Video Camera

Thanks again everyone... won't be able to get one in time for this week's games against Danny, but will definitely get one in the next couple days.

Everyone's advice was really helpful!

- Steve
 
Of course you can just invite me and I will bring mine. I Have a Canon DV. dont ask the model # cause i cant remember!

Good Luck Stevie
 
OK, I think I'm going to get a MiniDV. I am sure HDD is fine too, but I have to make a decision at some point and I don't see anything overtly bad with the DV.

Here are some final questions, if anyone doesn't mind sharing some answers:

1) How many recording hours can I get on each miniDV tape? I guess I'd like to be able to record at the highest quality setting on a non-HD format (I'm not getting an HD camera).

2) Does miniDV require Firewire to upload to a computer?

3) I've been reading up and these files can get huge... I don't have an external hard drive nor do I see myself buying one soon. How "do-able" is the following process:

Record Match --> Edit it on my computer --> Burn to a DVD --> Completely erase files from computer

Also, once it's on DVD, I can then still edit it if I like (by re-downloading to computer)? Or once it's burned, it's in a format that can't be edited anymore?

4) I don't think I will need intense editing software... is there any freeware I can get which will do the job (titles, cutting out frames, fadeouts and maybe some music)? I wouldn't need to splice in images or anything like that.

The only reason I am really trying to do this on the cheap is because I have a history with videocameras of being really excited for about a week and then losing interest. Once I have to start buying software and external hard drives (in addition to the camera), it could really all be a waste.

Thanks again!

- Steve
 
I have a mini DV camera and am having a problem converting the files. The video files are .vob files and they won't load into Windows Movie Maker without converting to .avi or .wmv I tried to find a conversion program, but all the free ones I've found only allow a trial sample or they print text across the picture.

Anyone know of a good free conversion program to get .vob files to .wmv?
 
Steve Lipsky said:
The only reason I am really trying to do this on the cheap is because I have a history with videocameras of being really excited for about a week and then losing interest. Once I have to start buying software and external hard drives (in addition to the camera), it could really all be a waste.
Click to expand...

Why not rent? Do you really need HD for a pool match?

Poolmouse
 
Steve Lipsky said:
1) How many recording hours can I get on each miniDV tape? I guess I'd like to be able to record at the highest quality setting on a non-HD format (I'm not getting an HD camera).

2) Does miniDV require Firewire to upload to a computer?

3) I've been reading up and these files can get huge... I don't have an external hard drive nor do I see myself buying one soon. How "do-able" is the following process:

Record Match --> Edit it on my computer --> Burn to a DVD --> Completely erase files from computer

Also, once it's on DVD, I can then still edit it if I like (by re-downloading to computer)? Or once it's burned, it's in a format that can't be edited anymore?

4) I don't think I will need intense editing software... is there any freeware I can get which will do the job (titles, cutting out frames, fadeouts and maybe some music)? I wouldn't need to splice in images or anything like that.
Click to expand...

Steve,

1) A standard mini DV tape at SP (best) quality is 60 min. You can get 90 min in LP, but you may have a rough time telling which ball is which at that point. So bring extra tapes for that 600 ball run your bound to have :)

2) Yes, you will need a firewire cord and card in your computer to import

3) Depending on how much harddrive space you have available on your computer, a whole straight pool match could get to be a fairly large file. With that said, if you DO have the space, Yes... You can capture, edit, burn, delete without a problem. However, onces its on DVD, its on DVD. The whole editing process is similar to baking a cake. You get all of your ingredients (footage), mix it all together (edit), and bake (render & burn to dvd/upload to youtube)... But once the cake is baked, you cant add more sugar. Strange analogy, but will make more sense once you get started. But really, for a straight pool match, how much editing do you need? The good news is, you will always have the DV tapes so you can always just import them again.

4) There are free editing software programs, in fact, you may have one on your computer already. If you want something a little better, I would suggest to invest an extra $99 for "Adobe Premeire Elements". Nothing crazy, but will work a lot better than a free program.

hope this helps.
 
Steve Lipsky said:
OK, I think I'm going to get a MiniDV. I am sure HDD is fine too, but I have to make a decision at some point and I don't see anything overtly bad with the DV.

