Converting Mini DV Tape to DVD

[groomi]

A friend of ours vidoed the recent Groomi wedding and have given us a DVM60 tape to get copied onto DVD. I have absolutely no idea where we can get this done.

Anybody know if photo developers or any other shop offer this as a service? I don't even know if these tapes are common or not.

Any advice appreciated.

[ErnestM]

You can do it with software and a computer with a DVD burner. If you have any mates that are into doing their own home movies, then they will already have the kit. There are also services that will do it for you but their work can be a crapshoot.

Check around to see if any of your mates has the kit. If not, I will transfer this thread to the photo and video forum and I am sure somebody will have a suggestion for a service.

ErnestM

[bmgm3]

There's loads of people on Ebay that adverise converting any kind of tape to DVD.I used one place I found there and he did a good job with printed DVD's and a case with a picture I sent him.

[crmcatee]

It's a doddle if you've got a Mac.

[alexkp]

You just need a DV camcorder and plug it into a DVD recorder.

[medicineman]

If you have a miniDV player you can use XP movie maker to do this.

[groomi]

Cheers Guys. I think I'll ask if we I can borrow the camcorder, then just plug it into the laptop and burn to DVD.

Would rather just take the tape somewhere for someone else to do, but don't fancy sending my 'unnofficial' wedding video to a stranger on Ebay.

[crmcatee]

you may want to do some editing prior to writing it to DVD.

[beanbag]

Keep in mind you need a firewire connection which nobody has mentioned. If you don't have one of these, you can buy a very cheap PCI card for about £15 or a PCMCIA / Cardbus one for about £20-£25. You then need a firewire cable. 4pin to 6pin male to male.

Plug in your DV camcorder and switch it to on "Play mode". (This is important). WinXP will recognise the camera without any need for drivers and probably bring up a startup menu giving you the choice to use Windows Movie Maker. Use this to transfer your movie to your PC by selecting record all if you haven't got anything else on the tape. Otherwise you need to do it manually and it's a little fiddly but easy enough.

Once you have all your stuff on the PC, edit it with Movie Maker and then save as a DV AVI format for the best quality when copying to DVD.

Now using Nero (if you don't have it, download a demo), copy it to DVD using Nero Vision. (Contact me by email if you need any further help).

Now burn your DVD et voilá!

It all sounds very fiddly but it's really very easy to do and it means you can choose exactly what you want on the DVD. Plus to be honest, I wouldn't trust somebody on eBay with my personal tapes. Do it from a pro-photography shop but not like I say on the net. What's the guarantee it's not a 12 year old kid using his dad's camcorder? He might do a good job but who's to say he won't bugger up your tape "by accident".

Still. Give it a go and let me know if you need any help!

Good Luck!