Transfer your miniDV tapes to DVD.
The miniDV format ushered in a revolution in both home and professional movie making when it was introduced in the early 1990s. The format allowed users to make exact duplicates of their DV tapes, without suffering from the dropouts and other problems that were so common with VHS and other formats. It's possible to transfer miniDV tapes to a DVD by importing (also called capturing) the movies to your computer with a miniDV camera or deck and a connecting cable.
Instructions
1. Place the miniDV deck or camera next to your computer. Plug the device into an electrical outlet or ensure that the battery is fully charged so that it doesn't run out in the middle of a transfer. Turn on the device.
2. Connect one end of a IEEE 1394 cable to the device. Connect the other end to a IEEE 1394 port on your computer.
3. Start your capture software. Most operating systems now come with some sort of DV capture program installed. On Macs, this is iMovie, while PCs running the Windows operating system come with Windows Live Movie Maker. If you do not have a capture program, there are a number of open source and shareware programs available for download.
4. Check that the input source in your capture program is set to the DV camera or deck. This could either be under the "Preferences" or "Settings" menu, depending on your program.
5. Cue the mini DV tape up to scene that you want to capture. Many capture programs let you control the DV camera or deck from the program itself. Press "Start" or "Capture" to bring up the deck control menu. The controls are similar to those on a VCR, with "Play," "Rewind," "Fast Forward" and "Record" buttons.
6. Press "Record" in your capture program when you have the tape cued up. The computer will show you the footage as it is captured in the preview window. Press "Stop" or "End Capture" when finished.
7. Drag the captured footage from the clips bin onto the timeline in the program. The clips bin is the portion of the program screen where all your captured clips are stored. The timeline is usually located at the bottom of the screen in the capture programs. Once you have placed footage on the timeline, you can edit it, add transitions, effects and even music.
8. Open the DVD recorder. Insert a blank DVD.
9. Select "Export" from your capture program's main menu. Select the "Export to DVD" option. The computer will render out the video (called "transcoding") into a DVD readable format and burn the movie to disk.
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