# Transfer video from mini-dv camcorder to pc



## raschilling (Jul 1, 2005)

I am considering buying a panasonic gs31 camcorder and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of software and hardware it takes to transfer video from the camcorder to the pc. Is a firewire interface a requirement or can it be done straight through USB? I'd really appreciate any advice.


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Firewire is the way to go--much more reliable fewer dropped frames. You dont really need any specialized equipement if you are going straight from your DV cam to the computer--you are merely transfering data and no conversion is taking place. 

The process is fairly straightforward---

1. Plug firewire cable into camera
2. Plug firewirecable into firewire port on computer
3. Have plenty of hard drive space--in fact, you should have one drive SOLELY dedicated to capturing and manipulating video. 
4. Open up your NLE--find the capture module--and follow directions. Windows Movie Maker has a wizard that takes you through it step by step. If you are using a higher end NLE, then the process is similar but varies from application to application.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

Why are you transferring it to the computer? If you plan on storing your video on hard drive (that's what I'd recommend) than you should seriously consider this:

http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV702/intro/usb702intro.asp?pid=USBAV702

It will encode your video to MPEG-2 (DVD format) in real time meaning in the same time it would take you to capture the DV AVI to the hard drive, but it will be compressed to a much smaller size with very good quality depending on compression and your oiginal film. By that I mean, film with lots of very detailed and intricate motion (like water shots for example) do not do well the lower quality MPEG compression so you'd have to have a higher quality and hence bigger file. Even if you are going to just edit the video and create your own DVDs, I would still recommend the AdsTech box to compress first because then its a much quicker process encoding your movie to DVD. You will not be disappointed with its MPEG Compression--it rivals the best software encoders now (and by best, I mean reasonably prices in the $100 range because you can get much more expensive encoders that do a better job).


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## raschilling (Jul 1, 2005)

Thanks a lot, that helped out a lot.


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## JohnTsang (Jul 6, 2005)

my friend has been looking this up as well, is there a way of transferring without using firewire?


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## raschilling (Jul 1, 2005)

Yeah, through USB but most have said you will lose more quality that way.


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