video editing.....(analogue cam...)..?

[Rocket69]

Hi guys just want to know what is the best software for video editing, using an analogue cam as input to my pc and then using a video recorder as my output (vhs tapes), and maybe using dvd or cdr also as output.

I was looking at the pinnacle studio moviobox usb, but not sure if it supports analogue out.......

 

[norty303]

You're asking about software but what I suspect what you're really after is hardware with analogue input.

Do a search as there was a very similar thread recently with some good feedback.

 

[ceh4702]

If you had the latest ATI All-In-Wonder(AIW) and could hook the video up to the TV Input that might work. These video cards are more expensive, but they come with their own software. My son records shows onto his hard drive from the TV in this manner. We also used his comptuer to hook up our Play Station 2 over the Christmas Break.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[cdogg]

If gaming is not a concern on this PC, then you can grab an older ATI VIVO (Video in, Video Out) card for well under $70 - even cheaper on EBAY.

The ATI 64MB DDR VIVO is based on the Radeon 7200 and does decent in DX7 games. More importantly, it comes with the software, inputs, and outputs you need to capture video and save it to VHS. Nvidia has some pretty cheap solutions as well, but overall image quality is generally better with ATI. That may not matter for VHS recording, but if DVD authoring is in your near future, then make the better choice now.

Regardless of what card you go for, most likely you'll still need to purchase video editing software if you plan on adding any special effects. There are a lot of free tools on the internet for basic functions like fading, cutting/pasting, and editing sound. However, for anything else you might want to consider buying one of the titles listed here:

http://desktopvideo.about.com/cs/toppick1/tp/topvideditsw.htm

Most in that list are under $100 and more than enough for a beginner.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[norty303]

I was gonna suggest one of the ATI vivo cards. I use a Sapphire Radeon 9100 vivo myself and find it very good for this.

 

[sulumnad]

My All in Wonder 9000 I got at best buy came with a Studio 8 software & Hollywood FX, two video out, and two video in ports. It was about $180 I loaded the studio software briefly and it looked good, I haven't messed with video studio software before, but it look fully featured for that price.
Unfortunately I can't say more cause my computer is screwing up no matter what vid card I have. And I unloaded the software.
-Marc

 

[ceh4702]

I think the ATI 9600 Pro AIW was running around $220.00 at

http://www.newegg.com.

This is a middle of the road option compared to the ATI 9800 PRO AIW which probably runs about $360.00 or so but it has the newest TV/FM tuner available. This may be a nice option and comes with a FM Stereo Tuner. You really need a top notch Processor and lots of RAM to do video editing. I have not done much in this line of work for a while, however, mulitmedia is definitely Processor Speed Dependent.

I think a 800 Mhz 2.6C Gig P4 would be ideal for this. One option may be to record to VCR tape and then import it. They make some nice VCR/DVD units now that can record in both vcr tape and DVD +/-R/W formats. If importing is a major drawback perhaps having a separate DVD recordable with the newest digital outputs and S-Video plugs may be a good idea.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[cdogg]

For basic editing, you can squeak by with a 800MHz PC, give or take 100MHz, with at least 256MB of RAM. Things like adding sound, merging clips, or applying fade effects would fall under this category.

For more advanced editing and special effects, you'll want to be sure to have at least an Athlon XP 1600+ or P4 1.8GHz PC minimum. Anything slower will definitely take a long time to render.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[norty303]

I'd say that going to VCR first would be a very bad idea. Every generation of a copy introduces interference (noise) due to quality of cables, connectors and the processes themselves. If you are going to transfer from one medium to another you should do it with the minimum number of steps using the best quality equipment you can. I learnt this thru studio engineering work with audio but the same principles still apply to video.

 

[cdogg]

I would agree with norty as well. Most analog camcorders less than a decade old can easily record video at a higher quality than VHS. Going to VHS first might not be the best alternative, especially if you have the option for DVD burning in the near future.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[Rocket69]

Cheers guys.........
thanks for all your help.......

 

[lucasm]

For software, there is a free program called VirtualDub, which I used to capture my little brother's basketball games from my HI-8 video camera (using an ATI All-In-Wonder video card) and then created a highlight reel with background music. Then I encoded the highlight file to an MPEG-1 video cd file using another free utility called TMPEGEnc, and also output the video to my vcr to make tapes for the whole team. You don't necessarily have to buy software if you're not trying to make a "professional quality" video. I recommend checking out

http://www.dvdrhelp.com

for more info.

 

[cdogg]

lucasm,
Yes, that's one of my favorite sites to go to for such tools. If you notice in my Jan 5th post, I said:

"[blue]There are a lot of free tools on the internet for basic functions like fading, cutting/pasting, and editing sound[/blue]"

The free tools I had in mind were some of the ones you posted, but Rocket69 never asked. And don't forget that encoding/decoding is among their most important functions. Aside from cut/pasting and editing sound, there's not a whole more you can do. But yes, good point to bring up!


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[Rocket69]

cheers folks you where all alot of help..........
got my cam connected to pinnacle software,,,,,,and works a treat.........thanks again for everything..........