Not correct for Cari to just make an incorrect statement like that.
Come
On Cari, Get caught up, you are behind the times on hardware and
Windows
Software........