Video Camera Question

[Forrestandjen07]

We have one of the Sony Handycam hdd 30gig video cameras

when we transfer the files to the computer using there PMB,

It transfers the Video file in MPEG format along with a data file.

we usually convert the video files to WMV.

Once we convert to WMV. Can We delete the original Mpeg file and the data file off of the computer and only have the converted version?

[phlydude]

you should as long as the wmv version is saved on the computer as a seperate file. Just to be safe, make a copy of it and move it to another directory and try to open it from there. If it opens, great, you can delete. If it doesn't, then you need to look into how to save the wmv permanently without it relying on the master.

[Forrestandjen07]

Originally Posted by phlydude

you should as long as the wmv version is saved on the computer as a seperate file. Just to be safe, make a copy of it and move it to another directory and try to open it from there. If it opens, great, you can delete. If it doesn't, then you need to look into how to save the wmv permanently without it relying on the master.

Cool, I will make a dummy video and give that a try

thanks

[katharsis]

Is this the way the camera records on default (.mpg) ?

There might be ways to have it record in different formats, which should be easier to convert to wmv. Not too familiar with built-in hdd cams though.

Been using HD mini dv cams and just capturing the video, which offers a variety of formats to output to.

How fast is the transfer time from the camera to the computer?

I might check for a back-up cam with a built-in hdd if the specs are good.

[DetroitSportsFan]

I have a 1080i Sony camcorder (tape), and I'm probably going to go for one of Sony's new 1080p camcorders coming in March. Are the hard drive based camcorders good? I would think it's better than dealing with tapes.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

I have a 1080i Sony camcorder (tape), and I'm probably going to go for one of Sony's new 1080p camcorders coming in March. Are the hard drive based camcorders good? I would think it's better than dealing with tapes.

The main reason I like tapes better is that once you capture the files you can turn them into any kind of format you like, without jumping through hoops.
And of course, once you run out of space I can just pop in another tape instead of having to "download" everything from the built-in hdd to the computer. Then again as a backup, or for shorter videos this would be great.