Could anyone tell me what hardware/software I would need (generally) to turn a homevideo into DVD? I have the Sony TRV38. Thank you in advance.
Hello there ironbiter, Let me welcome you to our little A/D Club - You'll probably need a "Capture Card" or a USB external unit (I use "USB to DVD") to get your "Home Video" equipment connected to your PC. Then you'll need to use some "readily available" software to convert your video files to a DVD compatible file. Not all that hard, really. A little time to edit your Video and create menus for them and you'll have it all on DVD Discs ) My hookup costs under $100.00 ) Cheers, Pete
Ironbiter, If you have the Sony TRV38 DV camcorder you won't need a capture card at all. You will need a firewire card. You can get one at Best Buy or online somewhere for only $20 to $25. Very easy to install. Once installed your computer will automatically recognize your TRV38 and you will all set. Personally, I use Pinnacle Studio 9. The good: it is very user friendly and it is affordable ($99). The bad: it is buggy. You have to make a habit of saving your project because you never know when the program might lock up on you. Still, because of it's price and ease of use I continue to use it. (My kids have learned some new vocabulary words as a result of my using it though). Alot of people speak very highly of Vegas Video 4 (and now version 5). Supposedly it's a professional grade video editing program. The problem is it's got a steeper learning curve and it much more expensive; (over $500.00 although I think you can buy it cheaper than that on EBay). Go to this website and browse around: http://www.videohelp.com/ Everything I now know I know from visiting this site. It's got a wealth of information on it and some very knowledgeable people. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE FORUM RULES FIRST. Although most of the people there are friendly and willing to help, there are some people who've got nothing better to do than lurk all day and then jump on and flame an unsuspecting newbie who obviously didn't read the rules first. Good luck. Vanman
