I was wondering, how does a person transfer video from the camera to the CD? I have so much video on tape, but I always transfer it to VHS tapes, I would so love to have them on dvd. HOw would I do this? thanks

What kind of camera do you have? That will make a big difference as to your available options.

-Jeff

You need either a computer with a DVD burner or a stand-alone DVD recorder (like this from Philips (http://www.dvdrecorder.philips.com/index.cfm?event=LearnDVDR) or Pioneer (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/hec/category/0,,2076_4137,00.html)). You can read more about DVD burners or DVD recorders here (http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdrecorderfaqs/a/dvdrecfaqintro.htm).

You don't have to do just DVD Video though. You can transfer digital video from your camcorder to most video editing software packages on a computer, and then "save as" other video formats that could go on a CD (like MPEG or WMV).

I was wondering, how does a person transfer video from the camera to the CD? I have so much video on tape, but I always transfer it to VHS tapes, I would so love to have them on dvd. HOw would I do this? thanks

there is something that is called "dazzle"... an interface between a vcr and a computer via ubs port. once you have captured the video - you can burn it to cd (i believe it comes with some kind of software that makes this happen). i have seen this at best buy... about $80

One note, though... If you intend to transfer analog video data to a computer with the intention of creating a DVD, your machine has to have some signifigant power and a lot of RAM to do so well. Otherwise, you will experience video fram drops as well as audio synch problems. This is especially the case if you are doing long videos. (anything more than like 10 mins at a time.)

If your source is digital, like from a Digital8, DV, or MiniDV camcorder, then use the Firewire connection to do digital captures. So much more accurate.

If your source is old VHS or VHS-C tapes and the like, you will be better off buying a stand-alone DVD recorder. Some are rather inexpensive and if you have a lot of tapes, worth the investment.

That is my 2 cents... hope it helps.

If your source is old VHS or VHS-C tapes and the like, you will be better off buying a stand-alone DVD recorder. Some are rather inexpensive and if you have a lot of tapes, worth the investment.

I'll second that. If what you're talking about is taking any old analog video source (vhs,vhs-c,8mm, etc), it can be tricky and labor intensive. Often older analog sources have problems with degradation of the sync signal. When your computer is trying to capture the video and sees a problem with the sync, it freaks out and stops caputuring. These stops are referred to as "Dropped frames".

No matter how good your capture card is, unless you have access to a piece of equipment referred to as a TBC unit (which strips out and regenerates the sync signal), you will have dropped frames.

A stand alone DVD recorder is bound to offer less problems than analog capture via computer as it is designed to do exactly what you're talking about.

I'll second that. If what you're talking about is taking any old analog video source (vhs,vhs-c,8mm, etc), it can be tricky and labor intensive. Often older analog sources have problems with degradation of the sync signal. When your computer is trying to capture the video and sees a problem with the sync, it freaks out and stops caputuring. These stops are referred to as "Dropped frames".

No matter how good your capture card is, unless you have access to a piece of equipment referred to as a TBC unit (which strips out and regenerates the sync signal), you will have dropped frames.

A stand alone DVD recorder is bound to offer less problems than analog capture via computer as it is designed to do exactly what you're talking about.

I agreed. The dropped frames were unbearable wtih the analog capture card.

After much searching, I ended up buying the Panasonic DMR-ES10 on May this year. The nice thing about this unit is that the LP (4 hrs) recording looks very similar to the SP (2 hrs). So far, I transferred all my 8mm and Hi-8 with very little problems, and I am very satisfy with the results. More, it functions as another VHS unit where I can record up to 8 hours on a single DVD disk.

You can do your searching to see what DVD recorder fits your need. There are units cheaper than the $180 plus tax than I paid for. Some expansive unit has built-in hard disc. However, I use DVD-RW as an alternative. It also comes with one years parts/labor warranty.

After the usages with about 200 and more DVD-R, I ended with five DVD-R that were unable to finalize. I lost one DVD-RW and one DVD-R. When that happened, my solution was to unplug the unit and wait 10-30 minutes before plugging it back. I don't know if the problem was with the unit or the disc itself.

Be careful about the brands/DVD recorder combination, I use TDK-R, Maxell-R, and Maxell-RW successfully. HP+R failed completely. The decent price for -R disc is about 40 cents or less each. The -RW disc is about 60 cents.