LearnDigitalVideo.com

Recommended Product: Adobe Premiere Elements 4

2008-01-09T22:46:00.001-05:00

If you're looking to move beyond Windows Movie Maker for editing features or you'd like to be able to create DVDs from your edited video, I highly recommend Premiere Elements 4 from Adobe as an editing package. Premiere Elements is based on the same technology as Adobe's professional video editing product (Adobe Premiere - now called "Premiere Pro"), but is targeted toward consumers. This means it is both powerful, and easy to use.

If you'd like to order Premiere Elements right now, look for the Amazon link on the right side-bar of this site. Ordering from Amazon is safe and easy!

Windows Movie Maker 2.6 for Vista

2008-01-09T22:40:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while Microsoft makes a move that makes absolutely no sense to me. And while I can find several examples in Vista, one of the most annoying is their implementation of Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker. Here's a quick list of what drives me nuts:

The built-in versions of Windows Movie Maker and DVD Maker will only run on Aero-compliant computers. This means that most people that updated computers more than two years old to Vista probably won't be able to run Movie Maker. Since video editing is a 2D function, there's no reason for Microsoft to have done this.
DVD Maker is only available in Vista Premium and Ultimate edition. That means that business users that use Vista Business Edition or Vista Enterprise Edition, can't burn DVDs.
DVD Maker's DVD menu templates are very rudimentary. DVD Maker is nowhere near as good as Premiere Elements or iMovie when it comes to easily creating visually appealing DVDs. It almost looks like DVD Maker was simply an afterthought.
DVD Maker is quirky. It switches aspect ratios for no reason, from time to time. You can choose one aspect ratio and the resulting video is created at a different aspect ratio than you selected.

Let's set the DVD creation aside for a second, since many people just want to share their videos on YouTube or CD. If so, there's a solution for Vista users that cannot use the version of Movie Maker that came bundled in Vista. Shortly after releasing Vista, Microsoft released Windows Movie Maker 2.6 for Vista. This version is similar to the Movie Maker that was available for Windows XP. But the best part is that it doesn't require an Aero-compliant computer. You can run it on any version of Vista with any hardware. Unfortunately, this version seems to be a well-kept secret.

Click here to download Movie Maker 2.6 for Vista.

What Type of Camcorder is Right for You?

2008-01-09T22:23:00.001-05:00

There are a ton of different types of camcorders on the market these days. I wanted to provide a summary of the information that I presented on the pro's and con's of different types of cameras.

To provide some quick clarification, I'm classifying the cameras using the following categories:

Mini-DV Camcorders: This is the type of camcorder that uses a digital video tape.
Hard Drive Camcorders: This is the type of camcorder that records the video to a hard drive in the camera.
DVD Camcorder: This type of camera records directly to a mini-DVD.
Memory Card Camcorder: This is a small video camera that records to memory cards, much like a digital camera.

Camera Characteristics

	Mini-DV (Tape)	Hard Drive	DVD	Memory Card
Starting Cost	< $200.00	~ $550.00	~ $300.00	~ $100.00
Size	Small	Medium	Medium	Small
Archive / BU	Easy	Computer	Easy	Computer
Recorded Video Quality	Full-Quality DV	Varies	Very Good	Varies
Recorded Video Format	Raw DV	MPEG 2/4	MPEG 2	Varies
Capacity	1 Hour	Varies	30 Minutes	Varies
Download?	FireWire	USB	DVD	USB
FireWire Required?	Yes	No	No	No
Image Stabilizer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Best For	Serious Enthusiasts	Simplicity (at a cost)	Simplicity, Minimal Editing	Beginner, Casual User, YouTuber

Which Type is Right for You?

Camera Type	Typical User
Mini DV	• Serious Videographer – Wants to shoot a lot of video and invest time to learn serious editing. • Wants to archive raw footage for later use. • Wants to keep costs low. • Carry it everywhere.
Hard Drive	•Wants simplicity when working with a computer. • Will perform basic editing. • Can afford to spend a premium for convenience. • Does not want to archive raw video.
DVD	• Occasional user - Doesn’t shoot a lot of video. • Performs minimal editing. • Simplicity is higher priority than editing. • Wants to go immediately from camcorder to TV.
Memory Card	• Child / teen starting out with videography. Use video for school projects and Internet sharing. • Use video mostly on computer and Internet rather than TV. • YouTubers

Sharing Your Videos on YouTube

2008-01-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

YouTube is a great free service for sharing your videos online. It's extremely easy to get started. I've posted two videos below to help you out. The audio is a little low in these videos, so be sure to turn up your speakers or use headphones.

Setting Up Your FREE YouTube Account:

Sharing Your First Video on YouTube:

Welcome User Group Members & Good Booters!

2008-01-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

I would like to welcome Southwest Florida PC User Group members and Good Booters to my new web site to accompany my digital video presentation series. As I present my series of user group presentations and seminars on digital video, I'll post information on this site as a reference. I hope to see you all tomorrow at my presentation!