Hi, everyone this place seems a friendly helpful place to be and I am new to Camcorders and struggling.

I bought a sony dvd203E . I thought it would be nice and easy to download the mini dvds on to computer and then put several together on a normal size dvd. I am either having a senior moment or it is not so easy.
Picture pakage came with the camera.

After many hours I manage to download via this ( download upload not sure which) but it appears to only take the first few frames and make a short 2-3 minute video despite having all frames ticked for inclusion.

I have downloaded a few trial software programmes which do not appear to recohnise and capture the film.
I have tried windows Moviemaker which continually tells me that the camera is in use?????

OP system is windows xp media edition.

I am using the supplied USB cable.

I hope I have made some sort of sense as I am not that familiar with the terminology.

Many thanks for any suggestions
Lynda

How stupid am I!!!!!

I did a search and thought I had come up with the answer for any of the trial software not recognising the camera etc etc. I went out and bought a fire wire after first checking the computer had a fire wire place. I did not check the camera!! That does not have a socket for a firewire!!!

Help please.

The easy way Lynda is to download yourself a trial copy of Ulead VideoStudio - available from www.ulead.co.uk - then take the mini DVD out of your camera - put it in the DVD tray of your computer (it will fit honest) then from within video studio click "Insert DVD" - browse to the "Video_TS" folder on the disc - click OK - and your video will be imported to the timeline of VideoStudio ready for you to edit to your hearts content and burn to a new DVD if that is what you want.

ALTERNATIVELY - again take the disc out of your camera and put it in the DVD tray of your PC - in "My computer" browse to the Video_TS folder on the disc - inside of it you will find some .vob files - copy these to a new folder on your hard drive - now rename each .vob file from #####.vob to #####.mpg (the #'s represent the current file name) - Now open ANY video editing programme you already may have which allows editing of mpeg files (such as Ulead VideoStudio) and import the video clips for editing.


Sorry you do not need any cable with a DVD camera other than perhaps to use it as a web cam.

That is tonights homework, Many thanks, will let you know how it goes.


Lynda

Hi Beejaycee,

I can't believe how easy you made it for me, It worked and I am delighted with the result.
Thank you for the simple instructions the were nice and easy to follow.

I now have to learn how to edit and add music etc so I will be back!!

Do you recommend buying that download or is there something else that is better ( easy to use)

Thanks again. ( I spent 4 nights trying to work that out)

Lynda

Hi Lynda,

There are loads of editing packages out there, I personally use Adobe Premiere, its a bit tricky to begin with but the results are far greater than the average packages you can get. There is now premiere pro out with I would NOT suggest...if you can get your hands on Adobe Premiere 5.1 which is about 6 years old (I think) it is slightly easy than the later versions.

Hope thats helped a bit

Stuart

Yes I most certainly would recommend Ulead VideoStudio 9.0 - I am a confirmed and happy user - BUT - can I strongly recommend you do not buy via download - order the boxed version - may take a week to come (unless you nip down to PC World) but several users have had problems with the download version, first you have to download the actual programme again - you do not just 'unlock' the trial version you have - THEN - you have to download an "Extras" package which is 750Mb (quite big for a download) and it is this extra download which is all the special additions that causes problems with downloading and then installing properly - using the disc version I have a nice clean installation working 100%.

You may also like to have a look at my VideoStudio help website which you can find at :-
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/...gs/index.jhtml

it may help you with using the programme
.

I went out and bought the Video studio 9.

I have made my first movie lol. It was only a trial and is not very proffesional ( although I like it) It has a title and some music and overlay,that is all I managed today.

I can't figure out how to use the second disc that came with it. How do you incorporate this in to VS 9

The second disc is the extra content/bonus and is mainly bits of video etc. that you MAY wish to use in VideoStudio in which case you just copy them over when you need them, also on the second disc are some very useful video tutorials to help you use UVS - just put the disc into your computer and when the introductory screen pops up select "Video Tutorial" then select a tutorial and it will propably run in Media Player - if you want you can also view them while in UVS. About the only thing you may like to actually install from the content disc is the 'DVD Menu' - this adds many more menus to those all ready available in UVS.

It does not really matter if you do nothing at all with the 'bonus CD' the programme will work perfectly without it - but it will add to your enjoyment if you just pop it in your PC and make some selections from the menu which appears and see what you get.

Hello

I have the same problem converting my handycam dvd to mpeg format. What's strange is that when I'm in "My Computer" folder, I can't enter into the DVD drive. The movie just starts playing when you click on the folder instead of opening and revealing the 'Video_TS folder' that was mentioned in the forum. What do I do in this case and how can I get any of these softwares to recognize the dvd?

thanks!

but are you doing this from within Ulead VideoStudio 9, Sonia (or I believe also with Pinnacle Studio 9) - I do not think it works with any other editing software - certainly not with MovieMaker - you cannot just do it in 'My Computer' either , just follow the advice I gave Lynda above and get Ulead VideoStudio and then import from inside that programme - worked for Lynda - will work for you.

