Anybody edit video?

  • Thread starter Thread starter darrin_h2000
  • Start date Start date
A toy.

If you don't want to spend money, pull your hair out and then throw it in the corner, you need:

A digital camera with a Firewire port (IEE-1394).

A Firewire card for your computer.

Adobe Premier software.

BIG sucker of a fast hard disk.


Transfering your video in through a standard video & audio plugs is a pain at best. Been there, done that.
 
Thanks, but the thing has to be able to transfer from VHS tapes too and I dont have a VHS with firewire ports ( and I dont even think they exist) so the question should be , Does this work well and Is the quality going to be good enough?
 
They're not too bad. I've got one I was about to throw on Ebay. PM me if you're interested and maybe we can work something out.
 
Dude, forget the Premier software.
I have it. I've used it for over 2 years. Dinosaur.
It used to be the best, but times have changed.
Check out Vegas Video from Sonic Foundry.
It's the stuff. Trust me.

As for a video card/breakout box, I recommend
Pinnacle products. Check their site. Very stable
and high quality goodies. The unit I use allows
me to import either digitally from the camera, or
analog - like from a vcr.

I do agree that you need to step up, forget that Dazzle crap,
and do it right. Tons of ram & a big fast hard drive.

Sponge Bob
 
Yep go with pinnacle. I've got the DV500plus, got it a a couple of years ago. It's great stuff. Has firewire and analogue ins. Comes with Adobe Premiere. It's great software but complex.

Are you sure you wont need it for digital video later?

Tukkis
 
Yeah, the problem with the Dazzle stuff is that a) you're not going to get very good quality because of poor resolution, compression artifacts, and less than 30 frames/second frame rate, and b) it's tough to get the audio recorded and synced up properly with those things, regardless of what the promo sheet says. There is simply no physical way to capture good quality audio and video over USB 1.1. Not possible.

The higher end Pinnacle stuff is better, but also more expensive. Guess it all depends on what you need. If you're willing to do two passes with the Dazzle, one for video and one for audio, and then try to sync them afterwards in Premiere, you'll probably be able to pull off VHS quality stuff (although the compression artifacts are going to make any stuff with a lot of fast motion look funky). But you're definitely not going to get anything better than VHS quality stuff from the Dazzle.

Either way, everyone is correct about needing a lot of RAM and a big, fast hard drive (and a fast processor, of course). If you've got the money, make sure that you get a 7200rpm hard drive with an 8MB buffer, not a 2MB buffer. This greatly increases the speed of the drive and reduces the chances of dropping frames. Also, if you get another drive, keep your old one and just use the new drive for video and audio files. Run everything else off of the old drive (OS, capture software, editiing software, etc). This also reduces the load on the hard drive.

On a side note, Premiere 6 is actually a wonderful program. It now has real-time preview and more audio options, which were the only things (and they were pretty major things) Vegas had on it. Plus, the integration it has with Photoshop, Illustrator, and especially After Effects makes it invaluable for anyone who does a lot of professional post work.

Good luck,
Ryan
 
I do more video editing than I dare to dream about at work.

I checked that toy. I have been condisering buying that for about a year. I thknk that Tigerdircet has it for like $199ish.

Video editing software I use is Camtishia, but I know that Producer is really good also. (if you want to sink slides into your video presentation. It looks professional.)

I agree the best way to capture the video is a DV Camcorder with a Firewire (that way you do not get all the splotches and audio cracks)
 
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