going to buy mini dvd camcorder can i use movie factory 4 ?

url · Post by **url** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:44 pm

Hi, I am really confused about the new camcorders that are mini dvd and what program I use to create a regular dvd from them.

I have been told to buy a mini dv tape camera instead re AVI???
The term I don't understand nor how i will create a DVD from this tape?

I liked the idea of a mini dvd which I know is in MPEG 2, however know nothing about how I transfer this to a regular DVD, I don't plan on editing. At least not for the moment as my hobby is using my Hauppauge win tv pvr usb 2 with my external BENQ I burner with Ulead Factory 4 which really impresses me with the quality of my DVD created.

Now I don't know if Ulead Movie Factory 4 could be used as software to transfer lets say a 30 min mini dvd to a regular dvd and then add onto that with another 30 min mini dvd and possibly another 30 min mini dvd. Or would that be considered editing and Movie Factory 4 is not a program for the purpose that I need.

This AVI and MPEG 2 have me really confused and it seems the more i get into hobbies that need use of my computer I have to buy a different software.
I would appreciate comments as I am totally bewildered by all of this and most of the camcorders come without software and the Big Box retail outlet sales reps know little about what I ask.
They send me to the software department and I inquire there and they don't know and suggest that I try a particular program like Pinnacle which I have seen not too good reviews on and also the sales rep does not guarantee it will do what I need and the program of course is not returnable.

Thus I was wondering if I am sitting here with Movie Factory 4 and it could actually handle the job that I want to do with a mini dvd camcorder??

I hope that someone can provide experienced comments as I don't know what I need to do in terms of mini dvd camcorders to create a regular dvd of about 90 min length. this is me>>>

(trying to figure out what to do!!)
BTW, I have spent 2 days googling and reading and get more confused!!

I hope to get experienced comments, thankyou.

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:00 pm

OK, for more help you may want to post in the movie factory forum, rather than the workshop one

Also, let's clear up what you want to do.

Take several mini dvds you have recorded on a dvd camcorder and make a new full sized dvd?

If so, the process of making the dvd will be similar to use dv-avi, as the software will do all the neccessary converting of file types when you say make dvd.

I'm in the camp which says mpegs are not really for editing or re-using, and you may find you suffer some quality loss as you chage from one dvd to another, as you will need to make menu systems etc to watch your dvd. You would need to be really careful with how you recorded and made your new dvd not to need to re-convert files.

Other people will tell you it is quite easy to do.......

Read posts here and you'll find a good mix of good, bad and indifferent.

If I was doing this, I'd just either buy lots of mini dvd s and watch from these when I wanted to, or I'd simply copy each dvd onto another dvd as an exact copy and not bother with trying to get more than one on each dvd.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:16 pm

Hi, I am really confused

Theres' lot's to learn. I've made some expensive mistakes in the learning process! Here are a couple of web sites you might find useful:
DigitalFAQ.com
VideoHelp.com

I have been told to buy a mini dv tape camera instead re AVI???

I would tend to agree... but it's up to you.

The term I don't understand nor how i will create a DVD from this tape? ...This AVI and MPEG 2 have me really confused...

You connect the camcorder to your computer via Firewire, and transfer the DV* to an AVI/DV file on your hard drive. The DV format is less compressed than MPEG. It takes-up 13GB per hour of video.

The lower compression makes it possible to edit DV with very little degradation. With MPEG's higher compression, the quality lost in the "extra" decode/re-code cycle is more noticable.

DVD Workshop, Video Studio, and Movie Factory all include MPEG-2 encoders, and they can make a DVD from an AVI/DV file.

NOTE: DVD Workshop is NOT an editor. It can trim the ends from a video, but it's really designed to make a DVD from an already-completed movie. It can do some things that the other programs can't do, like make subtitles, or multiple soundtracks, and it gives you more control over the menu functions.

Now I don't know if Ulead Movie Factory 4 could be used as software to transfer lets say a 30 min mini dvd to a regular dvd and then add onto that with another 30 min mini dvd and possibly another 30 min mini dvd.

Yes.

Or would that be considered editing and Movie Factory 4 is not a program for the purpose that I need.

If you splice them together, or join them together with transitions, that's editing, and Movie Factory can do it. If you want to put 3 different titles (3 separate programs or movies) on a DVD, that's NOT editing, and Movie Factory (or Workshop) can do that too.

If you haven't had any problems editing your Hauppauge MPEG programs, you may nott have any problems with this. But, when I edited my Hauppauge MPEGs, I sometimes got "lip-sync" errors and some other occasional weird problems. So, I generally recommend against editing MPEGs, and I generally recommend getting a special-purpose MPEG editor if you are stuck with MPEGs.

* FYI - The tape is actually DV format, and it gets put into an AVI "container" file on the hard drive... Thus AVI/DV! An AVI file can actually contain DV, MPEG, DIvX, etc..

url · Post by **url** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:31 pm

Thx for the replies, I'm sorry that I posted in the wrong forum. I thought I was in the Movie Factory forum. I will go and post the queries that remain there.
Again I apologize,
Best Regards.