Digital Camcorder to Internet

Need some information about software & accessories

[digitalv]

I just picked up a Panasonic PV-GS9, and it's the first digital camcorder I've ever owned. I've recorded a bunch of stuff onto the MiniDV tapes but since the camera didn't come with any software or anything I'm not quite sure how I can get this video onto my desktop just yet, what software to use, etc.

The camera has a USB port and a iDV (Firewire) port. I don't have a firewire port in my system yet, but I bought one off ebay yesterday and it's on its way. I do have a USB port and when I plugged in the camera it detected and is supposedly set up.

Not sure what to do next ... how do I access the video that's on the tape in the camera and get it to my PC? I would like to create two versions of the video, one that's the "real size" that could be written to a DVD or VCD, and then a second clip that has been shrunk down to a lower resolution more suitable for web viewing.

I need some recommendations for software that will let me accomplish both. I'm not picky about the format, as long as it doesn't have that "compressed" look. The end file size is not an issue, quality is more important than space/bandwidth.

[digitalv]

I can't believe no one has answered this yet, maybe I'm in the wrong place :)

[smokeyb]

Ok, you need some software to "capture" your video, and buy yourself a Firewire card (this will probably have some low level editing software with it). There are arguments between usb2 and firewire, but take my word for it, the latter is more stable. I personally use Vegas4 to edit with, as it is easy to use and renders on the fly for previewing, unlike "premiere" that has to render your work first, and that can take hours! You can get software that captures, free from most companies that make the cameras, and I believe the capability exists in the free M$ WMV software, but I can't remember what it was called? Of course, if you invest in something like Vegas4, all your capturing needs are taken care of, but you will have to pay and register the MPEG2 codec to create DVDs. When you set your software to record from capture, press play on your cam and your off, although these days software will set your cam off automatically, and create a new clip when it detects a new "take".
Try and capture using uncompressed AVI if you have the hard-drive, but this is 1gb per 5mins. Then render your finished work as MPEG2 for DVD. As for the web... WMVs are tiny in size, but I have had problems with non M$ browsers. A lot of people opt for quicktime, and a few, Realmovies. And you can also render stuff as SWFs. Other options are MPEG1, but use that as a zipped download or something, as the benefits are outweighed using it as a "load and play" method. And then there is streaming! Using that method, you can set different video sizes for various connection speeds.
There is much to this subject, and I'm running out of breath. The best advice is: don't be scared of it. Once you're up and running, you'll learn by your needs.
HTH Smokey
PS. if you aren't using NTFS... forget the DVD. FAT32 has a 4gb filesize limit.

[drbrain]

Microsoft Movie Maker can transfer movies from your camera to your PC, has some minimal editing capabilities, and allows you to encode them with a variety of encoders.