Camcorder help needed, please!

[LisaR]

I have a JVC MiniDV Digital video camera. This was purchased 4 years ago. In that time, I have taken video and played it back on the TV without a problem.

I decided it was time to organize all my photos from my Canon digital camera onto CD. That was successful so I decided to put the video from my JVC onto CD.

I couldn't figure it out for the life of me so I found the owners guide and if I am understanding it correctly, it is not possible to transfer video to CD (at least not on standard home equipment). All the manual talks about is putting stills onto CD. Could that be right? I own a camcorder that takes movies but I can't do anything with those movies at home? Do I really need to buy a new one so I can put things on CD or am I missing something. I would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks!

Lisa

 

[jfulcer]

Weeeeeellllll where to start?

You can transfer your video off of those MiniDV cassettes. JVC cameras normally have a 'firewire' or '1394' connection that you can use to transfer the video off the camera. So the steps you need to take to transfer the video are:

1) Make sure your computer has enough space to 'capture' the videos you want to work with. Capturing 1 hour of video takes 13 Gigabytes. So you really do kinda need a large hard drive, but they are pretty cheap now if you don't have one to use.

2) Your computer also needs a 1394 or firewire connection - you need to read the manual on your camera, and make sure your computer has one of those. Again, if you don't they are pretty cheap from the store (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc)

3) Now that you have the space and the connection, you need software. Your camera should come with some that may work OK, but I'd recommend a different piece of software called Pinnacle Studio. You can download a free trial copy from here: http://www.pinnaclesys.com/publicsi...Home+Video/Studio+Family/Studio+version+9.htm

Good luck!