Analog to Digital Video Conversion and Editing

Record video from VHS to miniDV

In order to accomplish this point, you will need: a VCR, your original tape, a digital camcorder, a blank miniDV tape, and a cable to connect the VCR and the camcorder. You might also need the remote controls for the VCR and the camcorder depending on the equipment you are using.

1. Rewind your VHS tape to the point from which you wish to capture video
2. Connect your digital camcorder's AV input to a VCR's output (on the VCR side, you will need three jacks--one for video, and two for left and right audio channels, on the camcorder side, there is usually one combined jack).
3. Turn your camcorder on and switch it to the replay mode (also called the VCR mode), insert a blank miniDV tape (or one you don't mind overwriting) into the camcorder.
• as a check, press the play button on the VCR, the video should appear on the camcorder screen
• rewind back if necessary
4. Press the record button on the camcorder (you might have to use the camcorder's remote control to do that), press the play button on the VCR
5. When all of the video you are interested in has been recorded, stop the recording and playback

Capture video from miniDV to a PC

To capture video from a digital camcorder to a computer, you will need a computer equipped with a FireWire port (also called iLink or IEEE1394), FireWire cable, and some video editing software such as Pinnacle Studio. Notice that an hour of  DV-quality video requires 13GB of hard drive space.

1. Connect the camcorder to a power adaptor (or make sure the battery is charged).
2. Connect the camcorder to your computer's FireWire port.
3. Switch the camcorder to the VCR (replay) mode
4. Rewind the miniDV tape to the point from which you wish to capture video (unnecessary parts can be later deleted).
5. Start Pinnacle Studio
6. Switch the software to the Capture mode, make sure the DV-quality capture option is selected
7. Press Capture and choose a file location for your new .avi file
8. When the video you are interested in has been captured, you can turn the camcorder off and disconnect it from the computer
   • once the video is captured to your computer's hard drive, you don't need the camcorder to edit your video
   • you can either quit Pinnacle Studio and edit you video at a later time or you can continue with the next step

Edit video

Video editing is a resource-hungry task, only relatively recent hardware can handle it well. For more detailed information on using Pinnacle Studio go to Using Pinnacle Studio 9 for Windows XP.

1. Start Pinnacle Studio, go to Edit mode
2. Insert the .avi file you've capture (this is not necessary if you did not exit Pinnacle Studio after capturing your video)
3. Now you can cut unnecessary segments out, add titles, transitions, new audio track to your video
4. When you're done editing your video save your project
   • it is a good idea to save your project continuously to prevent data loss

Export video

When you are finished editing your video, you can export it into a form in which it will be distributed. Notice a DVD burner is necessary to create Video DVDs

1. Open your video project in Pinnacle Studio
2. Go to the Export mode
3. Choose the type of output you prefer and press export
4. From one project you can create multiple output files/formats such as
• Video DVDs playable on consumer DVD players as well as on computers
• high quality mpeg files playable on computers for distribution on CDs
• low quality mpeg files that can be uploaded to a website or Blackboard