Pro X2 trial using Panasonic VDR-D310DVD-Ram minidisc media

[tropicalcb]

G'day ... I have last nite d/loaded a trial of X2 & have a bunch of recorded mini DVD-RAM which is the media the Pana VDR-D310 uses. The camera came with bundled software - MovieAlbumSE4.3+DVfunStudio2.5 .. wanted something easy & versatile & Videostudio came up well reviewed.
I have hooked up the camera via USB ( there is no IEEE1394 output on camera) to My HP dv5129dv notebook & have tried to capture but I get a message - either no video capture driver is installed in this system or no device is connected - I have checked & the camera is recognised as MEI_UDF (F:) drive in My Computer with a folder - DVD_RTAF & 3 files inside it ... VR_MOVIE VRO file ... being the one with the stored dig video in I assume - its about 615mb.
I'm figuring this is an incompatable file - file mismatch.
Given the above & my lack of time to muck around too much, as well as my novice status, should I find another capture/edit program that is similar to VideoStudio but can convert or capture what I get on the discs with the D310 or is there a simple converter or work around. I really like the look & feel of this program & it seems to have a lot of easy bells & whistles - features & facilities that are really lacking in the 310's bundled software.
Any assistance or suggestions would be much appreciated ... I haven't been able to locate a user forum with specific suggestions for alternate software compatable options for this camera ... cb

[lancecarr]

Hello and Welcome!

The problem is not VS. You will get this problem with any video editing software you choose that did not come specifically bundled with the camcorder.

Most of the camcorder manufacturers, for technical reasons I don't understand, cause those tpes of camcorders to be detected by the operating system usually as a "USB Mass Storage Device."
VS is not designed to interact with such devices and nor will just about any other video editing software....EXCEPT ONE!

I am referring to the software that came with the camcorder.
Use the software Panasonic provides in order to get the MPEG2 files of the RAM disc and on to your hard drive. Then you can open VS and link to those files for editing.

[tropicalcb]

Ok thanks bloke, thats very helpful. I guess I will now have to buy the VS package & read the instructions!!!
Its been a bit of a steep learning curve over the last couple of days while trying to bring myself up to speed with not only finding user-friendly software, but also learning the terminology & which program does what.

Actually I have found out via another site - VIDEOHelp.com just this arvo, a thread about this issue ... and the bloke has a VDR-DV300 which is almost identical to mine. The responses are talking about all sorts of conversion files for other edit software & it sounded very involved. Obviously those offering advice are very dedicated enthusiasts & they enjoy the journey as much as the destination. For me I don't have the time or expertise & am after a solution that gets me from raw footage to captured/edited finished DVD via the path of least resistance. X2 Pro seems a reasonable cost & I find from my short exposure that it is easy to navigate & do what I think I need it to do quickly & min fuss.

What I have read a couple of times is that its not a good idea to have more than one video capture/edit program running on the same HDD? ... and I'm presuming you mean use the MovieAlbumSE4.3 (- there are 3 programs that came with it - MovieAlbum, funSTUDIO & RAM Driver )... and that once I transfer the digital images from camera to MovieAlbum I get an option there to save it as a Mpeg2 file? .... and then import it into VS?

Is there a VS tutorial on this site or elsewhere thats not in written format? maybe a video guide.

cheers .... cb

[lancecarr]

...and that once I transfer the digital images from camera to MovieAlbum I get an option there to save it as a Mpeg2 file? .... and then import it into VS?

You got it all by yourself! Once you have imported the files to the hard drive close that program. Open VS then import the files into VS. They don't really "import" they just get linked to VS knows where they are. from there you are editing your MPEG2 files.[/i]

[tropicalcb]

So Lance the issue I'm having is understanding how this part of the bundled software is used to save to the HDD ... the instructions are confusing as far as their explanations about chapters & titles. We're finding it difficult to figure out and it appears it is critical as to what gets saved with this chapter/title thing. We want to end up with the maximumly flexible footage in the best format we can get to then edit in VS or whatever program.
When I have time I'm still looking for a user forum for either the MovieAlbumSE4.3 software or the VDR-D300/310 camera which uses the software. Any info would be appreciated .... cb

[Ron P.]

You don't capture from your cam, you either import or copy from your camcorder.
You probably should be using the Import dvd/-vr disk function.

Look in the manual under Importing DVD's.
When you plug your cam into the computer windows should assign a drive letter to the camcorder. You navigate to the drive letter and one of the folders on your cams harddisk.

Depending on the harddisk camcorder they usually record in the -VR format. So instead of having a VIDEO_TS folder it's a DVD_RTAV folder.
In the DVD_RTAV folder resides the main container with all the movie files which uses an extension of xxxx.VRO

Also: http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?p=20736#20736


I located an on-line PDF manual for the MovieEdit 4SE, and briefly skimmed through it. I found that the software not only uses the standard DVD Titles and Chapters but also Playlists.

A Title is the term used to describe a video clip segment, from Start to Stop points. A Title would be like a book. So if you start and stop recording several times you will have several Titles.

A Chapter is used like bookmarks in a book, allowing you to jump to specific points in a Title. You can have up to 99 Chapters per Title.

A Playlist allows you to tell what order you want the Titles and Chapters played. Playlists are rather nice, because you can mix up the Title and Chapter playback. You can have it Playback Title A, Chapter C, Title D, Chapter A and so on, where with simple Title and Chapter playback, once you start playing at a certain Chapter it will continue sequentially to the end of at least the Title in which it is a part of..

Now since your camcorder records to a DVD format, using the Import Media>DVD-VR you will get the dialog box having a left window pane, that shows Titles and Chapters. Simply place a check in box beside each Title and/or Chapter you want to import. If VS does see your Camcorder and gets to this stage, then after checking the boxes, VS will parse the DVD and insert the MPEG-2 video files into your project.