Digital Photo Editing

8-100-1: Digital Video FAQ (Care of ~ Ron B)

Digital Video FAQ

What kind of computer do I need for PC video production?
PC video production is resource consuming task. A Pentium 3 500Mhz, 256MB RAM, 20G computer with Windows 98SE would be the low end. An Intel 865 or 875 P4 motherboard with a 2.4G P4 processor, 512MB DDR RAM, an 80G 7200rpm hard drive and Windows XP would be good. A 3.0G P4, 1G DDR RAM, a second hard drive or RAID and Windows XP Pro would be better. You may want to add more hard drives or a DVD/CD burner, make sure the computer you buy will be able to handle these upgrades.

What do I need to get video from my camera into my computer?
Digital Video-IEEE 1394(MiniDV,Digital8): You need a firewire or USB2.0 interface depending on which brand and model of DV camera you have. Most computers come with USB2.0, you can order firewire with your computer or install a PCI firewire card.

Analog Video(VHS, 8mm, Hi8): You will need some kind of analog capture device or an AGP graphics card, like the ATI All In Wonder, that has analog capture. You can order an analog capture system from Dell, there are other analog capture devices listed HERE.

Capture/Editing Software: To capture and edit video you will need software. Most of the time, an editing package will come with your capture device or firewire card. Entry level software from Pinnacle, Ulead and Roxio have similar features. To figure out which one works best for you, download a trial version and check it out. You can find links to these software manufacturers HERE.

Can't download video from camera
Check your Device Manager to see if the computer recognizes your camera. If you don't see your camera, or there is a warning symbol next to your camera, you have a hardware problem. Usually, these problems are related to the camera's drivers. Windows comes with DV device drivers installed. Use Microsoft camera drivers. If these DV drivers are not installed on your system, they can be found on the Windows installation disc.
If your camera shows up in the Device Manager, check your software configuration. Make sure you are using the correct capture drivers. Check the Device Control settings. If your software uses capture templates, make sure you have the correct template selected. Check the cables that connect your camera to the computer.

Capture Problems, Dropped Frames, etc.
You can find some basic troubleshooting information HERE. The DVDR Help Forums are a good place for information and support. Links to other information HERE. Click HERE for links to Microsoft Support articles regarding digital video and firewire. Click HERE for information from Dell regarding earlier Movie Studio versions(8/02-3/03).

How do I make video DVDs or VCDs?
You will need a DVD or CD writer. Click HERE for installation instructions and information regarding CD and DVD burners for your Dell. Digital video must be converted to MPEG1 for VCDs or MPEG2 for DVDs. Usually, your video editing or disc authoring software will do this. TMPGEnc is a popular program for MPEG encoding. DVD authoring software allows you to make menus and chapters for DVDs. DVDR Help has a great deal of information about DVD and VCD production from start to finish.

Please keep in mind, these are just general facts about basic digital video questions. The more you learn about video production, the better your video productions will be. Use Help menus and product manuals.

Ron. B

update: 1-17-2004

8-100-2:  How to make DVD Slideshow / PhotoDVD

These are guides provided on DVDr Help web site. Due to the web sites illustrations and such. I will simply list the link

1) Add Video Clips to your DVD slideshows to impress Audiences

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/userguides/178904.php

2) Super High Quality Slidshows

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=192278

3) How to create Award Winning Photo DVD with Ken Burns Effect

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/userguides/175186.php

Best Regards,

Jeff

8-00-3: How to make a Video CD with VCDEasy.

This guide explains how to start with VCDEasy and create a very simple VideoCD.

Again the site contains illustrations so please follow the link:

http://www.vcdeasy.org/modules.php?name=_Guides&id=Start

Best Regards,

Jeff

8-100-4: How to make a complex VCD

These are guides provided on DVDr Help web site. Due to the web sites illustrations and such. I will simply list the link

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/guides.php?howtoselect=3;27#3;27

Best Regards,

Jeff

8-100-5: How to make a basic DVD.

These are guides provided on DVDr Help web site. Due to the web sites illustrations and such. I will simply list the link

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/guides.php?howtoselect=3;6#3;6

Best Regards,

Jeff

8-100-6: How to make a complex DVD

These are guides provided on DVDr Help web site. Due to the web sites illustrations and such. I will simply list the link

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/guides.php?howtoselect=3;24#3;24

Best Regards,

Jeff

8-100-7:  DVD Capture Help File-First Things First (Care of NFFAA~Steve)

System Requirements:

Intel P4 with 512k L2 and 400fsb minimum.

512 Mb ram (more is better)

DVD +/- R/RW optical drive (for creating playable discs)

DVD ROM optical drive (for quick copy of existing discs)

60 GB hard drive (7200rpm, 8MB cache)

40 GB second hard drive (for temporary work in progress folders)

64Mb video AGP card (128Mb is better. TV out is better too)

Firewire and/or USB 2.0 ports

TV tuner PCI card (for capturing TV signals& camcorder projects.)

Note: you don’t need the TV tuner card for camcorder capture, but the quality of the capture is superior to using a software package such as Windows Movie Maker and a USB or Firewire port.

17" monitor (DVI interface is better)

Digital camcorder

VHS recorder (for capturing VHS movies)

First things first, decide how you want to view your captured videos.

1. If you want to view on VHS tapes, most camcorders will plug directly into front of most VHS recorders. Remote controls on camcorders and VHS units make thins easy, no computer is need for this.
2. If you want to view on your PC, capture to an easily accessible folder like "my videos", located in my documents. Use this as a destination for your finished project. For works in progress, use a folder for temporary storage such as "video work area" or something similar that you can find easily. A second hard drive is a good place for two temporary files, as creation and removal of large files will fragment your H.D. and an area away from your O.S. H.D. is best. Close all other open programs during projects. You will need a DVD player program and a converter program, such as all okay’s WMV to MPEG2 DVD recorder, if you want to convert media player files to view on a DVD player or burn media player files to a DVD that you can view on a stand alone DVD player.
3. If you want to "burn a DVD", you will need to capture the video as in the steps outlined in item #2, plus have an authorizing program, a DVD burner, and a TV tuner or capture PC1 card if you want to put VHS to DVD archives. You will also need a DVD burner and a DVD Rom drive, if you want to copy archived projects quickly from disc to disc. The burner should be able to create in the +/-RW and +/-R media format. –R media is the most compatible for older and newer stand alone players. You should always burn to an RW disc first, so that you can erase and try again on projects that don’t come out the way you want.
4. A good authorizing program is the most important thing to get for your projects. Not all programs will work with all DVD burners, and even if it does, you will probably have to update your burning engine (software) or update a patch to accept higher burning speeds for newer burners. The authorizing program should also give you control over frames per second, bit rate per second, and output file type. These items can and will affect the quality of your project.
5. Last, you will need to devote hours of trial and error to get the results that you want. Frustration is common until you can get consistent repeats of good project results. Remember, there is no one-click method of creating a capture project that you will be happy with, to my knowledge.

Steve