Create Your Own DVDs in Software

Maker Data Matrix 2d barcode in Software Create Your Own DVDs

If you have an analog camcorder or if you want to use recorded video from a VCR, you ll need to use an analog capture method This is similar to capturing digital video, except that your PC won t be able to control the playback you ll have to start and stop your camcorder or VCR manually As Figure 1-6 shows, there isn t a lot of difference in your video editing program (except that there won t be any onscreen playback controls) You need a different type of connection for capturing analog video signals on your PC For this, you will need a video capture board that has either composite video or S-Video inputs, depending on what is available on your video source If your camcorder or VCR offers an S-Video output, you ll want to use that instead of the composite video output, since the video quality will be superior In either case, your audio signals will still travel separately from the video signals and will need to be connected to the audio inputs on your video capture board

FIGURE 1-6

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It is also possible to capture video through a TV tuner card in your PC This may be your only option if your VCR lacks composite video or S-Video outputs

I imagine that some of you may have old movie films (such as 8 MM home movies) that you would like to convert to modern digital video format The good news is that this is quite possible to do, but the bad news is that you may need to experiment some to get the results you want Basically, the problem comes down to two issues: first, you need a physical means of doing the transfer; second, you may have some quality issues that will need some tinkering to resolve The easiest way to transfer the old movies is to project them onto a screen and then film them with your camcorder (which should be mounted on a tripod to keep it as still as possible) You might also be able to locate a specialized video transfer unit, such as the Raynox RV-1500, which will probably produce superior results Unfortunately, you may have a difficult time locating a video transfer unit; it is really just a box with a mirror and a frosted glass screen You set up the film projector to project the images into the box, and the mirror flips the image so it is projected onto the back of the frosted glass screen Then you focus your camcorder on the screen, start the projector and the camcorder, and wait while the movie is recorded on your camcorder The one problem you may encounter using this method is flickering in the video recorded on your camcorder This flickering results from the frame rate of the old movie being different from the frame rate of your camcorder The only solution I know about for this problem is to slightly adjust the playback speed on the film projector to see if you can eliminate (or at least reduce) the flickering on your recording It may take some extra work, but it is possible to save your old home movies and create those family heirlooms

Once you ve captured all of your video, the next step is to edit it This is the process of choosing which parts of the video actually belong in your movie However, to leave the definition there would really only brush the bare surface of the possibilities that you have available for taking your video and making it into a movie that someone will want to watch In fact, editing is the most fun part of the whole process, because it enables you to really get creative and turn a bunch of boring footage into something that is really special Editing your movie can include quite a few different steps You have to do only one of them choose the video clips that you ll include but there is a whole