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Exporting/Capturing Video
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A
digital video camera will automatically record your videos
in a digital format and save them onto a miniDV or a Digital
8 tape. FireWire camcorders connect directly to a port on
the computer and transfer the video and sound in digital
form to the hard drive -- no conversion from analogue to
digital takes place. Most digital video cameras come with
a Fire Wire (IEEE 1394) which will allow you to connect your
camera to your computer to transfer your video stream.
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| You
will also need software to transfer you videos to your
computer. This is referred to as digitizing or capturing
your video. When
you capture a video clip, you are essentially downloading
the video you have on your miniDV tape onto your computer. Most
video digitizing boards come with their own software.
Below is a list of some of the popular software that
works with digital video: |
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| Note: Be
sure you have the correct cable for your computer and
camera. Most cameras have a 4-pin FireWire connection,
whereas most computers have a 6-pin FireWire connection.
A few laptop computers have a 4-pin FireWire connection. |
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| Once
you have your software and FireWire connected you can capture
your
video. These utilities will bring up a small window that will
show your video playing on your camcorder and a "Record" or "Capture" button
that allows you to record a clip into your computer. |
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| Next,
you may want to edit your video. Most capture boards or
FireWire cards also include video editing
software
that allows you to join together a series of clips, use transitions,
add titles, and export the video in various formats. |
Videos
can be exported to a camera, to QuickTime, and to
your desktop.
You
will need to compress your
video before you upload it to your Web page. QuickTime
provides various methods you may want to use to compress
your
video. You
will need to choose the format when you edit, compress
and save your video files. Which format is used will
depend upon several factors, such as the
intended audience, your experience and comfort with
video compressing, the
quality you require of the final product; the size
of the image;
the length of the video; your available storage
capacity;
the distribution media you will use and the cost
of the different formats.
Video capture boards for Audio Video Interleave
(.AVI) and QuickTime (QT) are relatively inexpensive, but
MPEG video
digitizing is still expensive and is not an option for most
users. AVI is great for integrating video into PowerPoint
presentations created on a Windows machine; however, .AVI
files are generally very large and interfere with output
solutions if they are not compressed using compression software.
In general, .AVI files are very good for short video clips.
They are inexpensive to produce and can be played easily
by freely available software packages such as Window’s
Media Player or RealOne Player. If you are putting your presentation
on the Web, QuickTime's superior compression may be a better
option. But, QT, or .MOV, videos must be either converted
to a compatible format or linked to the presentation.
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About
the QuickTime movie formats
The
Formats pop-up menu contains these formats:
- Email
Movie, Small creates a movie file optimized for
sending over e-mail. This format requires you
to view the movie with QuickTime 4.0 or later.
- Web
Movie, Small creates a movie optimized for playback
over the World Wide Web. This format requires
you to view the movie QuickTime 4.0 or later.
(Click the "QuickTime 3.0 compatible" checkbox
to create a QuickTime 3.0 movie instead.)
- Streaming
Web Movie, Small allows you to prepare the movie
for posting on a QuickTime streaming Web server.
- CD-ROM
Movie, Medium creates a movie optimized for playback
from a slower CD-ROM drives.
- Full
Quality, Large creates a high quality movie,
preserving the most data possible. Use for creating
movies you wan to import into other applications,
such as Final Cut Pro, for further editing.
- Expert
allows you to export movies using custom QuickTime
settings, including Internet settings.
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Although
there are various formats available, each has its benefits.
The bulleted list to the left breaks down some of the basic
differences between the different QuickTime movie formats.
Are you
using iMovie?
When exporting video from iMovie the QuickTime Expert is a
great way to go. It allows you a choices of various formats
when exporting your videos. Click
here to learn more.
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