Sony DVDirect

sadlsor

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I bought one last week, with the intention of duping my mini-tapes. This device records directly to DVD from your digi-cam without the need for connecting to your PC first. You can then view the DVD on your PC or TV.

You can Google for reviews; item is http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665185948&XID=O:sony%20dvdirect%20mc5:corp_dvdirect_gglsrch

I had hoped to be able to use a DVD copy of my projects for editing, and simply store the original tape. So I burn a DVD from the camera (Canon ZR-950) to the DVDirect. The DVD will then play on a pc or laptop, using Windows Media Player, but the contents are the usual VIDEO_TS folder and .VOB files, and don't import directly into Movie Maker nor Pinnacle Studio 11.

Has anyone begun using the Sony DVDirect yet? They're about $40 off at Costco until May 17.

ziggy53

sadlsor wrote:

...
I had hoped to be able to use a DVD copy of my projects for editing, and simply store the original tape. ...

Welcome to the Digital Grin.

As you discovered, this device is mostly a "distribution" device and not really intended for an editing application.

You can transfer your original digital video into the computer and then use an editor to chop the video into smaller segments and then send those segments back to smaller DVD sized files on the PC which can then be burned back to DVDs using any burner software/hardware.

Analog video would require some sort of digitization, and ideally you would apply noise reduction before digitization. Once digitized, the above advice would apply and as long as you stay in the same codec, chopping into segments that will form DVD sized files is your best strategy.

As long as you use the same codec for the output files as from the source files, you won't incur loss. The process can get long and tedious but retains all the original quality of the original video tape.

A video DVD is very compressive and lossy so it does not make a good mechanism for storage of material to be used for later editing.

sadlsor

ziggy53 wrote:

Welcome to the Digital Grin. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

As you discovered, this device is mostly a "distribution" device and not really intended for an editing application.
*SNIP*
You can transfer your original digital video into the computer and then use an editor to chop the video into smaller segments and then send those segments back to smaller DVD sized files on the PC which can then be burned back to DVDs using any burner software/hardware.
<SNIP>

Thanks, ziggy. I'm learning this can be a tedious process, so I was just looking for a shortcut. I'm pc-savvy, with 25 years in IT, but the digital video is new to me, and I'm looking for any resources / forums / magazines to accelerate my learning curve.

I'm currently using Pinnacle Studio 11 as my primary editor, mostly because it has a fair amount of features without breaking the bank. Ultimately I'll have to move up to a more capable editor, but it will be a while before I hit the limit here. I definitely need to get up to speed with the file types, what's read where, and that sort of thing. I'll be hanging around here quite a bit, soaking up the experiences of folks like you, as well as other noobs.

Where do you file most of your online videos? I have a rookie website, but I'll be posting some here in due course, as well as the ubiquitous Youtube.

ziggy53

sadlsor wrote:

...

Where do you file most of your online videos? I have a rookie website, but I'll be posting some here in due course, as well as the ubiquitous Youtube.

I use SmugMug Pro for the higher quality it provides, but I have just a couple out on YouTube. Nothing to be proud of or show off. Well, maybe this of my son getting a bunch of awards last year (Caution, bandwidth alert, big file)(2007):

<object width=640 height=426><param name="movie" value="http://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2008042602.swf&quot; /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashVars" value="s=aT0yNDg1NTIzODcmaz00dEppcCZhPTQwOTMwNzJfREtpVG0mdT16aWdneTUzJmU9MQ==" /><embed src="http://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2008042602.swf&quot; flashVars="s=aT0yNDg1NTIzODcmaz00dEppcCZhPTQwOTMwNzJfREtpVG0mdT16aWdneTUzJmU9MQ==" width=640 height=426 type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object>