more DVD questions

[fjs08]

I have a camcorder that records to the mini disk. Obviously, I can't put that into my TiBook. I do have an external DVD player that I have hooked up to a TV. It's very portable. It doesn't have a USB hookup, but it does have s video and the other "standard" looking cable inputs. Can I hook that up to the Mac so I can view the DVD on mini disk?? Also, and more importantly, can I "easily" access that mini disk and make a copy of the disk. We're going on a "family" vacation, and I'm sure our adult kids will want copies of the videos. I have an older standard cassette player that I have used iDVD with or was it iMovie (it's been a while) and was able to make DVD's from the cassettes.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Frank

 

[liketom]

external DVD drive plugged into your mac will work fine

DVD player that plugs into your TV will not be good unless you have a TV card on the Mac ! but why create more work for yourself get an external drive.

 

[fjs08]

>>external DVD drive plugged into your mac will work fine <<


DVD player that plugs into your TV will not be good unless you have a TV card on the Mac ! but why create more work for yourself get an external drive.<<

I'm a bit confused. The "DVD player" is not a "DVD drive?" How are they different. Pardon my stupidity on this stuff.

If I need a "dedicated" DVD drive, are there any you would recommend??

Frank

 

[liketom]

>>external DVD drive plugged into your mac will work fine <<


DVD player that plugs into your TV will not be good unless you have a TV card on the Mac ! but why create more work for yourself get an external drive.<<

I'm a bit confused. The "DVD player" is not a "DVD drive?" How are they different. Pardon my stupidity on this stuff.

If I need a "dedicated" DVD drive, are there any you would recommend??

Frank

2 examples

 

[Chundles]

Hooking up a DVD drive (an external DVD drive, like you buy from a computer store) will be able to record the video from your mini DVD straight to your hard drive with no loss in quality.

If you hook the DVD player to the Mac via some video->firewire converter it would be more expensive (due to the cost of the converter) and would require more work to get it all set up.

Go with an external DVD drive.

 

[ftaok]

>>external DVD drive plugged into your mac will work fine <<


DVD player that plugs into your TV will not be good unless you have a TV card on the Mac ! but why create more work for yourself get an external drive.<<

I'm a bit confused. The "DVD player" is not a "DVD drive?" How are they different. Pardon my stupidity on this stuff.

If I need a "dedicated" DVD drive, are there any you would recommend??

Frank

First of all, let's get some consistent terminology here so that we don't all get confused.

The camcorder that you have is a DVD-camcorder, not mini disk. MiniDisc is a music disk format by Sony. Your camcorder uses the smaller DVDs (aka mini DVD).

The DVD player that you have is probably just a player. Seeing as how it doesn't have USB, you won't be able to plug this into the Mac, at least not easily.

If you want to make copies of the DVDs that you make with the camcorder, you're going to need a tray loading DVD burner. I have no suggestions, but you'll probably want a Firewire burner.

I'm a little confused about the "cassette player". Is it a VCR? Or a cassette camcorder (such as Digital8 or miniDV)?

ft

 

[fjs08]

>>I'm a little confused about the "cassette player". Is it a VCR? Or a cassette camcorder (such as Digital8 or miniDV)?<<

I think Digital 8. I'd have to dig through my closet to find it. It records to these very small tape cassettes. On the case it says it's a "Digital Video Cassette." Does that help?
My problem is that I tend to fill up these cassettes and they sit in the closet and never get put on DVD's. I purchased the DVD camcorder so that I'd be able to just toss it into a player and watch it without lugging the camcorder around. I doubt I'd have to copy many of these, but since this will be a "family vacation," the kids may want one. Other than that, it's just my wife and I. I take tons of digital photos. I love iPhoto. But I also love to watch these vacation videos.

Does anyone recommend any specific external DVD player that would work especially with the TiBook.
BTW, are the new Mac Book Pro's slot loaders too? My TiBook is 3 yrs old this week and I've been thinking about a new Mac.

Thanks for all the help.

Frank

 

[ftaok]

>>I'm a little confused about the "cassette player". Is it a VCR? Or a cassette camcorder (such as Digital8 or miniDV)?<<

I think Digital 8. I'd have to dig through my closet to find it. It records to these very small tape cassettes. On the case it says it's a "Digital Video Cassette." Does that help?
My problem is that I tend to fill up these cassettes and they sit in the closet and never get put on DVD's. I purchased the DVD camcorder so that I'd be able to just toss it into a player and watch it without lugging the camcorder around. I doubt I'd have to copy many of these, but since this will be a "family vacation," the kids may want one. Other than that, it's just my wife and I. I take tons of digital photos. I love iPhoto. But I also love to watch these vacation videos.

Does anyone recommend any specific external DVD player that would work especially with the TiBook.
BTW, are the new Mac Book Pro's slot loaders too? My TiBook is 3 yrs old this week and I've been thinking about a new Mac.

Thanks for all the help.

Frank

I don't have a specific recommendation for a burner, but if you do end up in that direction, I would recommend checking out newegg.com. I just bought a hard drive and enclosure the other day and it's coming in today. They are fast.

Ordered it on Tuesday night, they processed it on Tuesday night. Shipped out Wednesday morning. Should arrive this afternoon.

ft

 

[dejo]

Questions: What model of camcorder do you have? What kind of jacks does it have? FireWire/IEEE1394/i.Link or USB or some such?

 

[fjs08]

>>What model of camcorder do you have? What kind of jacks does it have? FireWire/IEEE1394/i.Link or USB or some such?<<

Actually, all I could find was the A/V input. No USB, et. all to be found. It's a Canon DC 100.

Frank

 

[dejo]

Actually, all I could find was the A/V input. No USB, et. all to be found. It's a Canon DC 100.

Thanks for the info. With no output jacks (typical of DVD camcorders), you can eliminate the camcorder from a possible solution. You can now concentrate on how to get the video off the DVD. Since you're dealing with three-inch discs, you'll need some sort of tray-loading disc player. I'd suggest an external DVD drive. From there, you can use programs like MacTheRipper or Handbrake to "rip" the video and put it on your TiBook.

 

[ftaok]

Thanks for the info. With no output jacks (typical of DVD camcorders), you can eliminate the camcorder from a possible solution. You can now concentrate on how to get the video off the DVD. Since you're dealing with three-inch discs, you'll need some sort of tray-loading disc player. I'd suggest an external DVD drive. From there, you can use programs like MacTheRipper or Handbrake to "rip" the video and put it on your TiBook.

Really, he wouldn't need to use MTR or Handbrake at all. He's only interested in copying the DVD. Disk Utility should be able to handle that, and Toast would do it easier.

 

[dejo]

Really, he wouldn't need to use MTR or Handbrake at all. He's only interested in copying the DVD. Disk Utility should be able to handle that, and Toast would do it easier.

Oh, yeah. If he only wants to copy the DVD, correct, Disk Utilty or Toast should be fine.