Here are some final questions, if anyone doesn't mind sharing some answers:

1) How many recording hours can I get on each miniDV tape? I guess I'd like to be able to record at the highest quality setting on a non-HD format (I'm not getting an HD camera).

2) Does miniDV require Firewire to upload to a computer?

3) I've been reading up and these files can get huge... I don't have an external hard drive nor do I see myself buying one soon. How "do-able" is the following process:



Record Match --> Edit it on my computer --> Burn to a DVD --> Completely erase files from computer

Also, once it's on DVD, I can then still edit it if I like (by re-downloading to computer)? Or once it's burned, it's in a format that can't be edited anymore?

4) I don't think I will need intense editing software... is there any freeware I can get which will do the job (titles, cutting out frames, fadeouts and maybe some music)? I wouldn't need to splice in images or anything like that.

The only reason I am really trying to do this on the cheap is because I have a history with videocameras of being really excited for about a week and then losing interest. Once I have to start buying software and external hard drives (in addition to the camera), it could really all be a waste.

Thanks again!

- Steve
Click to expand...

Steve,

If you have a laptop with windows movie maker than all you have to do is hook the mini dv camara to the laptop with the firewire and record the entire match to the laptops hard drive. You don't even have to put a tape in the camara. You will never have to worry about changing the tape during the match. You can edit it when ever you like or save it as is. You can burn it to dvd whenever you want.

I let my camara run for several hours every day. If I get a run I want to keep I just edit out the rest of the stuff and save to a file, if i don't want to keep anything I just delete it and no space is taken up on the hard drive.

Bill
 
Marop said:
If you have a laptop with windows movie maker than all you have to do is hook the mini dv camara to the laptop with the firewire and record the entire match to the laptops hard drive.
Click to expand...

Bill,

Not sure if the above is an option, as I won't bring the laptop to the poolroom. Just too much of a pain. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Cleary,

Thanks for a very informative post... I am not happy about the firewire necessity, nor about the short recording times on the miniDVs. Follow-up question - is there an easy way to see immediately that the tape is up? Like a beeping sound or something? If I miss capturing even a single shot then the integrity of the run (or game) is lessened considerably.

Poolmouse,

This isn't a one-time only thing, so renting wouldn't be an option. Also, I specifically mentioned that I don't want/need HD. ;)


Finally, can anyone respond to skess' issue (converting from .vob)? This seems significant to me.

Hope you guys aren't tired of me thanking you - it's really been so helpful.

- Steve
 
Skess said:
I have a mini DV camera and am having a problem converting the files. The video files are .vob files and they won't load into Windows Movie Maker without converting to .avi or .wmv I tried to find a conversion program, but all the free ones I've found only allow a trial sample or they print text across the picture.

Anyone know of a good free conversion program to get .vob files to .wmv?
Click to expand...


You can also use DVD2AVI to convert the files to AVI or better yet you can use "Virtual-Dub-Mpeg2" which you can download here:

Virtual-Dub-Mpeg2
http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/stable/VirtualDub-MPEG2.zip

Also download and install this:

AC3ACM Decompressor
http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/AC3ACM/AC3ACM.zip

That makes it to Virtual-Dub can read the audio in VOB files....

When editing in Virtual-Dub you should have the "Video" and "Audio" set to "Direct Stream Copy"..
If you do not set it to this your Edited File will Be Huge because it is being converted to Uncompressed AVI....Cheers

PS:If you get a Message about the audio being VBR when Loading your AVI file into V-Dub then set the Audio to "Full processing Mode" and the Video to "Direct Stream Copy"....

Lots of cool info on this type of thing can be found at http://www.doom9.org/
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Cleary,

Thanks for a very informative post... I am not happy about the firewire necessity, nor about the short recording times on the miniDVs. Follow-up question - is there an easy way to see immediately that the tape is up? Like a beeping sound or something? If I miss capturing even a single shot then the integrity of the run (or game) is lessened considerably.
Click to expand...

Well, depending on the camera you choose, it may have some sort of indicator that the tape is done. On most cameras, I believe the red record light will start to flash. Not something you really want to be looking for during a match. I do not know of any beeping indicators, but some camera out there is bound to have it. But I would say for the most part, I dont think they do. The best Advice for this would be switch the tape every 40 min. You waste 20 min of tape, but better than missing a great run.
 
