editing mpeg2

eclectic

a simple? question from a newbie. I intend to buy a camcorder in the near future. The HDD cams appeal, but the question of compression arises. I hope to do some editing, using a mac and whatever software prog., and I am aware of the benefits of using MiniDV, however I can't seem to find a camera which both meets my budget and my needs technically. Can anyone enlighten me as to the possibilities / difficulties in converting Mpeg 2 ( Am I right in thinking that this the compression codec used on HDD cameras? ) for editing on a Mac?

replies appreciated

Vic Mackay

Easy enough. Just open the file in Virtual Dub. Select "Audio>Full Processing Mode", and "Video>Compression>Cedocida DV", and "File>Save as AVI"
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/VirtualDub-MPEG2.htm

You'll likely need that DV Codec too. Cedocida works well with Virtual Dub.
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Cedocida_DV_Codec.htm

eclectic

Thanks Vic for your reply, but, unfortunately your advice is irrelevant, as I stated in my post, I am using a Mac, and the programs you advised are Windows specific.

Thanks anyway

Vic Mackay

Gay. No worries.

Richard O' Shea

Differant hdd cams use differant codecs some are proprietry. Often the camera will come with the codec on a cd, simply installthe codec to your system and you should be able to edit.

SouperComputer

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "and I am aware of the benefits of using MiniDV, however I can't seem to find a camera which both meets my budget and my needs technically"?

MPEG2 from a DV camera works prettymuch out of the box with iMovie even on OS9, so it should be a non-issue. HDD cams as you pointed out can be a different matter. Then of course you have iDVD for DVD authoring. If you want to get more hardcore you can get Final Cut or Avid.

All Macs ship with iMovie and im pretty sure iDvd too these days. Tell us a bit more about your setup and what you want to acheive.

/edit, just looked at your sig. At least with a DV cam it should be plug and play with that Mac. Plug in the camera via firewire, OS X will fire up the software, import (copy) the video from the camera to HD (about 13GB/DV tape) and from there you can edit and subequently dvd author/export.

eclectic

Sorry for the delay SouperComputer, been extremely busy. (earning my crust)
Really, at it's simplest, I intend buying a web camera. I want a reasonably good quality machine, capable of exporting to the Mac, and reimporting same again after editing. MiniDV seems to be the recommended standard regarding least loss of resolution due to various compression methods, however, I am attracted to some of the HDD cams, for various reasons. My question relates to the loss of resolution on importing, and how best to deal with this, if at all possible.

Or have I just made things more confused?