Camcorder video editing

Is it possible to edit Sony Digital 8 DCR-TRV110E camcorder video on a PC with Windows XP operating system, 60Gb Hard Disk and 256 Ram?
If yes, please confirm -
1. Capture Card and Video Editing softward are needed.
2. Camcorder has to be linked to PC Moving Image Capture Card via the I-link.
3. A DVD +/- RW fitted to PC would facilitate copying and storing edited video from PC to DVD format.

[melliott1963]

The short answer is yes.

From what I can see, the TRV110 has an i-link socket. If that is the case, all you need to do is connect it to a firewire port on your PC. If you don't have one, these can be obtained fairly cheaply (£20 ish).

As you have XP, then you will already have MS Movie Maker. XP comes with version 1, but you can download version 2, which is miles better, from Microsoft free of charge. This is a good starting point and, considering it's free, is pretty good.

If you feel MS Movie Maker is not up to what you require, then you'll have to look at other software. I personally use Pinnacle Studio 8, but you'll get lots of other recommendations from people here. Probably the best thing to do would be to get hold of trial copies and see which gives you what you need and that you feel the happiest using.

If you want to view your footage on a TV in the best quality, then you will need to have a DVD/RW in your PC to create your discs.

Probably the biggest problem you may face is whether or not your PC is powerful enough to handle video editing. You don't specify the processor, but I would say that 256Mb RAM is the bare minimum you can get away with. My old PC was an Athlon 800Mhz with 256Mb ram and 60Gb Hard Disk, and it was able to cope with short videos. However, any editing of long videos (over 20 mins) with lots of transitions etc really slowed the PC down.

Hope this helps.

[Brian110507]

If I could just add a couple more points,

You don't 'HAVE' to have a DVD burner, you can use your CD burner to create a VCD which although not as good as a DVD should give you quality equivalent to a VHS tape.

To get the full info on how to use MovieMaker2 have a look at :-

www.papajohn.org

...

[MarkE19]

As already mentioned 256Mb RAM really is a bit low. You should be able to add another 256Mb for about £30 and it will help a lot.
Also you say you have a 60Gb disk. I assume that there is not the full 60Gb free if you have Windows etc installed on it. You should think about adding another drive as the footage you capture will take 1Gb of space for every 4 minutes of video.

So approx upgrade costs are:
246Mb RAM £30
60Gb disk £40
Firewire card £20

Total: £90 approx. plus around £120 for DVD-RW drive and software if required.

Mark.