MiniDV to DVD

Sorry if this post already exists, im new here.

What i need help with is that i have a miniDV cam and i need to transfer multiple tapes to a DVD. I saw a dvd recorder that can connect to a minidv camcorder via firewire and record to dvd as the tape plays without any formatting as it seems but i dont want to buy a dvd recorder if i have a capable computer. I have been trying to get what was on my MiniDV tape and burn it to DVD and have tried a LOT of programs but nothing seems to work so far, the final product ends up chuggy or the quality is lost, or it wont add another tape or something. i was wondering if there is a program out there that can capture the video from my minidv cam and burn it straight to dvd without any formatting or is it mandatory to format to mpeg 2 and then burn it. I also was wondering what format is it when u first record on the miniDV tape.

thanks in advance,

Catalyst

 

DV is DV, generally avi, and it must be encoded to mpeg-2, then authored to dvd, if you want it to play on most standalone players.
Capture your DV using WinDV (it's free), then encode.
If you don't need any editing, and don't want any menus, then try VSO Divx to DVD (also does other formats).
If you want to edit, then virtualdub will edit the DV-AVI.
You will then have to resave in another format (or uncompressed) or frameserve to an encoder.

 

alrite, thanks rebootjim, yea i dont need any editing i just want to go directly from miniDV to DVD. ill try that winDV program or VSO divx to dvd. im usually good at figuring out how to make things work, this was just pissing me off so much. no matter what program i tried didnt give me my desired outcome.

thanks for the help, hope it works

 

ok thanks, but i dont need a really good mpeg-2 encoder atm, all i need is a capturing device that can capture video from my miniDV and keep it in widescreen and then something else that can convert it to mpeg-2 but keep it in 16:9 format so I can burn it on a DVD as widescreen.

 

Didn't I say WinDV?
vurbal recommended one of the best mpeg-2 encoders around, and it WILL handle 16:9 easily.
Once captured and encoded, you'll need to author it.
I think you need to understand the processes a bit more, and then find some software that will do it.

 

yea, ive been using winDV a bit and i was wondering....can u capture with it and kep the video widescreen, if yes could u please tell me how. cause the videos ive captured were all full screen and i need them to be widescreen, or do u change it to widescreen in the conversion process.

thanks