OK, how about this one?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8718694&st=minidv&type=product&id=1200703056029

This camera seems to have a feature which shoots well in low-light conditions. (I can imagine the feature doesn't work well but it must work better than not having it at all, lol.)

Nothing is mentioned about FireWire, so I think it connects to a computer via a standard USB 2.0, as well.

It has a remote control and has gotten excellent reviews (albeit, only 6 of them).

So... anything wrong with this one?

Thanks!

- Steve
 
Quick edit: Upon further investigation, this camera still needs Firewire for video transfer. Ridiculous.

Oh well, any other issues anyone sees? Is 1.0 mp enough to see the individual balls correctly?
 
Steve, that should be fine for what you need. It seems to use USB and firewire (IEEE 1394) to connect.

The low light stuff can get tricking with pool because of the bright lights in a dark room, but like you said, I cant hurt.

So yea, this camera should be fine, just get a mini tripod ($15/20) and some tapes and you should be set.
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Quick edit: Upon further investigation, this camera still needs Firewire for video transfer. Ridiculous.

Oh well, any other issues anyone sees? Is 1.0 mp enough to see the individual balls correctly?
Click to expand...

Yea the usb is more than likely for transfering photos taken with the camera, not video.

1.0 mega pixel is still photos, not video. The video should be fine to see the balls. Wont be HD sharp, but better than most youtube clips.
 
Steve Lipsky said:
OK, I think I'm going to get a MiniDV. I am sure HDD is fine too, but I have to make a decision at some point and I don't see anything overtly bad with the DV.

Here are some final questions, if anyone doesn't mind sharing some answers:

1) How many recording hours can I get on each miniDV tape? I guess I'd like to be able to record at the highest quality setting on a non-HD format (I'm not getting an HD camera).

2) Does miniDV require Firewire to upload to a computer?

3) I've been reading up and these files can get huge... I don't have an external hard drive nor do I see myself buying one soon. How "do-able" is the following process:

Record Match --> Edit it on my computer --> Burn to a DVD --> Completely erase files from computer

Also, once it's on DVD, I can then still edit it if I like (by re-downloading to computer)? Or once it's burned, it's in a format that can't be edited anymore?

4) I don't think I will need intense editing software... is there any freeware I can get which will do the job (titles, cutting out frames, fadeouts and maybe some music)? I wouldn't need to splice in images or anything like that.

The only reason I am really trying to do this on the cheap is because I have a history with videocameras of being really excited for about a week and then losing interest. Once I have to start buying software and external hard drives (in addition to the camera), it could really all be a waste.

Thanks again!

- Steve
Click to expand...
STeve: I'm sure there are good reasons for going minidv. Just wanted to mention a guy in my club has one and wishes he didn't. He's always changing discs. Mine can record 60 hours onto the camera so there is no changing. Easy download to computer and convert to whatever I want.

Whichever way we go, might we be able to watch some of your matches with Danny B?

You will probably also be able to use windows movie maker (free) and add commentary.
 
"Also, I specifically mentioned that I don't want/need HD. "

You do though, if you want to be able to distinguish the 1 ball from the 8 ball.

Dave Nelson
 
Disclaimer: Late to the thread, and I only skimmed most of the 1st page.

It depends what kind of editing you want to do. If it's really basic stuff (deleting a section or adding titles), then it's pretty easy either way. The camera will come with software that should be able to do it. This especially works well if you're just doing a continuous recording.

If you are starting and stopping the camcorder, the hard drive one will save each segment as a separate file. With miniDV, you'll have to fast forward and rewind to find the exact spot a new segment starts.

Also, because the hard drive saves separate files, it's easier to transfer to your computer. The files just drag and drop and the copy speed is fast. Getting miniDV to your computer is a real-time process (60 min of video will take 60 min to copy).
 
Steve

Go hard drive. For one thing, if you record 1 hour on tape, it takes 1 hour to transfer to your computer. If you record 1 hour on a hard drive, it takes about 5 min. to transfer to your computer. Hard drive and high definition is the way to go. In my opinion. There are far more knowlegable people here than me. Listen to them.

Dave Nelson
 
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