Need Help Concerning a Digital 8 Camcorder Please!

Dorsk 81 · Post by **Dorsk 81** » 2003-12-05 05:27am

Right, I need to upload my homemade porn on to computer so I can sell it probably to around half the people here! Yes, incase you can't tell I AM joking. Sorry Zaia and Ein no seeing me starkers...yet *kisses*

So anyway, I've got a Sony Digital 8 DCR-TRV145E PAL camcorder.
There are 3 conection sockets (apart from the charger, duh).
The first say "S Video Out" and it's kinda hard to explain what it looks like, but it's round, but not a hole and has 6 hole where pins can go in, 4 round and 2 rectangular.
The second says "A/V Out" and it looks like your regular head phone socket, the connection that leads from it can be plugged into the tv via SCART plug.
The third and final says "DV Out" and has a funny little symbol next to it, it looks like a large lower case "i".

Now can someone please tell me what sort of connection cable I'll need to plug it into my computer and what the socket in my computer that it'll lead into should look like. Seeing as my comps pretty old I'm not sure if the socket'll be there.

And last'll, the easiest bit, I hope, what kind of software do I need to capture the rushes from the camcorder?

Thanks kids.

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-12-06 03:36am

Looks like you'll need to use Firewire to connect your camera and a program like Final Cut Pro to take it in and edit it. You can pick up a PCI Firewire card at any computer store.

S-VIDEO does the same thing as the A/V Out RCA plug, but it's higher quality. It's used mostly for playing video off your camcorder on your TV. I've never heard of it being used to actually transfer data.

Ypoknons · Post by **Ypoknons** » 2003-12-06 10:51am

Your "i" is the funny name Sony calls Firewire: i-link. You'll need one of them Firewire plugs and a cable: the one on your camera is a 4-pin. Many computers don't have Firewire at all; you'll have to look.

The one on the right is a 4 pin plug, the left is a 6 pin plug. You may have one of these in your computer; if not, get an expansion card for your computer that will give you these ports. (There is also a newer Firewire but I personally won't bother). You will have to open up your computer in the case that you get a Firewire expasion card though; if your computer doesn't already have Firewire plugs, there is no other way. Then get the right cable.

Software: Mac or PC? OSX's iMovie is great for newbies (I need to use more Final Cut before I say; I use Premiere at home, iMovie at school for speed), but I don't know a good PC program for starters. Try Unlead VideoStudio 7, I guess. Do post your ideas on good starter PC programs.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-12-06 12:47pm

As before, you'll need a FireWire card to capture the data to your computer. Since it's a digital connection (and Digital8 is the same as DV, just on a different physical format) there will be no loss in quality.

There are various editing programs of varying costs. If you don't want to spend money, Microsoft's Movie Maker is bundled with Windows XP and is a basic program. Avid FreeDV is another NLE - though the Avid interface may take a bit of time to get used to.

On the Mac side, there's Apple's iMovie, which is included with OS X and FreeDV also runs on it.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-12-06 09:29pm

Pinnacle Studio 8 is also a great program for PC NLE. At $99, it offers a lot more then the free editors, but isn't nearly as expensive as Premiere. Also, it is often bundled with a firewire card.

Dorsk 81 · Post by **Dorsk 81** » 2003-12-07 06:23pm

Ypoknons wrote:The one on the right is a 4 pin plug, the left is a 6 pin plug. You may have one of these in your computer; if not, get an expansion card for your computer that will give you these ports. (There is also a newer Firewire but I personally won't bother). You will have to open up your computer in the case that you get a Firewire expasion card though; if your computer doesn't already have Firewire plugs, there is no other way. Then get the right cable.

Even in fear of sounding like a complete twat if I'm wrong, the larger plug looks like a USB connection, which I do have. And the smaller one would fit in the camera.

Software: Mac or PC? OSX's iMovie is great for newbies (I need to use more Final Cut before I say; I use Premiere at home, iMovie at school for speed), but I don't know a good PC program for starters. Try Unlead VideoStudio 7, I guess. Do post your ideas on good starter PC programs.

PC. At college we use Premiere so I think it'd be a good idea to use that, unless anyone else can think of a good program for newbies.

Thanks for your help guys!

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-12-07 06:40pm

Dorsk 81 wrote:Even in fear of sounding like a complete twat if I'm wrong, the larger plug looks like a USB connection, which I do have. And the smaller one would fit in the camera.

It's not USB, it's a 6-pin FireWire plug. The smaller one should go into your video camera.

PC. At college we use Premiere so I think it'd be a good idea to use that, unless anyone else can think of a good program for newbies.

I'm not a big fan of Premiere, but if you know about it that'll work for you. It's not exactly cheap, though.

Avid Xpress Pro is $400 for the educational edition.
Premiere Pro is $250 for the educational edition.
Vegas 4.0 is $157 for the educational edition.
Pinnacle Studio 8 is $85 for the educational edition and includes the FireWire card.