Confused beginner needs help.

[Trimegisto]

I just bought a Sony DCR-TRV33E and now I want to make the most of it. I’ve read the FAQ and some of the threads here but I still have some questions,

1-Capturing via the USB link, in terms of quality, is exactly the same as doing it via a firewire card? Digital data is the same, it’s just a question of speed, right?

2-I think that CCE is the best MPEG-2 encoder so I want to use it to encode my home movies and to create my DVDs. How should I do it?
a) capture a DV file in native form? How? Mainconcept 1.4 has this option but is this the best way? What about Virtual dub?
b) Can I feed the DV (.avi) file directly to CCE? Must I use Avysinth scripts? Likecthe ones sugested by bb in his guide? How to tell if I have a interlaced source file?

I’ve read a lot about DV decoders but do I really need to use them?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[bb]

Originally posted by Trimegisto
I just bought a Sony DCR-TRV33E and now I want to make the most of it. I’ve read the FAQ and some of the threads here but I still have some questions,
Ok, I'll try to help you out, although most of your questions have been answered here already and can be found via the forum search.

Originally posted by Trimegisto
1-Capturing via the USB link, in terms of quality, is exactly the same as doing it via a firewire card? Digital data is the same, it’s just a question of speed, right?
Most camcorders use USB for capturing photo stills, not film. You should use Firewire for capturing the DV AVI.

Originally posted by Trimegisto
2-I think that CCE is the best MPEG-2 encoder so I want to use it to encode my home movies and to create my DVDs. How should I do it?
There are other good MPEG-2 encoders, too, e.g. Canopus Procoder, MainConcept MPEG Encoder, TMPGEnc. Just follow the "DV to DVD" guide.

Originally posted by Trimegisto
a) capture a DV file in native form? How? Mainconcept 1.4 has this option but is this the best way? What about Virtual dub?
CCE does not have a capture option. So you have to capture to a DV AVI file first, then encode. A direct capture to MPEG-2 is not recommended anyway, if you want quality.
VirtualDub can't capture from DV devices - only analogue.

Originally posted by Trimegisto
b) Can I feed the DV (.avi) file directly to CCE? Must I use Avysinth scripts? Likecthe ones sugested by bb in his guide?
Yes, you can feed DV AVIs directly to CCE, but the AviSynth way provides better quality because of the filtering.

Originally posted by Trimegisto
How to tell if I have a interlaced source file?
Your DV camcorder shoots in interlaced mode only, so your source is interlaced. If you play your DV file e.g. in Windows Media Player, you'll see the typical combing artefacts whenever there's (especially horizontal) movement. The field order should be "bottom field first". You can easily test that with a simple AviSynth script, which has been posted several times.

Originally posted by Trimegisto
I’ve read a lot about DV decoders but do I really need to use them?
You definitely need a DV decoder, else you can't decode your DV file ;)

Whether you need to install a VfW (= Video for Windows) DV codec or not depends on the way you are going to open the DV AVI file. E.g. if you open it through AviSynth's DirectShowSource command, the standard Windows DirectShow DV decoder will be used and you don't need to install anything (as Microsoft's DV decoder filter is part of any Windows installation).

If you open the DV file with AviSynth's AviSource command, or if you want to open it in a VfW application like VirtualDub, you need a VfW DV codec like MainConcept, Canopus, Panasonic, ...

bb

[Trimegisto]

Thank you very much.

Sometimes the problem with these foruns is the excess of information.

That's why I tried to place simple questions, and you gave me straight answers but..

—I can capture movies from my camcorder using the USB link and VirtualDub. Ok, I know, firewire is to way to go. I'll do that

—But what is the better way to capture native DV files?

Again, thank you.

[northern]

USB capture usually is meant for WEBCAST or similar... i.e. the resolution is something like 352x240/288 and 15FPS... So no good for DVD ;-)

>—But what is the better way to capture native DV files?

I would say that you get an FW-card and cable and use that to transfer the video. Those are not expensive and you can also purchase those in combo with an editing software...

To capture DV you need a software capable of doing it. I use Scenalyzer. Usually video editing software are also capable of capturing (or rather transferring) DV material through FW.