I have a Sony DCR HC-42 and I had every intention of transfering my mini-dvs to dvd. I came to find however that the software on my computer has horrible capture quality, the video lags and is grainy after the transfer. I have Windows Movie Maker and WinDVD creator. I set them all to highest quality and it wasn't near the quality of the mini-dv. So I let it go, but now I have 13 full tapes and two blank ones and I don't want or need to buy anymore. I want to finally get them where they belong, on DVD. I record in Widescreen and just use the standar audio, no mic or surround. Here are the specs on my pc: Compaq Presario SR1030NX 3000+(2.16GHz) AMD Athlon XP processor 512MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM memory 160GB 7200RPM Ultra DMA hard drive DVD+ RW/CD-RW combo writer CD-ROM 48x max speed I have the fire wire attached to the Sony dock and capture using that. I need any advice on how to, and any advice on capture/editing software, that will keep the quality of the mini dv. I'm not a pro so I'm looking for the best budget software, the features really don't matter, it's the quality I'm after. Thanks for your time, it is greatly appreciated.
As PFloyd said, capture as an .avi file. To do so, you will need to purchase a firewire cable to connect your Sony to your computer. The USB cable, that came with the video camera, is for downloading still pictures that you took with the Sony.
Thanks for the replys, I do capture in .avi using my firewire (stated in topic) but I now have a new problem. Apperentyl this handicam is a crappycam after 2 years or so. The LCD died and it seems to be a huge issue for this model, GRRRR!!! Off to research...
hi dcrfun, I wonder if you were able to solve your problem? I'm experiencing something very similar. I have SONY HC-27 miniDV, when playing directly on TV from the camcorder - perfect quality. When capturing raw .avi to my pc, poor quality. i would describe it as - when watching it from distance on pc, quite ok, but when watching it from closer, i can see "interleaving". and also ib general the video looks grainy. i tried Windows Movie Maker and Nero Vision 4 thanks
That you see intereaving on your PC screen when playing DV-AVI (I assume that is what you call "raw AVI") is quite normal: PC monitors are just not designed for interleaved video. If you indeed tranfer as DV-AVI over Firewire, the quality is exactly the same as the original on tape. The quality as it appears on your PC screen is then only determined by the quality of your video card, your monitor and other specs of your PC.
Thanks guys ! PFloyd & TPFKAS: basically you confirmed what I read elsewhere. yeah, I was thinking, what if it is just my slow PC ... => thus quality unchanged when capturing to DV-AVI, and just the PC screen is not showing it properly. You guessed it ...my laptop has 512 RAM only + shared graphics, so it's even worse. I will try on some more powerfull PC, best on some desktop. Or, as is my understanding, I do not even need to capture it on other PC, as the final DVD should be fine watching on TV. (given that I'm not loosing frames while compressing ...which I'm not) GrandpaBW : I may give it a try, thanks.
You cannot loose frames when you compress for DVD. What is important however is that you use a good encoder. Personally I am not very impressed with the encoder that is built in Nero although it has been some time ago that I tested it and later versions may have a better encoder. About testing WinDV: it is my application of choice for capturing as well because it is reliable and does not take much resources. But as long as you don't have any dropped frames during capturing, it realy does not matter which application you use: it is a digital transfer (like copying a file from one hard drive to another) so there is no loss of quality.
sorry, I got confused, I meant "I'm not loosing frames when capturing", not when compressing for DVD. Thanks for assuring me that when capturing to DV-AVI, that it is just lossless copying 1:1 . I really appreciate it, elsewhere I could find just bits and pieces of various info, and often misleading one. THANKS !
