Video Editing Advice

[420]

My friends and I were playing with our Hemi's and I need to know of some kind of software I can use for free to get the best vids off of my camcorder.

I have never done this before. Getting video from my camcorder that is. The software that comes with my camcorder sucks. Its a Sony DCR-HC65

Thanks.

[grim reaper]

Please don't hurt me for moving this to Hardware/Software.

As for free video editing/capture software its worth trying Windows movie maker. You're almost guaranteed to have it as its free with XP and its really simple to use. If you find that too basic get the free trail of Adobe Premiere. That's very good but very expensive.

[420]

I was going to move it after it sat in OT so I could get a quicker answer. Can I get the video from the camcorder to hd using that software???????

Yea, please dont move my threads.

[NavalLord]

Kill him!

Windows Movie Maker will take your videos off your camcorder and onto your computer.

[420]

Originally Posted by NavalLord

Kill him!

Windows Movie Maker will take your videos off your camcorder and onto your computer.

Yes it does and they look like pixelated shit. How do I get it onto my hd and look the same as it does when I play it through the tv. It seems to stream it off of my camcorder. There must be a way to get it to look normal.

[TheVerbalAssassin]

Try fraps?

[Rambo_Medic]

Virtual Dub works.

I havent used it but I hear Premiere by Adobe is t3h awesomest in video editing. I dunno why you have problems with the Windows Movie Maker. My vid comes out great.

[TheVerbalAssassin]

Resolution?

[NavalLord]

I use iMovie, but its a mac program. You should try out Adobe Premiere demo, or UPS the full version.

[grim reaper]

Originally Posted by 420

Yes it does and they look like pixelated shit. How do I get it onto my hd and look the same as it does when I play it through the tv. It seems to stream it off of my camcorder. There must be a way to get it to look normal.

Sounds like movie maker is re encoding it when its transferring. Make sure the codec is set to full DV resolution with no compression.

[Rambo_Medic]

Oh yeah, make sure to do that^

[420]

I cant find the option for setting the codec to full DV resolution with no compression. I also thought it looked like that cause i was using usb instead of firewire.

[grim reaper]

Originally Posted by 420

I cant find the option for setting the codec to full DV resolution with no compression. I also thought it looked like that cause i was using usb instead of firewire.

Choosing a video setting
This page of the Video Capture Wizard lets you choose what settings you want to use when capturing video and audio. The video setting you choose determines the quality and file size of the captured video file. Video display size and video bit rate increase with higher video settings, and so does the file size. Consider file size along with the main purpose for your captured video when choosing the video setting.

For more information about issues to consider when capturing video and audio, see Understanding video settings.

The following is a listing of the options displayed on this page of the Video Capture Wizard.

Best quality for playback on my computer (recommended)

Specifies that you want to capture video at the recommended video setting. This video setting encodes the captured video at a higher quality setting. The specific capture profile that is detected and used by Windows Movie Maker for this video setting depends on the selected capture device and the audio and video it can output to the computer, as well as the processor speed of your computer.

This setting is well-suited for a majority of the video you capture in Windows Movie Maker and plan to edit in Windows Movie Maker, and then plan to save to your computer, to a recordable CD, as an attachment to an e-mail message, or to the Web using the Save Movie Wizard.

Show more choices

Click to see additional video settings. Therefore, if you do not choose to use the Best quality for playback on my computer (recommended) video setting, you can choose from a listing of other capture options.

Digital device format (DV-AVI)

Specifies that your captured video will be saved as DV-AVI file with an .avi file name extension. This capture option is only available if you are capturing from a DV device, such as a DV camera or DV VCR. This video setting is designed to be used if you want to edit the captured video on your computer and then later save it back to a tape in a DV camera or VCR using the Save Movie Wizard. The quality of the original video is retained when you choose this setting, so the movies you record retain their original video quality when recorded back to DV tape.

However, video files saved with this setting can be quite large. For example, each minute of video saved at this setting can consume as much as 178 MB of disk space. Therefore, verify that there is enough available disk space on your hard disk to accommodate the amount of video you want to capture.

Other settings

Provides a list of additional video settings you can choose to capture for your captured video. When choosing a setting from this list, consider how you plan to ultimately use and share the video in your final saved movies. This list ranges from settings suited for video on a Pocket PC to video for local playback.

Setting details

Displays additional information about the video captured at the current setting. The following details are provided:

File type. The type of file the captured video is saved as on your computer. Possible file types include Windows Media Video (WMV) or Audio-Video Interleaved (AVI).

Bit rate. The total bit rate of the captured video and audio. Typically, a higher bit rate will result in higher-quality video with smoother motion. However, as the bit rate increases, so does the size of the captured video file.

Display size. The dimensions of the captured video picture, in pixels. The first number indicates the width of the video, while the second number indicates the height of the video.

Frames per second. The number of frames that are displayed per second in the captured video. Typically, a higher number or frames per second will make the motion of objects or persons in your video appear smoother.

Video format. The video standard for the saved movie file. The two possible formats are NTSC and PAL. The specific video format depends on the selected video capture device and the video format it uses. This value is displayed when capturing video as a DV-AVI video file.

Video file size

Provides the estimated file size of the saved movie and disk space available to store the captured video file. The estimated amount of disk space consumed by one minute of video is displayed in this area for many video settings. For other video settings that are based on the quality of the captured video and audio, such as the recommended setting, a file size estimate is not available.

Taken from the movie maker help file. The interfcae being used shouldnt make a difference seeming as its DV, both firewire and USB should work.

[420]

I had already read all that and have tried every option and video still looks pixelated. Maybe better video drivers??

[grim reaper]

How exactly is it pixelated?

I'm thinking it may be a interlacing problem. Check the link out to see how to identify if it is.

http://www.100fps.com/

[420]

All fixed. Downloaded a driver from the Sony site and it works fine. Check OT for the vid.

[DanTesla1]

Originally Posted by grim reaper

As for free video editing/capture software its worth trying Windows movie maker. You're almost guaranteed to have it as its free with XP and its really simple to use. If you find that too basic get the free trail of Adobe Premiere. That's very good but very expensive.

*cough*Torrent*cough*

420, I know for a fact that Pinnicle Studio 10 has a Camcorder to PC feature. It should work for your Sony. But like grim said, Adobe Premiere would work.