Camcorders and Your Computer: Transferring Video to Your Hard Drive

There are many different camcorders on the market using all kinds of media. Usually the only way to edit your videos on a computer or burn them to a disc its best you transfer the video from the camcorder to your computer hard drive, external drive or flash drive.

Most DVD authoring and video editing software includes a “capture” feature, a feature that will capture or transfer the video on your camcorder to your computer. However, you need to understand how your camcorder connects to your computer before you can capture anything.

Here we are going to explain the different camcorders on the market and how each of them connects to your computer to transfer video to hard disk.

MiniDV Camcorder

Probably the most popular and widely used camcorder on the market today, MiniDV camcorders record to small video type cassette tapes. There are two ways to transfer your video to your computer. The most common way to transfer video from a MiniDV camcorder is through IEEE FireWire. The other option is USB 2.0, but USB connectivity is not near as common as FireWire connection.

This is where it might get difficult. Not all computers are equip with a FireWire port, before you go looking for a brand new MiniDV camcorder check your computer for a FireWire input. If your computer does not have an IEEE input maybe look into a different camcorder or make sure the MiniDV camcorder you do purchase can connect through USB 2.0 or you can purchase additional hardware for your computer and install your own FireWire port.

The Pros and Cons of MiniDV Camcorders

Pros:

• DV is a popular format and tapes are cheap.
• DV is arguably the best quality standard definition media on the market.
• They are very easy to use.

Cons:

• Not all computers include Firewire ports for transfer.
• All computer transfers take place in real time. If you have two hours worth of video then it will take two hours to transfer to your computer.

DVD Camcorder

The DVD camcorder is becoming a thing of the past. DVD camcorders actually use MiniDVD discs. At once popular for their common, easy to use format DVD camcorders are quickly becoming obsolete. However, they are still one of the best formats to use if you want to make simpl, quick full size DVDs that will work in your standard DVD player.

To transfer your movies from your MiniDVD to your hard drive is quite easy. All you need is a little bit of software and DVD-Rom. Once your DVD is loaded into your computer open your favorite DVD ripper software like Roxio Crunch, DVD Shrink or Corel DVD Copy and export the files on your DVD to your hard drive.

The Pros and Cons of DVD Camcorders

Pros:

• It’s easy to transfer DVD files to your computer.
• You can play discs in your DVD player without transferring them to another media.

Cons:

• DVDs are easily scratched and sensitive to the elements.
• Only holds about 30 minute of video in standard DVD quality.

HDV Camcorder

HDV camcorders are the high definition version of DV camcorders and the next evolutionary step of DV. Although DV is not the only camcorder to feature high definition, (hard drive camcorders also have hi-def), they are the most popular and affordable high definition camcorders on the market because they still use popular MiniDV tapes.

HDV camcorders connect to your computer through FireWire, the same way most DV camcorders do. Some also include HDMI outputs which are common of most high definition hardware like TVs, DVD players and Blu-ray. If you are looking into this camcorder option, make sure your computer has a FireWire port or other compatible input/output ports, otherwise; you’ll have to install additional computer hardware like a FireWire card.

The Pros and Cons of HDV Camcorders

Pros:

• The quality of high definition video is great.
• DV tape are inexpensive.

Cons:

• You need about 8 GB of computer hard drive space to store one hour of high definition video.
• Not all computers have FireWire ports.
• The software needed to read some HD formats is expensive.

Hard Drive Camcorder

Hard drive camcorders are gaining in popularity simply because they don’t require any external media. The hard drive located inside the device works a lot like the hard drive in your computer, the bigger your hard drive the more space you have to store video.

Almost all hard drive camcorders use simple USB for video transfer. All computers are compatible with USB and this makes transferring video from a hard drive camcorder easy. Some also include a FireWire port. Higher end, professional hard drive camcorders may also include HDMI ports.

Some companies like JVC have devices that can connect to your hard drive camcorder and burn a DVD without ever connecting to a computer.

The Pros and Cons of Hard Drive Camcorders

Pros:

• No additional media to purchase.
• Easily transfer video to your computer.
• The only recording limit you have is hard drive space. A 30 GB hard drive camcorder will record about 15 hours of standard definition video.

Cons:

• Hard drive camcorders are usually a lot more expensive than MiniDV or DVD camcorders.
• Once you run out of hard drive space you have to transfer the video to a computer or external hard drive.

Flash Drive Camcorder

Flash drive camcorders are still the new kids on the block and their usefulness hasn’t quite caught on, but some industry insiders suspect they could completely take over the consumer market. Flash drive camcorders are very small devices that use the same technology as your jump drive or iPod nano.

Some flash camcorders use built-in memory while others use external media such as SD cards or MemoryStick and some have both. All flash drive camcorders use USB to interface with your computer. You simply upload the video from your flash camcorder the same way you would from your hard drive camcorder. Or if your computer has memory slots for SD or MemoryStick you can just insert the memory card into your computer.

The Pros and Cons of Flash Drive Camcorders

Pros:

• Flash camcorders are very small and compact.
• All transfer via USB making video transfer extremely easy.
• Fewer buttons, easier to use.

Cons:

• Flash camcorders usually have poor, short battery life.
• Recording times depend on the size of your memory card or built-in memory. The most common usually top out at 60 minutes of video.
• Flash media cards can be expensive.

Most DVD authoring and video editing software accepts the MPEG or AVI formats typically placed on your computer once your video is transferred. Double check your camcorder and software specifications for compatiblity before purchasing any hardware or software.