RedRocket1647545505 Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 Ok, I've been wanting to get into video editing for awhile now. Mainly to try and make some cool videos of cars and such. So, I bought a new Sony DCR-HC30 Digital video camera, Mini DV, Can record directly onto memory disk (256mb), all kinds of neat little things. Anyways, I'm having some problems getting the vids from the camera onto my computer. First of all, do I need any special type of software/hardware to be able to take the footage off of the tape, and put it onto the computer? So far, I have been unsuccessful at doing so. Also, I can't seem to get the stuff off of the memory card onto the computer either with the supplied software and cables. The computer can't seem to 'see' that the camera is there. It came with a simple USB transfer cable, but has the option to buy an I-Link(?) cable(Whatever that is) Do I need to buy the I-Link cable to be able to transfer the footage? I skimmed through the manual looking for something that might explain it, but it's either not there, or I missed it. One of my friends, said that I needed a special video card to be able to transfer the stuff. Also, I installed the software on my stepdad's laptop, and he's claiming the software wiped out all of his USB ports. I found this hard to believe at first, but then realized, that maybe that's why the computer couldn't see the camera on my computer. Do you suppose that its possible that the software could have a flaw in it? Lastly, What are some good/free editing programs? Thanks for the help. Also, I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 with Digital video, for high quality video's, you DON'T want to use the USB cable... you will drop all sorts of frames (unless it's USB2) I use firewire on mine and it's great.... as far as software, the Sonic Foundry Vegas Video suite is a good suite to start with. It's easy and very powerful. Windows XP has a movie maker program that you can d/l for free, but I'm not too impressed with it... but it is what it is... Adobe Premiere is very good but harder to use as well as costs allot... Get Kazaa Lite and D/l Vegas Video from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 Originally posted by Vaccum Leaking V6: with Digital video, for high quality video's, you DON'T want to use the USB cable... you will drop all sorts of frames (unless it's USB2) I use firewire on mine and it's great.... i totally agree. don't bother putting any video on the card either it's simply not big enough to get alot of quality video on it. tape it to the mini DV (which is a good choice btw) and use a firewire to put it on pc. As for software i would HIGHLY recommend Adobe Premiere. unfortunatly it cost's alot. you can get a student discount but it will still be an expensive program to buy outright. A good program to start off on is imovie from MAC, but of course you have to have a mac to get the free version, im not sure on the cost of buying imovie for PC. Imovie is easy to use and learn and is a fairly good program to start off on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted December 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 So I don't need a special video card to transfer the footage from tape to harddrive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88lx5oh Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 get a firewire card and cable. and youll be set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted December 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 Well, it appears that there is no firewire cable offered from Sony. The only other cable option is what they call, an i.LINK, IEEE1394. Says it's a DV interface? Anybody know what that means? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88lx5oh Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 ieee1394 is fire wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted December 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 Originally posted by 182mph: ieee1394 is fire wire well, that explains it. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tandm Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 You need the 4 pin i.LINK firewire cable from any electronics store. It's too bad that Sony tried to create their own "Firewire" by just taking away the 2 power pins from the cable. And if you were really serious about video editing, you'de get a Mac and Final Cut Express for starters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathSandwich Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 how'd i know you would suggest a mac steve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tandm Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 Originally posted by 94whitegsr: how'd i know you would suggest a mac steve? [ChrisVoice]OOOOhhhh GGAWWWDDDDdddddd[/ChrisVoice] You are so L337 graemlins/supergay2.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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