About those camcorders that record directly to DVD...

[Erik]

Hi Everyone,

I did search on this subject, and I do still have questions - just so you're aware that I take my own medecine

We received a Sony DCR-DVD205 camera for Christmas. It is an extremely cool and generous gift, but I have read here and elsewhere that the cameras which record directly to DVD are not without their issues.

Mainly I have read that these cameras are excellent for the person who plans to record an event, finalize the DVD, and ship the raw footage to the grandparents.

But thats not really me.

I am a tinkerer, and aspiring yet still untalented editor. Generally I want to understand from some of you who have one of these cameras, what the process is exactly in terms of transferring data to my PC for editing. In the past I have used HI-8 cameras and used Firewire to stream video into a video editing program, and then individually mastered clips which then get inserted into a DVD project and finally mastered.

But for these cameras that record directly to DVD, how does that process work? Before the DVD is mastered, does the DVD contain a set of files/clips, that I can then transfer to my PC in a simple drag/drop step, and then edit on my pc just like I did before?

Or do I need to still stream the video from the camera onto my PC. Any advice you would have on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Erik

[Bowen]

if you want to edit, I highly recommend getting a camera that records to mini dv. Most of the cameras that record to DVD encode the files into Mpeg 4 before burning to DVD, so when you edit you aren't playing with the full size file...

[Erik]

This was a gift and it was not given with an exchange reciept. So my option would be to sell it on eBay which is out of the question and just something I can not do. I need to work with this.

Lets operate under the assumption that I can not return this camera.

[Erik]

For what it's worth I ended up being able to, in some cases, pull the VOB file off the DVD, rename it to an MPEG, and then some progams were able to play it - such as VLC Video Player.

I hate that camera. Hate it. It made me come soooooo close to losing priceless moments. Ugh. Nice gift, but just such a piece of junk.

[edrex]

Holy Thread Revival, Batman!

[Erik]

Do never forget, that I am the thread necromancer.

[chavez]

[Erik]

Yeah you have a point. This one was dead wasn't it. Good point.

[chavez]

Erik, my point was to be funny. If you didn't laugh, I failed.

I LOL'ed as I was typing it, so maybe I didn't fail.



Oh, and FWIW, I use a Hitachi hybrid cam (DVD/HDD). I NEVER use the DVD side - pointless. I just use the HDD and DL the videos to the computer afterward for "editing".

I say "editing" because I SUCK ASS at it. More like Chavez's crap ass version of "editing".

[Erik]

It was funny.