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Question

Best HD Camcorder for bball games?

Jul 27, 2011 12:22PM PDT

I need a new camcorder. I've spent the last two years filming with a panasonic regular camcorder that was H*LL to convert into mpg/avi in order to work with editing/clips/etc using windows movie maker. I did eventually get it done-- but usually lost quality.

An additional problem I ran into-- was if the basketball game ran too long-- I couldn't get it all onto a 4.7 gb DVD-- which to me is annoying for a 40-50 minute game.

Anyway-- it was suggested we buy a high definition one-- BUT that I would then need a dual-layer burner in order to get an entire 50 minute session on one of those discs.

So my question is:
Best HD Camcorder in $600 range that has easily working formats- something suitable for mostly shooting basketball games from the stand or balcony on a tripod. Or tell me what it is I need to be sure to look for when purchasing one as described above......

THANK YOU for any help.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I don't know what a
Jul 28, 2011 4:09AM PDT

"panasonic regular camcorder" is. Sounds like it records standard definition video to flash memory or hard disc drive. The MOD/MPG files can be converted to WMV files using a "transcoder" like MPEG StreamClip or HandBrake (both are free - there are many others). MovieMaker can deal with WMV files for editing. After editing, render - or export or share - the completed project to a high quality WMV or AVI. Use a DVD authoring application (WinDVD, MyDVD - many others) to render the video file. The DVD authoring app will compress the video into a VOB file format burned to the DVD that can be played in any DVD player (including the DVD player in a computer). A single layer blank DVD can hold up to 120 minutes of this standard definition video or up to 4.7 gig of data. A double layer blank DVD can hold up to 240 minutes of this standard definition video or up to 8.5 gig of data. There *should* be no "loss in quality" assuming there is no compression until the last step in the DVD rendering to VOB.

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more info on bball camcorder needed
Jul 28, 2011 11:29AM PDT

Thank you very much boya84 for taking so much time to thoroughly detail so many thingsThe
panasonic I have been using is a Panasonic HDR s18 -- we've just used
its hard drive and used the cord to upload the files-- which are usually
in .mod. I'd tried downloading a few conversion software 'trials' and
never was quite happy with the 'push this button to convert' to .mpg /
.avi or whatever...although handbrake does ring a bell-- perhaps I just
need much more direction on the proper way to convert.. I'm definitely
not experienced in that decompressing you speak of-- so I guess that
explains why I gave up too soon and just simply changed the ending of
the .mod files my camcorder produced into .avi (I'm sure I heard gasps--
lol-- but it worked-- however, I probably lost some quality?) Here's
one very short example --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZBHF0eKXDs&feature=related


What we really want is high quality movies-- and ease of working with
the files-- are you saying that if I were to get a HD camcorder-- I
could still burn regular quality from a home movie filmed in high def? I
wondered why so many people I know have high def camcorders-- yet I
KNOW they don't have a dual burner.

I really want to be able to film an entire basketball game-- then come
back and pull those 10-15 second "WOW" /"Cool" moments from it (perhaps
even individualize those moments throughout the season and then compile
one disc for each of the players) (I have another youtube video from
last year similar to what I"m talking about-- just don't want to turn
this into my advertising page-- ha-- can email it to you privately or
something?)-- put it together in a pleasing way and burn it in the
highest quality possible.

I am also in the market for a new computer-- plus I"m thinking an
external hard drive because I definitely was dragging wayyyyyyyyy down
by the end of bball season last year (keeping all games until the end in
their entirety for working purposes).

What would you say would be the minimums for the new computer-- is the
hard drive as important to be that LARGE if I have an external one ?
What about processors? And I obviously know that I need a dual layer
burner -- are those discs only playable on certain dvd players? Like blu ray or something else?

Thanks so much-- appreciate your time.

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we're all in the same boat...
Jul 28, 2011 9:10PM PDT

The .MOD files are modified MPG files. If merely converting them to AVI works for you (lots of others cannot claim that), then there would be no change in the data video format. All you did was change the file name extension - the data - video - did not change, but remains compressed. But for YouTube, the quality is fine.

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still confused...
Jul 31, 2011 2:27AM PDT

Okay-- my dvd authoring program wouldn't put all of a 50 minutes bball game on a 4.7 GB disc. Sometimes I would have to split it. So you're saying I need to learn more about compressing the video after I have it all edited in order to put it onto ONE regular disc?

You say standard video should fit 120 minutes on regular 4.7 disc? What about High Definition video-- how much of it (in minutes ) would fit on a regular disc-- in the high definition format?

What camera would you recommend then for absolute clear quality-no lags in 'fast' movement, and ease of working with the high def format?

Thanks!

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We'll keep trying to help.
Jul 31, 2011 10:11AM PDT

What "DVD Authoring Program" are you using? Merely burning an AVI file, MOV file or spreadsheet or pdf file to a blank DVD is not using a "DVD Authoring program" that is using the operating system's ability to copy data files to another storage media. I used Macs and iDVD or DVD Studio. I have used Windows and WinDVD... among other DVD authoring tools. Video editors - including MovieMaker, iMovie and others do not usually, directly burn to a DVD. A DVD authoring application also usually allows the ability to have menu selections for scenes - just like the movie DVDs you can rent/buy. The DVD authoring app takes care of the compression into the VOB file that regular DVD players can deal with. I don't think *you* have to learn about compressing for the DVD VOB file - but we need more information to understand what DVD authoring tool you are using.

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trying to summarize..... thx
Aug 3, 2011 9:40AM PDT

If I'm going to just pull out 'highlights' and edit the video-- I use windows movie maker--

If I'm just going to put the entire game onto a DVD straight (no editing) I just use the program that came with the camera. (but this is where I can run into troubles and it won't always fit into one disc)

So to simply all my ramblings:

I want a high quality video camera in the $500-600 range.
Recommendation________?

If I want to pull the game from the camera, and keep it in as best quality as possible--Burning High Definition quality video from the camera(about 50 min length) onto a disc (keeping the high definition) has to be done with
a. blue ray burner or (I realize this is only for blu ray players)
b. dual layer burner (can these discs be played on regular dvd players?) or
c. regular burner (I'm thinking this is only if I downgrade the quality of the original high def recording?)

I use regular PCs. You've discussed the minimum 'power' qualifications.

The best program for editing high definition video is __________ . ?
The best program for burning a finished DVD (that correlates with the above mentioned burner you tell me )__________________

Thanks--

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OK... now we know the environment - sort of.
Aug 4, 2011 3:53AM PDT

MovieMaker prefers working with WMV files. It can use others, too, but if you stay with the current standard definition video camcorder, then transcoding is typically needed. Older versions of MovieMaker cannot deal with high definition AVCHD-compressed MTS files. Transcoding is needed.