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I just bought my first digital camera. It is a minidv format. I have
a computer with a CD-RW and a DVD-Read only. As of yet, I have not
bought a DVD-RW. I have been reading that I can burn my digital
movies on to a CD but I was under the assumption that I had to burn it
to a DVD. Also, I'm hearing about - and + formats. I'm somehat
confused.


Questions:

1. Once I transfer my miniDV to my hard drive and edit it, can I burn
the edited copy to a CD?

2. Is it a special CD format or can I use the same format that I burn
my still images and audio to? Is there a quality degradation (it
looks like there are different mpeg formats from the DVD).

3. Could you suggest a low-budget($100-$300) video editing software
program? It would be primarily for outdoor sports and some indoor
family movies.

3. Any tricks or is it pretty straightforward?

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Dazed and Confused

>I just bought my first digital camera. It is a minidv format. I have
>a computer with a CD-RW and a DVD-Read only. As of yet, I have not
>bought a DVD-RW. I have been reading that I can burn my digital
>movies on to a CD but I was under the assumption that I had to burn it
>to a DVD. Also, I'm hearing about - and + formats. I'm somehat
>confused.
>Questions:
>
>1. Once I transfer my miniDV to my hard drive and edit it, can I burn
>the edited copy to a CD?
>
>2. Is it a special CD format or can I use the same format that I burn
>my still images and audio to? Is there a quality degradation (it
>looks like there are different mpeg formats from the DVD).
>
>3. Could you suggest a low-budget($100-$300) video editing software
>program? It would be primarily for outdoor sports and some indoor
>family movies.
>
>3. Any tricks or is it pretty straightforward?
>
>Any suggestion would be appreciated.
>
>Dazed and Confused

Forget the CD idea for Video. If you are in the US you can get a DVD writer for
less than $100 and will likely include the software you need for free.
OfficeMax has a 4X DVD writer for $80 as of today. Run!!

stairclimber <> wrote:
>I just bought my first digital camera. It is a minidv format.

Your first digital video camera.

> I have
>a computer with a CD-RW and a DVD-Read only. As of yet, I have not
>bought a DVD-RW. I have been reading that I can burn my digital
>movies on to a CD but I was under the assumption that I had to burn it
>to a DVD. Also, I'm hearing about - and + formats. I'm somehat
>confused.

DVD-RW and DVD+RW are two different and incompatible formats for
recording DVDs. Try to find a drive that can handle both.

>Questions:
>
>1. Once I transfer my miniDV to my hard drive and edit it, can I burn
>the edited copy to a CD?

Yes, of course. Whether it will be in a useful format is a different
question. You might be able to write a Video CD.

>2. Is it a special CD format or can I use the same format that I burn
>my still images and audio to? Is there a quality degradation (it
>looks like there are different mpeg formats from the DVD).

DVDs are not CDs. You cannot expect to treat a CD like a DVD.

>3. Could you suggest a low-budget($100-$300) video editing software
>program? It would be primarily for outdoor sports and some indoor
>family movies.

Not for Windows. I do Macs.

>3. Any tricks or is it pretty straightforward?

Editing video is like painting portraits -Easy to do but hard to do well.

--
Ray Fischer

If you have a decent DVD player, you can use your CD burner and play them
on the DVD. I found
what is the easiest program for me from www.muvee.com autoproducer.
Download the demo
and check it out. You can make a beautiful slideshow with your video camera
that rivals a bunch of
the high dollar programs for less than $50. You can output to videocd
format and play back on
DVD. I'm doing one right now of Christmas photos and videos from my work
and am copying
it over to VHS tape through my system. Check out autoproducer, most folks
I've shown it
do love what it lets them do.