I have a panasonic vdrm50 camcorder. It records great but I am having a terrible time downloading to the software that was included. It came with a USB cable and that is what I am trying to use. The directions also say to use the USB to download to computer. Panasonic has just kept putting me off with "will call you back later". Can anyone out there help?????????
I've had one for a month and have struggled to get marginal results. The DVD-R disks can be read by my DVD player and my PC but editing is problematic. Multiple files are created and I have trouble converting all but the first to AVI format for editing. DVD-RAM disks can be downloaded over USB only as my PC DVD player does not recognize this format.
Here is what I have figured out so far with the VDRM70: 1.Both the DVD-R and the DVD-RAM are only editable using the included software because they use a VOB( MPG2) compression system that other programs do not read( including Adobe Premiere)I am looking for some kind of riper software to convert the file but have not yet discovered anything workable yet. 2.The DVD-RAM disc can only be imported through the camera's USB2 connection. Don't know of any computers that have DVD-RAM drives. I have a DellDim8300 with 2 DVD drives and they doesn't read it. 3.The DVD-R can be played in my computer( Win Media Player) and on my DVD player( I have a cheap Apex DVD Player) only after they are finalized in the camera. 4. Software( MovieAlbumSE) was problematic to install.I already had Sonic MyDVD6 so I didn't need to install that The camera shows up as an " F" drive on my system.When the camera is connected I must shut down my system before removing the USB2 connection or my computer crashes. 5. The easiest way I found to download the stills from the CF card was in Photoshop( look for the " F" drive and open a folder marked "DCIM" 6.Panasonic's support is very poor.No response to emails and no callbacks after waiting up to an hour at times to get through. 7. This camera was really designed for someone who just wants to create a DVD in their camera and play it right away in a DVD player which will hopefully read it. In camera editing is tricky because of the awkward layout of the camera. 8.Botton line is that I regret my purchase.
Thanks Paulette, You have confirmed I am not going mad. I have had very similiar outcomes. I have been able to convert the files to AVI using TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress. This allows me to use Windows Movie Maker to edit. File sizes are huge, quality is pathetic. I, too, regret the purchase of the DVD recorder. Consumer reports gave it a good rating but I think they only shot and watched! I'm considering trying to get a DVD RAM drive for my PC but I am jaded and would be so disapointed if it did not measurably improve things. Does anyone have experience with this? David
I'm not certain if it would be worth it to buy a DVD-RAM drive. I'm taking a course in Adobe Premiere Pro and my teacher said that he had one hanging around somewhere that he'd try to dig out for me. Apparently not much demand for it. I plan to continue exporting from my camera to my computer using the USB2 connection. Then from MY DVD6 I can burn a DVD of what was on the DVD-RAM. Also hope to try importing some vhs tapes on to DVD's. What I really wanted to use my new camcorder for was to incorporate video clips into slide shows that I have been making using Win Movie Maker2.That won't read my files either by the way- even with Win Media9 converter. I also have Adobe Premiere Elements and that is the program I would eventually like to use since I'm taking the course. Been checking out their website and the issue of the DVD cameras has been coming up.No good solution there yet. I'll download the TMp and see what happens. Someone else suggested Nero Vision Express3 which can be downloaded from the Nero site.Next I'll check out some of the Win Movie Maker Forums- they have one guy there who's pretty knowledeable. I too bought the camera because of the Consumer Report article. I am certain that somewhere we'll find a workable soution.
Have you been able to bring files straight across the USB connection from the DVD-RAM disk to PC? I get an error message, something about circular reference. I've only been able to use DVD Movie Album to export to an .mpg file. This file cannot be used by most editing programs, the video portion doesn't display, just sound. This apparently is a limitation on the particilar .mpg file type that is generated. I've been using TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress to convert it to other formats and have been able to use the file for editing in Windows Movie Maker. I was hoping a DVD RAM drive would help with this but I may be wrong. I'd hate to spend that money and find out it is no improvement. Keep me posted of your progress. Thanks, David
David Yes I am able to use my USB2 connection to export the files on the DVd-RAM directly from the camera to the PC. The only 2 programs where I can export them to is the DVDMovieAlbumSE and My Studio deluxe6( Sonic) (which I just happened to have) and where I usually burn my DVD's.I have no problems with the quality and have even burned DVD's that I can play back on the DVD player connected to my DVD. My problem is that I want to be able to use video files in either Adobe Premiere Elements or Win Movie Maker2 to incorporate into slide shows I am making.I've had a few suggestions re rippers but have not yet done so.There was one I downloaded called Smart Ripper but it's in German. Unfortunately,so many suggestions seem quite complicated. I might give Nero Vision Express 3 a try.That was mentioned a few times. I have Nero6 but had to remove it because I was getting conflicts with Photoshop for some reason so I'm not certain if I can install the Vision Express3 portion only. I'll post here if I come up with something from my friends in class.My problem has become a challenge to them !! Paulette
Hi! We got VDR-m70 and our problem is that we can't get the usb driver to work under win2000. Win recognizes the camera, but doesn't show the ram-disks as HDs = everything that's on the disk is a no show. Has anyone had similar problems and if so, how did you guys solve those?
Read correspondence in this thread carefully, it has a lot of relevant information for you. The DVD-R and DVD-RAM disks behave very differently and each take a different approach. The DVD-R disks can be read in a standards DVD player or DVD drive on a PC. They can also be seen as a Hard Drive through USB. The DVD-RAM disks are tricky. They cannot be copied over USB without using the DVD-MovieAlbum software. They can only be read by rare DVD-RAM compatible drives on PC. To edit these files, they need to be converted to useful mpg or avi formats. I use TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress. Good Luck!!!
To ddross, I am still unable to convert my files so that they open in either Movie Maker2 or Adobe Premiere. I downloaded TmpGenc v2.52 from your link( didn't see the 3.0 Xpress you mentioned)and gave it a try but still no luck. It seems to go through a routine with the file that I want to convert but the finished product still won't open for me in the above programs. I also tried Smart Riper and AVI2DVD to no avail. Still have not tried Virtual Dub. Any additional suggestions would be appreciated. Paulette
Are you using files from a DVD-RAM or DVD-R? I have had the best success with DVD-RAM files using DVD-MovieAlbumSE to get files off the camera, converting them to a more standard mpg format with TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress and importing them into Windows Movie Maker for editing. I think I upgraded to TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress when I purchased a full version. Try a search for this version. I haven't tried working DVD-R files for a while but I know I was able to read them directly in my dvd drive.
David I was trying with both file formats. Will take your suggestion re the dvd-ram and movie album and stick with that for awhile. I located the TMPGenc X-press at www. pegasys-inc.com Will try again with the free download before I purchase the full version-just want to see something happening first. By the way, there's been some discussion re this file format problem on the Adobe Premiere Elements forum. No easy solutions there yet either. Paulette
