Which Video recording software?

[gords]

I've recently realised my new laptop has a Firewire connection, which means I can now connect my video camera :roll:

I'm using XP Pro which has Windows Movie Maker and I also got WinDVD Creator Silver 2 with the laptop.

So, are either of these any good? Is one better than the other? Is it worth upgrading to WinDVD Platinum ($40)?

Also, do people generally record the whole tape, automatically split it into scenes and go from there? Or is it better to manually record scenes?

Any help/pointers appreciated - never done this before :)

[jiffyman]

I've dabbled slightly with Windows Movie Maker, seemed quite easy really.
I dont know how much hard drive space you have but I saved mine oin bits and pieces that I wanted, on the hard drive as separtate files then made a couple of small videos.
I did need to upgrade my PC physical memory as there wasnt enough at  256mb to run the pc AND the movie software.

Also bought Pinnacle 9 software but havent used that yet

[gords]

The laptop is pretty high spec - it currently has about 55Gb of disk space free and has 2Gb of memory :)

I've set WinDVD off recording the whole tape - apparently I have enough space to record over 15 hours  :D

I suppose it will take a few goes to get it right!! :lol:

[NeilWilson]

Disk space is very quickly used up, I think a 20min clip of full rate video from a mini dv cam corder is 4Gb.  I have used Linux for doing videos, qdvdauthor, mpegtools, kino - maybe not as good as some of the "pro" windows stuff - but it is free :lol:.  Most of these split the video into as many scenes as you have pressed record/stop for - ie, loads of scenes on a normal tape. If you are just dumping a tape to DVD you can record into set time length blocks and run a batch process overnight to convert the avis to mpeg2 etc. HTH.

Neil

[paul_humphreys]

Its not just the space you use you also need space to work. I once read that you need about 1gig per min of video. You can use Nero or Easy cd\dvd, but one of the best is Adobe Premiere.

Paul

[C C]

The latest version of Nero (7) has some excellent video features but it is a little quirky to use I found.

[Landyrover]

Hi, I'd invest in some dedicated video editing software - you can be much more creative with this! I used Pinnacle Studio for a couple of years but have also bought Adobe Premiere Elements. I swap between the two, depending on what I want to achieve.

Cheers,

Nick

[gords]

Hi, I'd invest in some dedicated video editing software

I assumed WinDVD was!? It allows you to control the Camera and record from it, you can split the movie into scenes, add menus, text, etc. It might not be very powerful, but then at the moment I wouldn't know

So, why do you swap between your two packages? Is one generally better than the other?

[Budgie]

Now I've got a PC that can cope with it, I've started playing with the making my video into DVD's.
I've only used the MS Movie Makers so far and got good results but I've now got Ulead's Video Studio 9. Seems quite good with loads of toys but I've not really had chance to play with it yet.  

I'm happy though, I've now got the 2004 Belgium National footage on DVD!!  :D

[Landyrover]

I assumed WinDVD was!? It allows you to control the Camera and record from it, you can split the movie into scenes, add menus, text, etc. It might not be very powerful, but then at the moment I wouldn't know

So, why do you swap between your two packages? Is one generally better than the other?

I don't know WinDVD so can't comment on that... the packages I use do enable you to do lots in the way of transitions, picture-in-picture, green screening, etc. They also make the editing process run smoothly (providing your PC is up to it  - had to invest in a new one recently and it is MUCH better now! :D ). They also allow a range of formats to output to, including DVD.

Both Pinnacle and Premiere have strengths - I find Pinnacle is more straightforward for general editing, Premiere has more sophisticated features but is a bit more clumsy to use - IMV :)

Once you start, you will become a social recluse and spend even more hours at the PC. I might be slow but I wouldn't be suprised that for every minute of on-screen action, I spend 10-20 minutes in 'post production'! :shock: It took me nearly a year to put together a 1 hour film (plus DVD extras) for friends of their wedding... worth it to see the reactions of folks faces when its shown for the first time though! :D

Good Luck!

Nick

[way2deep]

i use nero6 .i put clips on manually and trim them down,that way you don't waste space recording unwanted footge.a got pinnacle studio plus too but having problems running it ,it says i need upgrades but my comp is windows xp and is only a year old ????

[gords]

Once you start, you will become a social recluse and spend even more hours at the PC.

Umm, I'm a bit like that already - with work though :roll:

I might be slow but I wouldn't be suprised that for every minute of on-screen action, I spend 10-20 minutes in 'post production'! :shock: It took me nearly a year to put together a 1 hour film (plus DVD extras) for friends of their wedding...

Yikes! We've currently got 3 x 90 minute tapes, each with more than 70 to 80 minutes of recording!

I've transferred 2 of them onto the PC - the third one seems to be suffering from some sort of corruption though - it starts off getting a bit "blocky" and continues to get worse and worse! I've run a cleaning tape through a couple of times but it hasn't helped :(

I think I need to come up with some sort of plan first - I don't really want to just chuck the whole lot onto DVD, as it's a mixture of baby stuff, parties, holidays, etc. Oh well, should be fun

[Budgie]

it says i need upgrades but my comp is windows xp and is only a year old ????

I got a new PC in early December and it took me most of the first day to complete all the updates to XP, MS Office, Virus Scan etc so it may b worth seeing if there are any updates you've not got loaded.  

I don't really want to just chuck the whole lot onto DVD, as it's a mixture of baby stuff, parties, holidays, etc. Oh well, should be fun

That's the good thing with MS Movie Maker, you can start & stop the video capture when you want too, and leave the rest on the tape to take off later, just make a note of the run-time so you can go back to it.  :D