Or alternatively if your trying to access the .vob files to convert them it sounds as though you are 'double clicking' on the Video_TS folder, you only need to click once because as you have found double clicking will open your default DVD player and show the video,

Hello
Thanks for your help. BUT Using ULEAD, I still can't capture the image. I am getting an error message saying "failed to open DVD". Also, within ULEAD, I still can't open any files in my DVD. Basically, there is the file name beside the D drive and NO folders under it.
Is there something wrong with the DVD from the Handycam? Is there a step i am missing that would close the DVD??

Please, any direction would be great

Originally Posted by sonia10

Hello
Thanks for your help. BUT Using ULEAD, I still can't capture the image. I am getting an error message saying "failed to open DVD". Also, within ULEAD, I still can't open any files in my DVD. Basically, there is the file name beside the D drive and NO folders under it.
Is there something wrong with the DVD from the Handycam? Is there a step i am missing that would close the DVD??

Please, any direction would be great

Hi,

most probably you have to finalize the disc first in your camcorder
and then you'll be able to see the recordings with your PC DVD driver.

Originally Posted by Lynda

Hi Beejaycee,

I can't believe how easy you made it for me, It worked and I am delighted with the result.
Thank you for the simple instructions the were nice and easy to follow.

I now have to learn how to edit and add music etc so I will be back!!

Do you recommend buying that download or is there something else that is better ( easy to use)

Thanks again. ( I spent 4 nights trying to work that out)

Lynda

Thanks for this, I have just brought a DVD92E and suffer from what I presume is the same problem, Sony actually told me that this camera has no PC compatibility at all, but your advice about changing the name seems to work. But can I just ask is there any way to get the sound as well as the picture. Following your instructions and then playing the new file on Windows Media Player only shows the picture with no sound! Help

The sound is embedded within the .vob file on your DVD and must be transferred to your PC - whether you can hear it or not will depend on what codecs you have on your PC. The sound on the DVD may well be Dolby digital - what version of media player are you running ??? - have you tried the free trial of Ulead VideoStudio 9 which includes support for Dolby digital.

hello everyone. pls help
I am thinking about buying new digital camcorder and haven't decided yet. but three comes into my mind. Hitachi 550e sony 203e or sony 403e. which one offers most for the money. pls help

hi everyone, thanks for the help, everything worked.

what i'm finding now is that i want to copy all the small 30 min DVD's to one 1.4GB DVD. even if i keep the burning at "open" it still says it's full after one mini-dvd and i can't add anything new.

is there no other way around this? i just want to make one massive cd instead of these little ones.

thanks

[jomike]

Hi Sonia

I have the Sony DVD203 and this is how I burn full size DVDs. I take the finalised miniDVD from the camcorder, put it in my PC DVD drive and use Womble Mpeg Wizard to open the .vob file(s). I then edit them and save them on my hard drive as .mpg files. (You can save them as .mpg using Picture Package that came with the camcorder, or just copying the .vob files to your hard drive and renaming them as .mpg if you don't want to edit).
Then I use Nero 7 and use the "Make your own DVD video" option. The wizard then guides you through importing the .mpg files, creating a menu and burning the DVD. An indicator shows you how many files you can fit on the DVD and turns red when the DVD is full.

HTH Regards

Mike

[dejongj]

I have the Sony 803e, definitely would recommend the 403e/803e if it is within your budget...It is a fantastic camera and the 5.1 microphone is a real gem....

Hi All, Came across the forum and impressed as to how collectively helpful everyone is! I hope that you may be able to point me in the right direction...
Following on from Linda' thread.
I have followed advice re the Ulead recommendation but regardless of what drive I place the MiniDV in Pc does not see the disc in the drive and flags up that I should 'insert disc'.

I have finalized the mini discs in the DVD203E and I can view them on DVD player/TV.

Kinda going round in circles so would appreciate a pointer in the right direction as to what issue/problem may be. Tks all - Mike

Hi All, I have tried out all that has been suggested/recommended but my Pc does not see the MiniDVD in the draw? Any ideas why my Pc cannot recognise the disc? I have finalised the disc and can view it on my DVD play via television. Any help or guidance appreciated. Mike

[dejongj]

I can understand your PC not playing it, there can be a tonnes of reasons for that...But you are stating that it doesn't recognise that there is a disc in your drive....That's where you problem is....Either your drive is faulty or not compatible with 8cm discs...Because you should at the very least just 'see' the disc in it...Does it have the second inner ring for the 8cm disc to be secure?

[jomike]

Sounds like your drive's faulty. You can transfer the files from the camcorder to your hard drive using the USB cable and the Picture Perfect software and play the video from the hard drive, or just get a new DVD RW/ ROM drive. They're cheap enough now.

Hi all,

I have a Sony DVD-203E, I have recently needed to re-format my hard drive, but found I have lost my Picture perfect software that came with the camera. I have tried using the capture on Windows movie maker but it cannot see the camcorder! Sony want to charge me over £25 for a replacement disk.
Help is there a software that can capture the image without costing lots.
I have editing software but it is always easier to download the dvd from the camera rather than having to finalize the dvd then save it to the hard drive blind.

many thanks
Kenton

[dejongj]

no way around finalizing the disc but that is only a few seconds and you can always unfinalise! You will have more difficulty editing the footage. It has been a while since I used a pc, bit did not think movie maker can handle the files. You need something like womble or videoredo or pay to get a replacement disc.