Camcorder confusion! please help

willis

Hi everyone,
I don't know all the technical terms, so please bear with me!
I have a sony dcr-HC22E mini dv Handycam. I have lots of footage on the little tapes, but I don't know how to put them onto a dvd. The instructions tell me how to put all of the recording directly on dvd (the whole mini tape) but I want to edit it first as some of it isn't that good. I tried loading it onto the computer to delete the parts I don't want, but that has really reduced the quality of the video footage. I know how to put it onto a dvd if it's on the computer, but the quality reduction means it won't look very good.
I have tried using the software that came with the camcorder, Picture Package, and copied it on to the computer using both USB streaming and Video Capturing tool. I have also tried Windows Movie Maker. I paid quite a lot of money for a high quality camcorder so don't want to end up with dvds with a low quality picture.
I'm so confused!! Please help me as I have footage of my wedding which I really want to put on a dvd. Will someone please tell me which software they use to edit camcorder footage, and if this can then be written to dvd?

Thanks very much.

albertross_2

Does your PC have a firewire port,, not sure about your model of camera, but usb streaming tends to be lower quality. Check the manual, see what it says about firewire/ilink

Torby

While USB2 is good for transfer to PC, most people use firewire, seems to be less of a problem with dropped frames....I am really surprised if you get poor footage from a Sony cam so I'm surprised when you mention quality reduction....are you sure your capture settings are set at DV avi uncompressed....that way what you recorded is what you get....remember though 1hr of DV footage equates to 13Gb so make sure you've plenty of Hard Drive space.
Personally I use Adobe Premiere pro to edit my footage, but Adobe Premiere Elements is also very good and you have the option to create a DVD at the end of your editing process.

Finally to repeat, check your capture settings...if they are set for the highest quality, thats what you should get using MiniDV tapes.....you cannot unfortunately compensate for bad shooting however!....

Good luck

willis

Hi, Thanks for your answers.
Sorry to ask a stupid question, but what is firewire? And as for checking the settings, where do I do this? (on computer control panel, on the actual software, on the camcorder etc)

Also, how do I get Adobe Premiere Elements?

Does anyone else use the Picture Package software that comes with the camcorder, and if so, which 'part' of it? (Producer/ VCD maker etc)
Thanks so much

movieman

Firewire is a small connector that's usually on the back of the PC if you have it; normally it's a rectangular hole that's rounded at one end maybe 2/3 of an inch long. Sometimes also known as IEEE1394 or iLink to avoid paying royalties to the trademark owners.

If you look in the Windows device manager I think it will come up as IEEE1394 in there, and should tell you if you have a Firewire input somewhere on the computer.

Also, note that camcorder video almost always looks better on a TV than it does on a computer monitor.

willis

I have just asked my husband and we don't have a firewire.

movieman

If you're happy to open up your PC, stick in a new card and install drivers, it may be worth buying one to get the best picture quality: I think you can buy a Firewire card for about a tenner these days, if not less. The cable to connect the card to the camera may cost more .

alanwjones

Something like this.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-USB-2-0-3-Firewire-1394-Combo-PCI-Card-Fw-Cable_W0QQitemZ250071188045QQihZ015QQcategoryZ90713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250071188045