convert miniDV ??

[ndsimm]

OK, OK, OK, I know this is a photography forum but I need some help for a friend. They gave me 3 miniDV tapes and wanted to know if I could transfer them. I have a digital 8 camera but not a miniDV. Is there a converter for these or somewhere I can rent the miniDV long enough to transfer these tapes????
Thanks

[gpgyo]

I'm not aware of any converters for MiniDV tapes but there may be some.

I think your best option is to get your friend's video camera or borrow one that is the MiniDV format. Most MiniDV cameras have a firewire connection built in. If you go this route, a great and free capture program is WinDV, which can be downloaded from http://windv.mourek.cz/. Once you have it in your computer you can convert it to a DVD format and burn it to CDs or DVDs that your friend can play in his home DVD player. If you are not familiar with how to do this, http://www.videohelp.com/ has a lot of helpful tutorials.

Have fun,
Greg

[Jim]

I use a video capture card to bring in the video from the camcorder. Many video cards have some sort of video input, make sure to check for that also.

[wburychka]

Originally Posted by Jim

I use a video capture card to bring in the video from the camcorder. Many video cards have some sort of video input, make sure to check for that also.

Of course, you'll still have to have a mini-dv cam or player, and once you have that, it only makes sense to use the digital IEEE1394 interface so as to download in the full quality. If you use a composite video in, or even S-video, you leave a lot of image quality on the table.

BTW, you need about 14GB per hour of digital video, plus a similar amount if you plan to edit.

[ndsimm]

Originally Posted by Jim

I use a video capture card to bring in the video from the camcorder. Many video cards have some sort of video input, make sure to check for that also.

that's the thing, I don't have a minDV cam...
I always upload to PC and convert but just needed to find a miniDV...I'll try to rent one