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General discussion

Better capturing?

by TheJawn Sep 27, 2007 9:02AM PDT

I just (and by just I mean 15 minutes ago) bought a new video camera, which is a lot better than my current one. Whats the best software (free would be nice) that I can use to capture, or transfer over the video through firewire. I tried Windows Movie Maker, and it just didn't cut it. I got a ton of grain. I know its not the camera becuase the video is crystal clear on TV. Any suggestions for programs?

Thanks in advance.

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Capturing video
by vidmanpk Sep 28, 2007 1:35PM PDT

I suggest a program call Scenalyzer (Scenalyzerlive.com). It will capture your digital video with audio sync lock which you will soon discover is very important when working with most of the editing software on the market. It is also a simple editing solution, time lapse program and offers stop frame capabilities for animation or other special effects.
Whatever program you choose, make sure it sync/locks the audio track. It's very frustrating to burn a dvd of a long project only to discover the lip sync is off.
As for the grainy video with Windows Moviemaker. Were you looking at this on your computer or were you looking at video you had burned to a dvd on a monitor or TV? What type of video card do you have? Also make sure your codecs are up to date. And finally, are you looking at AVI, WMF or MPG? Each has it's capabilities and flaws. If you're looking at edited compressed video, check your settings Try to edit all video staying in AVI, only converting to other formats for your final product.
Hope this helps.

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I haven't burned it yet...
by TheJawn Sep 28, 2007 11:25PM PDT

I'm just veiwing it on my monitor, and most of the video is high-speed sports like video. What would you recomend saving the movie as?

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on capture and playback.... if you want to do it right .try
by aldan68 Sep 28, 2007 11:43PM PDT

Capture from you cam is really made easy and foolproof with Canopus ADVC 100 or higher... it has the sound lock and Sony Vegas software now with version 8 is the cream of the crop and encodes in Blue Ray now H.264 or HD mpeg and you won't believe the result and it also has a titler now and with their DVD program when you buy the suite is unmatched by price and performance to anything else from Pinnacle to Avid to Final Cut and Canopus/Grass Valley. They also have a more lesser version that is very reasonalbe if you want quality and price. This is after starting from scratch and capturing with everything know to man in the quest for quality. Hope this helps. I'm no pro but want my vid to look like a pro on my HDTV and it does and now with the new H.264 compression quality factor you have it all at a great price for the consumer level like me, and would guess you. Don't kinch on the hardware like Canopus ADVC it just isn't worth it. Get it you'll be forever thankful for the results.

Doggarn

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Capture and saving
by vidmanpk Sep 30, 2007 5:55AM PDT

I just read doggarn's reply and will say that I have to agree with him as far as capturing hardware goes. Never used Canopus but know they make great products.
If you're capturing SD DV I would recommend using firewire and capturing as an AVI. My experience in HD DV is very limited so I'll have to defer to Doggarn.
Burning your project is at your discretion...DVD or DivX will both give you excellent playback on SDTV. HD I'll again defer to Doggarn.
One final thought is your computer. How old is it? Is it Intel or AMD? What's the speed of your hard drive? Are all drivers up to date? What type of video card and how much memory does it have? How much memory does your computer have? Do you have multiple drives? Do you keep them defragged? What programs are running in the background when you edit? (try to shut down everything else) Is your monitor clean? (I know, sounds kind of dumb, but it's amazing what a thin layer of dust will do to your picture)
Get the best components you can afford at every juncture to make video production easy and fun.
Good luck!

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