Tip: DV-AVI Source Files From Digital Camcorders

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PapaJohn \(MVP\)

I did some further testing last night, re-capturing DV-AVI files from a
digital mini-DV (Sony TRV80) camcorder tape that was previously used to make
a project in Movie Maker 2.1.... to confirm that I could delete the original
source file and use the original tape someday to get another copy of the
footage I need for a completed project.... to do more editing or use it to
render a new movie file.

I mixed the variables as much as I could...

- controlling playback from the camcorder for the first capture and from MM2
for the second.
- capturing part of the tape, from the 7 minute mark to the 15 minute... not
noting exactly where to start or end, just ensuring the capture included the
8 minute segment I wanted
- unchecking the auto-clip splitting for the first capture, and manually
splitting it in MM2.1... then using the auto-clip feature in the follow-up
capture
- capturing originally to an external USB2 drive.... then capturing to the
internal C drive for the follow-up.

I disconnected everything after the movie was finished, including the
external drive... rebooted the computer. Rewound the tape and removed it
from the camcorder between captures. The 8 minute segment included a mix of
footage shot in normal 4:3 mode and widescreen 16:9.

This was my second such test session and confirmed the previous results....
yes, a new source file from the original camcorder tape works fine with the
original collection/projects.... the only thing to be careful of is giving
the new captured file the exact same file name and having it in the same
folder on the same drive as the original.... it won't try to use it if the
path/name isn't the same.

I added these test results to the Managing > Source Files page of my
website....
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 and Photo Story 3 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org
..
 
P

PapaJohn \(MVP\)

Yes.... but!!!!! More testing shows I can substitute any DV-AVI file for
the original source file.... if it's location and name is the same MM2 will
use the content from it for the collection clips or project.... acting the
same way swapping out a still picture does...

The beginning point of the captured file might need to align perfectly with
the original.... more testing needed.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 and Photo Story 3 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org
..
 
P

PapaJohn \(MVP\)

any maybe my tip tomorrow will be to ignore, or at least be wary of today's
tip.... even more testing shows that, when Movie Maker opens its
collections, or a project file, the checking it does is very shallow...

It'll check that a file is in the folder and that it has the same filename
and extension... but it won't look any deeper than that. I can substitute a
video source file with another one of the same name: it might be longer or
shorter, have different content, be a type II or type I DV-AVI, a WMV named
as an AVI, a PhotoStory for a WMV, different dimensions, etc...

It's fun watching a movie project showing totally different content... and
when I figure out how to put the feature to good use, I'll be adding more
info on the website.... possible uses are enhancing a project by running the
video through the color levels adjustment of VirtualDub and putting it back
in place without having to touch the project file, replacing a low rez
source file with a high rez one, slipping in a high quality WMV file to
replace a lost DV-AVI source file... and more.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 and Photo Story 3 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org
..
 

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