movie man said:
How Do You Connect An Analog Camcorder To A Computer?
URGENT Must Have Movie Done By 7/20/2006
1. The easiest way is to get a digital camera and run it through a Digital
camera as a converter(I do this with 8mm analog and VHS Tapes). I use a Sony
DCR-TRV 460 camera a pretty cheap camera under $300.00. I am constantly
converting tapes for family, friends (it gets a bit bother some sometimes
but that's life) to DVD or editing my nephews school projects.
I use a firewire card then convert to avi if I am editing it or just go
strait to dvd if I'm making a copies for home use or backups. The good thing
about DVD backups are the menus/scene selection and less chance of the tape
getting ate up by a camera/VCR. For VHS I run a the tape through my recorder
then into my Sony digital 8(trv 460) then through the firewire cord to the
card and use winDV to convert to avi or I use Ulead Movie Factory 2 to burn
directly to dvd. It captures as MPEG2 and burns directly. You'll need about
13 gig of free hard drive for a 2 hour convert(MPEG2) and even a lot more
for avi. TMPEGnc lets you really make some changes to the avi file before it
becomes mpeg2 (my choice for better control).
Movie Factory lets you make some changes in the bit rates and such for mpeg
2(came free with my dvd burner). for analog tapes(back-ups) I lower it from
8000 to around 4000 to 6000 depending on the quality and lower the audio
too. Here is a great sight for some answers about VHS conversion.
http://www.signvideo.com/conv-v-to-d.htm
Just a warning though avi is a lot larger than a mpeg2 file(DVD-R) and will
eat up a lot of memory. So if you need to edit keep that in mind. A 4.7 gig
DVD is really only about 4.3 and even less if your going to put in menus,
chapters, background music etc. figure about 15 to 20 less than the 4.3 gig.
If your just making a backup think about using a lesser audio and video
quality since analog is a lesser resolution. Any defects on the original
analog tape will only look worse on a higher resolution.
you can get about 2 hours on a 4.7(4.3) dvd but they recommend 90 minutes
unless you reduce your quality of video or audio.
2. You could buy a special card or device for the same purpose. Do a goggle
search there are plenty of types at various cost levels.
