I'm trying to figure out how to get my mini DV tapes downloaded into my computer so I can burn them onto a DVD with my DVD burner already on my computer.Any info would be great.I'm not too literate with computers in general,so go easy on me please.

Welcome to the forum clueless101.

Its hard but i do it with Pinnacle Studio 10. I got a FireWire card for my PC (your camera probably has firewire and usb) so i use firewire but with usb its easy too... Just run the program, start playing the tape and the process begins... After that its time to convert the AVI file to dvd (2 to 3 hours) and then burn...

Of course you can edit the frames, put menus on it, etc...

Maybe the Nero package does the same but i am not sure...

To simplify things i have a Mini-DVD camera... Just record and watch...

So when you say convert the AVI file to DVD (2 to 3 hours) is that for 1 mini DV tape? I probably have at least 30 tapes.Is there an alternative(quicker way) I cant imagine always having to use your camcorder to watch your movies.A big hassle not to mention the wear on the camcorder. Thanks for your previous post by the way.

Hello again. I dont know if there is a better alternative but when i do it for the mini DV tapes of my friends it takes a lot of time. There are companies that do it for a fair price so you might try them... but search the forums and see the alternatives and, if you find something, please tell me also...

Movie maker is free from Microsoft. Use your USB or fireware to do the deed and edit then save. Pick up the file in another program like SONIC/SONY/ ETC and burn to a DVD as a MPEG. Sonic and other programs can do it all if you get the deluxe versions only. So be sure before you buy and good luck. Easy to do.

I've always thought that mini-DV can be copied directly (as normal data) to a computer without the need to actually playback the tape with the camcorder and capture it to the PC with some software

I ask this because a friend of mine wants a camcorder badly and he wanted it to has the easiest way to connect to PC and transfer recorded content .
HDD and Mini-DVD camcorders are quite high in price (for him) and mini-DV is the cheapest , so now I have to tell him the bad news about transferring data from mini-DV to PC ? or there is really a simple way ?

Tell him to wait and buy a HDD or DVD camera. It is a bit expensive but it saves time... but surely you can find some company that do that for a fair price?

You need to play back the tape.

I use a simple freeware called WinDV for direct binary transfer using FireWire (IEEE 1394). http://windv.mourek.cz/
The result needs a file extention and AVI is the one.
Adobe Premier is also a good choice with much more to offer.

One hour of miniDV gives you about 15Gig.
The video camera natively will read the tape contents at the speed of regular play. This is why it is done in "realtime".

Consider the 2 to 3 hours of encoding the way to get smooth image transitions instead of choppy and glitchy low quality. Multi-pass encoding is best. During this phase, you should be doing other things - not waiting around.

Hang in there!
About HDD and DVD camcorders, I think the technology needs to mature some.

Marcel

Here !
Recommend you this very useful software
It very eazy for your DV tapes!

I use Sonic MyDVD. Sony DV camera to PC via Fireware (IEEE 1394). I can push a button, 1 hour of tape plays, about an hour of encoding, then burns to DVD. About 2 hours per 1 hour tape to get it onto DVD. Very high quality audio (Dolby Stereo) and video quality that will rival playing your tapes on the camera directly to TV.

Here is the dastest way to do it without a computer. Look for a dvd recorder that has a DV-LINK (IEEE-1394) jack and you can plug your digital video camcorder into it and copy to a dvd. I have it on my LITE-ON LVW-5005x and it works great. This is the easiest way that i know of.

Here is the fastest way to do it without a computer. Look for a dvd recorder that has a DV-LINK (IEEE-1394) jack and you can plug your digital video camcorder into it and copy to a dvd. I have it on my LITE-ON LVW-5005x and it works great. This is the easiest way that i know of.